paint dx bumpers?

[busychild0]

is it ok to paint the dx black bumpers or should i get new bumbers from a ex or something? someone had told me before that they are not worth painting. has anyone done it? i want to put a front lip on my car and i want to get the whole thing painted just worried about those bumpers.

[InvaderTrax]

I've personally never been up close to a DX. Are the bumpers smooth or do they have a slightly textured feel. If they do, then you should just pick up some EX bumpers

[tommyhonda92]

As I understand it, the DX bumpers are exactly the same as the bumpers from all other trim levels. The only difference in the bumpers, is that the EX bumpers etc. are painted from the factory. When you buy an "aftermarket" factory replacement bumper, the bumpers are all the same between different models(but obviously not different years), and all you do to paint the bumpers is to use a plastic primer/paint promoter to make the paint adhere to the soft plastic bumpers. There is a texture on the "stripe"(the black boarder on the bumper so to speak), but it's not an issue if you use the primer/promoter first. I know first hand as I bought an aftermarket factory replacement bumper to get painted for when I had my accident just a month ago, and I could have just put the bumper, un-painted, just as it came, right on the car and it would have then looked like a DX bumper.

So all you have to do is take the bumper, car attatched or un-attatched, to your paint shop and tell them to paint it, and they should know what to do for you. So there you go. Hope that helps.

D

[fliplyricist1]

As I understand it, the DX bumpers are exactly the same as the bumpers from all other trim levels. The only difference in the bumpers, is that the EX bumpers etc. are painted from the factory. When you buy an "aftermarket" factory replacement bumper, the bumpers are all the same between different models(but obviously not different years), and all you do to paint the bumpers is to use a plastic primer/paint promoter to make the paint adhere to the soft plastic bumpers. There is a texture on the "stripe"(the black boarder on the bumper so to speak), but it's not an issue if you use the primer/promoter first. I know first hand as I bought an aftermarket factory replacement bumper to get painted for when I had my accident just a month ago, and I could have just put the bumper, un-painted, just as it came, right on the car and it would have then looked like a DX bumper.

So all you have to do is take the bumper, car attatched or un-attatched, to your paint shop and tell them to paint it, and they should know what to do for you. So there you go. Hope that helps.

D

just curious how much it cost you to have the bumper painted at your shop and how well the color blending was? thanks

[tommyhonda92]

I got a bunch more stuff done to the car at the shop other than just painting the bumper at the same time, due to the accident, but what the cost broke down to, to just paint the front bumper, was $125(Canadian funds). They use a computer program to estimate what everything costs to do, including times to dissaseble/re-assemble, paint, etc. so everything is broken down by item. This program is pretty standard in the industry, so the only difference between shops, for final cost to you, is what hourly rate they charge, and what quality of paint they use. Everything can be broken down for you.

Oh, and the color blending was perfect. I got the front passanger side fender replaced and painted too, and the color from the fender to the door is perfect.....I can't tell a difference in color.

All this work was done at a small, independant paint/collision shop that has been around for almost 20 years, so they know what they are doing. I got quotes from different places, and it seemed that all the major paint shops, including Maaco, was more expensive than the smaller, independant shops.

D

[fliplyricist1]

I got a bunch more stuff done to the car at the shop other than just painting the bumper at the same time, due to the accident, but what the cost broke down to, to just paint the front bumper, was $125(Canadian funds). They use a computer program to estimate what everything costs to do, including times to dissaseble/re-assemble, paint, etc. so everything is broken down by item. This program is pretty standard in the industry, so the only difference between shops, for final cost to you, is what hourly rate they charge, and what quality of paint they use. Everything can be broken down for you.

Oh, and the color blending was perfect. I got the front passanger side fender replaced and painted too, and the color from the fender to the door is perfect.....I can't tell a difference in color.

All this work was done at a small, independant paint/collision shop that has been around for almost 20 years, so they know what they are doing. I got quotes from different places, and it seemed that all the major paint shops, including Maaco, was more expensive than the smaller, independant shops.

D

Thanks for the info. 125 is a heck of a deal...I already had my front bumper feather touched up due to a front end accident, but the paint started cracking and the guy said just bring it back in and they'll fix it (lifetime warranty). But since the paint is already pretty chipped up from road debris, I figure 'why just feather touch up an area' and might as well just get the whole front bumper repainted. I'm thinking they'll give me a discount since they already have to work on the bumper anyways and I've given them over 2000 dollars in business, but hopefully it won't be any more than 200. But it'd probably be cheaper if they had a clean new aftermarket bumper to paint on since they don't have to strip any paint off first...I'll see what he says.

[tommyhonda92]

When I went to my paint shop to get a quote, I inquired about just fixing the front bumper and then painting it as the bumper was in fixable condition, but it ended up being cheaper to get a new bumper and get it painted, then it was to fix the old bumper and get it re-painted, as, just as you said, they would be painting a fresh, new bumper instead of striping and repainting an old bumper. This had in part to do though with my work situation as I work as a shipper in a warehouse(heavy truck industry division) that is owned by UAP/NAPA, and get big discounts at NAPA stores. My bumper and fender were dirt cheap from NAPA.

.......sorry to steal this thread

D

[fliplyricist1]

When I went to my paint shop to get a quote, I inquired about just fixing the front bumper and then painting it as the bumper was in fixable condition, but it ended up being cheaper to get a new bumper and get it painted, then it was to fix the old bumper and get it re-painted, as, just as you said, they would be painting a fresh, new bumper instead of striping and repainting an old bumper. This had in part to do though with my work situation as I work as a shipper in a warehouse(heavy truck industry division) that is owned by UAP/NAPA, and get big discounts at NAPA stores. My bumper and fender were dirt cheap from NAPA.

.......sorry to steal this thread

D

thanks again, that makes a ton of sense...yep, probably just better for me to buy an aftermarket bumper...I can get them for about 100 shipped on ebay

just a question though...how was the fitment on the bumpers? I don't really have experience with aftermarket oem bumper style fitment...I heard from body shops that most of them fit really well...just curious though

thanks again

[tommyhonda92]

Fitment was excellent. Just like factory. And I paid $42(Canadian) for mine after my discount from NAPA. Retail it was gonna be $78(Canadian). This works out to about $62 USD for you if I convert it directly. I would suggest that you just go to your local NAPA store and check what the price would be from them.........saves the hassle of ebay. Good luck.

D