Paint or replace?

So my front bumper cover is that faded grey color and I'm tempted to spray paint it black.....or should I just replace it?

 

if you lightly go over it with a propane torch, it will blacken right back up.

a little trick I learned from the jeep guys on how to bring back the black on the fender flairs. It will work on the black plastic flares too.

I am not saying melt it, just lightly run the torch over it

Justin

 

i just painted mine actually today i used a can of flat black from osh and it looks good to me but if you have a torch laying around that would be cheaper a can of spray paint is only a few bucks

 

Torching it, eh? Damn, never would have thought of that one.

 

Pretty sure I can cover da cost of a can of spray paint...just wondering how well it will hold up.

 

should hold up just fine just be sure to a good thick coat or a couple coats i think i used two cans if you are going to paint them just ruff them up a little bit with an sos pad that way the paint will stick better and it should hold fine also make sure to let it cure before you wash it

 

For $132 (list price of the bumper cover), I would paint it. The torch sounds fun. Krylon makes a plastic specific paint in flat, gloss, and satin black.
Matt

 

check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWyecrQh_HQ


a heat gun will do it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw0cWfTZ_dA

super cheap and easy

Justin

 

^ Oh wow thank you! I'm going to do it now!

 

X2! Thank you!

 

you can also take a shop rag, and a tube of some silicone gel...rub the gel into the plastic to restore....also helps water and junk to bead off....

 

My fender flares are so chewed up from gravel/etc... it has the white filling(?) showing through in a lot of spots.

Am I sh*t out of luck with trying to restore it via the heat gun method?

 

might recommend paint at this point?

 

That's what I was thinking. Either that or using bedliner on it (if it doesn't look too cheap/cheesy)

 

take some before and after shots so we can see how it worked on the tacoma flares

Justin

 

Maybe taking a torch to your truck scares the crap out of you. Maybe you are worried about the paint peeling off after you spend the entire weekend prepping and re-painting your flares. Maybe you don't want to drop your hard earned cash on a new set of flares to replace the old ones.

Are you S.O.L.?

Nope, check out the wonders of the Magic Eraser!


A pack of four cost me about about $5.00, and this project took me all of about 10 minutes last night.

Faded Grey Fender Flare BEFORE The Magic Eraser.


Restored Black Fender Flare AFTER The Magic Eraser.


The AFTER picture of the flare does not have any "store bought" shine enhancing product applied (Black Magic, Back to Black, 303 ect.). The Magic Eraser is slightly abrasive, and removes the built up wax and oxidation that causes our flares to become grey over time. It also worked wonders on my unpainted door handles and my "faded" lower bumper as well.

 

Repp added!

 

So where can we all buy this magic product?

 

As someone posted earlier their girlfriend/wife had a few under the sink. If that search turns up nothing here are a few places that you can track them down. I purchased the Extra Power ones, that say they are 50% stronger, but I never used the original ones before so I honestly couldn't tell you if they lasted twice as long. I think they were about $1.75 more expensive...so still cheap.




Wal-Mart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr-Clean-Extra-Power-Carton-Magic-Eraser-4-ct/14860463

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=magic+eraser&x=0&y=0&ih=2_0_0_0_0_0_0_1_0_1.135_105&fsc=1

Lowes
http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=magic+eraser&x=0&y=0

Home Depot
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=magic+eraser&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

Dude.

You f'in rock!