Paint Repairs - Bumper and Bodywork DIY Repairs

[Fred Smith]

I have a number of issues with the bodywork on my new E86 and will probably attempt some DIY repairs (but I will almost certainly leave some bits to the pros). The car came with a touch up pen and "Paint Spray Basecoat" and "Paint Spray Clearcoat" in the appropriate BMW colour.

First questions, and please forgive my ignorance. After using an appropriate primer are the basecoat and clearcoat that came with the car suitable for metal panels, plastic (bumpers) or both? Aside from filler / prep, primer, basecoat and clearcoat are there any other stages that need doing?

The first job that I am definitely going to attempt myself is painting a new headlight washer jet cover.

The other jobs I might attempt are touching up some big chips near one of the rear windows, and the small, poorly finished touch up jobs on both rear wheel arches.

Thanks in advance and sorry for what might be stupid questions.

[coldel]

I think you might have to post up pictures, what stuff you have, how bad the damage is etc.

From my own DIY repairs (and bang average they were too!) I was using wet sand to prep, then base, then colour, blend, then coat. Even then it looked every inch a DIY job lol

If you colour a line in with a pen, you will need to blend it in and polish it, just drawing the line will leave a very clear line in most cases.

[Fred Smith]

I think you might have to post up pictures, what stuff you have, how bad the damage is etc.

From my own DIY repairs (and bang average they were too!) I was using wet sand to prep, then base, then colour, blend, then coat. Even then it looked every inch a DIY job lol

If you colour a line in with a pen, you will need to blend it in and polish it, just drawing the line will leave a very clear line in most cases.

Thanks. I am an enthusiastic amateur happy to spend hours on youtube and keen to learn. And I bought one of the cheapest E86's on the market and if I don;t do a great job I can always (1) leave it! or (2) pay a pro to make good.

You say "base, colour, coat"... do you mean "primer, base colour, clearcoat"?

I am planning on buying one (or even two, one big, one small) buffers in due course and fully expect to have to put in a lot of work to have any chance of a half decent job.

[raymond.harper]

It really needs to be warm, dust free also helps, before using any paint. In my experience, bodywork is best left to the professionals. By the time you pay for all the grades of sandpaper and paints and see the result, you are better off getting someone in to do it.

[Fred Smith]

It really needs to be warm, dust free also helps, before using any paint. In my experience, bodywork is best left to the professionals. By the time you pay for all the grades of sandpaper and paints and see the result, you are better off getting someone in to do it.

You may well be right... on the other hand... tiny areas... I have most of the paint and sandpaper I need already (and another car which could do with similar TLC that I am DEFINITELY NOT paying to have done)... I want to learn to do as much as possible... I want to keep my costs down because I don't want to spend loads of money on a high miler that is never going to be worth huge amounts more than I paid. And I definitely want to learn to be a good automotive cleaner and detailer, and that seems to be a significant part of how you make sure that a paintwork repair looks good.

And I'd quite like to get rid of imperfections and rust treat to be sure there is no damage being done beneath uneven paintwork ASAP, whereas I am definitely not going to a body shop for at least another three or four months when I have got used to the car a bit and got it through an MOT.

[Zedebee]

You say "base, colour, coat"... do you mean "primer, base colour, clearcoat"?

That’s right.
If you are just filling scratches and chips the other alternative is to buy a Chipex kit or similar. I had some good results on my Monaco Blue, which is a “difficult” colour. Once you start sanding, you might find the job getting bigger and bigger.
I definitely wouldn’t take your car to a body shop. If you need professional help go to a mobile PDR / scratch repair specialist who will generally charge you a fraction of the cost of a garage respray and you can usually watch, chat and pick up tips.

[Fred Smith]

That’s right.
If you are just filling scratches and chips the other alternative is to buy a Chipex kit or similar. I had some good results on my Monaco Blue, which is a “difficult” colour. Once you start sanding, you might find the job getting bigger and bigger.
I definitely wouldn’t take your car to a body shop. If you need professional help go to a mobile PDR / scratch repair specialist who will generally charge you a fraction of the cost of a garage respray and you can usually watch, chat and pick up tips.

Thanks. And good luck with the recommendation if you give them a call... I really hate recommending people... I hope you found my message useful!