Texture Spray Paint for Retexturing a Bumper Cover

Many textured bumper covers are thrown away because of a few scuffs and scratches. Some shops think that these are unrepairable. However, by using techniques and products from Polyvance, you can easily repair, retexture, and recolor your scuffed, faded, textured bumper covers.

This Honda CR-V lower is fully textured. It has two gauged areas that will will repair. We will retexture the bumper with our Flextex VT texturing material.

Always wear proper safety gear while working!

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Products Used:

Note: This is a list of the Polyvance products that can be used to make this repair. This list does not include sanders, grinders, or other common tools you will need. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call technical support at 800-633-3047.

• 1000 Super Prep Plastic Cleaner (several options available) OR 1001-4 EcoPrep Plastic Cleaner
• Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter (several options available)
• Waterborne Primer Surfacer (several options available). We used our 3043 All Seasons Black Jack waterborne primer surfacer.
• Flextex VT Low VOC Variable Texture Coating and Flextex VT Low VOC Reducer
• Bumper & Cladding Color Coat (now available only in black and white)

Video Notes:

• 3803 Flextex VT has been discontinued. Our 3804 Low Voc Flextex VT is still available. To remain Low VOC, it must be thinned with our Flextex VT Low VOC Reducer, or it can be thinned with laquer thinner if Low VOCs are not needed. View the product info sheet for more information.
• Super Clean plastic cleaner has been renamed Super Prep plastic cleaner.
• 3700-series Bumper and Cladding Color Coat is no longer available in a variety of colors; it is only available in black and white.
• English Closed Captions have been provided for this video. Click on the CC button to turn them on or off.
• The length of this video is in no way representative of the actual time required to perform a complete repair and therefore should not be used for estimating purposes.

English Transcript:

With the techniques and products shown in this video, you can confidently repair and refinish damaged textured bumpers and trim. This Honda CR-V lower is fully textured and has two gouged areas that we will repair.

First, clean the bumper with scuff soap and water. Use a scuff pad to spread the soap and get down into the texture. Rinse off the soap and allow it to dry completely. Spray 1000 Super Clean Plastic Cleaner in a heavy wet coat to dissolve mold release agents and silicones. Before it evaporates, wipe it off with a clean paper towel.

The first step will be to fill the gouged areas. To prep for the filler, sand with 180 grit sandpaper to roughen the plastic and to round off any sharp edges. Don't use 80 grit paper. This type of plastic is too soft for coarse paper, and 80 grit will create deep scratches and fuzz that will be hard to refinish later.

Prior to applying any coating over raw TPO, use 1050 Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter. Spray a medium wet coat over the area to promote a good featheredge. Allow the Plastic Magic to flash off for about 10 minutes before applying the filler. Mix cream hardener into flexible polyester glaze. Apply flexible polyester glaze over the gouged areas. Allow at least 20 minutes for the flexible polyester glaze to cure, then sand with 180 grit paper using a DA or a block.

The next step will be to apply a primer surfacer over the area to fill any sand scratches. Again, before spraying primer on raw TPO, use Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter. Spray a medium wet coat over the area to be primed and allow it to flash for 10 minutes. Prime the repaired areas with 3043 All Seasons Black Jack Waterborne Primer Surfacer or something similar.

After the primer dries, use 320 grit to sand the repair area smooth and to blend back into the original texture. Also, sand the entire area to be retextured with 320 grit. Do not sand off all the texture, simply scuff sand to flatten the texture slightly and to rough up the surface for better adhesion.

The final step before spraying the texture is to apply Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter over the entire area to be retextured. In this case, we will retexture the entire bumper for the most uniform appearance. The Honda CR-V has a medium texture. We will use 3803 Flextex VT texture material. The Flextex VT allows you to vary the texture by reducing the paint with lacquer thinner. For a coarse texture, spray Flextex directly out of the can with a 1.8-millimeter primer gun with no reduction. For a medium texture, add 25 percent lacquer thinner and spray with a 1.3-millimeter gun. For a fine texture, add 50 percent lacquer thinner and use a 1.3-millimeter gun.

In this case, we are going to cut it about 25 percent since the texture is somewhere between medium and fine. Adjust the air pressure to about 40 psi, and open the fluid needle fully. Spray from a normal distance. Test on a piece of masking paper to get a feel for the proper speed of pass. Lower air pressure for a coarser load. Increase for a finer texture. We will be spraying three or four light coats to allow the splatter effect to build to achieve the desired look.

Apply the first coat of Flextex VT. Again, spray from a normal distance, but move the gun quickly to prevent wet spots. You're trying to splatter the paint on evenly, not flow it out. Allow a few minutes between coats for the solvent to flash off. Apply two or three more coats until you get the look that you want. When you're done, let the Flextex dry for about 30 minutes.

Scuff the Flextex with a grey scuff pad to knock off any high spots or dry spray. To restore the original color, it is best to topcoat the Flextex VT with Bumper and Cladding Color Coat. This paint can be intermixed to match virtually any OEM plastic color. In this case, we have mixed 3734 Honda CR-V black color. Bumper and Cladding Color Coat is ready to spray with no reduction. Also, Bumper and Cladding Coat does not require pretreatment with adhesion promoter. It sticks to raw TPO right out of the can. Apply one or two even medium coats of Bumper and Cladding Color Coat. Move the gun pretty fast; you're not trying to flow it out.

When you're finished, you'll have a textured appearance that simulates the original. By using Urethane Supply's products and these techniques, you'll be able to reduce your cycle time and keep more labor dollars in the shop.