Painting this weekend

[Steven Zagaris]

Ok, so ive read all the posts on painting the cladding and bumpers and i've decided to do it myself. It seems that most people just tape off the front bumper. I have a few questions.



(1) Where do you get the material to "tape off"



(2) How should i suspend the pieces im painting so that when i spray i can hit all areas?



(3) Does the Dupli-color paint work well on the side step bars since they are metal and not plastic?



(4) How long should you wait inbetween coats of paint?



(5) As for the step pads on the side bars and back bumper, do you remove those before painting, tape them off, or paint them?



Thanks for your help guys

 

[Steven Zagaris]

Bump?

 

[LB]

GreekSt'er,



1. Walmart has the tape... it's green or blue. I believe I used the green. Autozone or Advance also has that tape, but higher priced. BTW, it's likely that Autozone or Advance have more of the paint than Walmart. Go to Walmart, get the price, and tell Autozone or Advance that Walmart has it cheaper. They will honor the discount.



2. I used two horses. Lay them on top of those, you should be able to hit everything. I was able to.



3. I used a metallic charcoal on the metal step bars. It was made by Duplicolor. Metalcast is the line of paint, and it has a rougher feeling to it. http://www.duplicolor.com/products/metalcast.html is the web address. As for the step pads, I removed those and applied Duplicolor Truck Bed Coating to it (it comes in a spray can as well as a gallon can... it gets clogged often, so spray with the bottom straight up as much as you can). Two coats of the Truck Bed Coating. I used three coats of the Metalcast.



4. I waited until dry. Duh. LOL. I think it was 15-20 minutes between each coat. Tip: do it early morning or late afternoon. If you do it at night, your coats won't dry quick enough and it looks bad. Learn from my mistakes. LOL.



5. Remove the step pads. They come off with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. The ones on the step bars, as well as the rear bumper DO come off. Very easy.



Oh, and don't forget the Adhesion Promoter, also by Duplicolor. I think after all was said and done, I had gone through 8-10 cans of Bumper Coating (black FB 105), about 5-6 cans of Adhesion Promoter, and 1 (maybe 2) cans of Truck Bed Coating. I used about 3-4 cans of Metalcast Smoke MC 206. One roll of tape will do fine. Also, and I think the tutorial tells this, get a can of that cleaner to get oil and dirt off prior to application. This will also keep from fingerprints appearing. USE IT! And the Simply Green definitely works best. Walmart carries that... some auto stores still do, but I was told that they weren't carrying it anymore.



Any more help, drop me a line. Email me directly for a quicker response.



LB