nathantse

Hello Guys.

For those that had painted their after market front lip, can you please shed some suggestions on prep & types of paint to use?

I have an an aimgain (rep) front lip, raw black plastic, after a year or so, it is starting to fade. I am wanting to paint it gloss black in the meantime.

Thinking of something quick... rattle cans? lol

l33ks

Plastidip with glossifier? XD

MX73

I haven't painted a front lip but I've painted other parts. Key is taking your time. Make sure you have good even layers and wet sand after each step beside the base coat (sand after primer and clear.) Pretty much any automotive grade paint will do.

Saneddie

I painted my rep AG lip gloss black. First I wet-sanded it down with some grit paper (I used 1000/1500/2000 grit) then I used about 3-4 coats of primer .. I waited til the next day for the primer to dry (since I started late at night).. then I wet sanded the primer til it's smooth like butter ...
THEN I used about 4-5 coats of black paint and gave about 3-4 hours to dry and then smacked on 3-4 coats of clear coat. Also remember to have a bucket of warm water to keep the cans regulated.
Ingredients: 1-2 cans of automotive black paint (DupliColor) and primer, 1 can of Acrylic clear coat (DupliColor), 1000-2000 grit sandpaper, a spray can grip/handle (Helps with smooth coats and makes it much easier)
You can get these pretty much from any automotive store, Pep Boys/O'Reilly/Autozone/Home Depot etc.. of course... each store has their different brands of paint. I picked up all the goods from my local O'Reilly (DupliColor).
Ghetto but, it gets the job done haha

nathantse

That looks amazing for DIY.

When you wet-sanded before primer. Did you start with 1000 -> 1500 -> 2000?

& Once primer was dried, you did the same wet sanding process?

*reason I am asking is cause I've never done wet sanding before, nor my own paint work.

Although, I am very tempted to just plasti dip + gloss lol

Saneddie

Yup 1000 > 1500 > 2000 (higher the smoother, lower the rougher) You can do 1000 > 2000 as well.
Yes sir, I wet sanded after the primer dried. (Not sure if this was even necessary but, I did it just in case to make it extra smooth... much work haha)
Actually, I had some rock chips and scratches on mines prior so I had to smooth it out but, if your lip is in perfect condition I wouldn't mind going with the plastidip route to make life much easier.

TJR14IS350

nathantse

^ that looks good, did you add any glossifer or clear on top?

& type of prep and amount of coats you did?

TJR14IS350