Off-the-shelf spray paint for re-painting fascias?

[Gregadeth]

I'm looking for suggestions on a good can of spray paint that I can buy from a store like Home Depot and use to re-paint my front and rear fascias. Something that's close to the original color. Just the grey portion, I will leave the black unpainted. My plan is to give it a good prep, spray it with a good grey/silver paint, and then top it off with a satin clearcoat. I plan on painting with the fascias still on the car, and covering the other parts of the car to avoid overspray. I know taking it to a professional paint shop is the way to go for perfection, but I'd like to give it a shot myself for at least satisfactory results. My fascias are faded out and pretty much anything would be an improvement. My main concern is finding a spray paint that's pretty close to the original color, not too light or too dark. If anybody has done this with pretty good results, please let me know. Thanks

[Totally 80s]

They make spray paint for bumpers. It has flex agents in it so when the car is moving down the road and flexes under stress it won't crack the paint. A regular spray paint won't do this. I did my facias about 5 years ago and they still look really good. Especially for the $50 investment in rattle cans.


I'm looking for suggestions on a good can of spray paint that I can buy from a store like Home Depot and use to re-paint my front and rear fascias. Something that's close to the original color. Just the grey portion, I will leave the black unpainted. My plan is to give it a good prep, spray it with a good grey/silver paint, and then top it off with a satin clearcoat. I plan on painting with the fascias still on the car, and covering the other parts of the car to avoid overspray. I know taking it to a professional paint shop is the way to go for perfection, but I'd like to give it a shot myself for at least satisfactory results. My fascias are faded out and pretty much anything would be an improvement. My main concern is finding a spray paint that's pretty close to the original color, not too light or too dark. If anybody has done this with pretty good results, please let me know. Thanks

[Rich_NYS]

I followed Rob DePew's (lwanmtr) lead and was very happy with the results.

Here's Rob's post where I learned about the color choice: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12305-4877-Ressurecting-a-bad-girl&p=203762&viewfull=1#post203762

His fascia:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12305-4877-Ressurecting-a-bad-girl&p=204695&viewfull=1#post204695

Some pics of my car where you can see both fascia's for comparison. The front is factory, the rear is repainted with SEM:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?15269-Driving-4728&p=219410&viewfull=1#post219410

[David T]

To do a good paint job requires a couple of things:

A good prep job to have a proper surface

A clean controlled environment to control the dirt, temperature and humidity

Quality materials.

Some experience with the materials.
It is possible to do a passable job with "rattle cans" but it won't come out as well and won't last as long as a professional job. With that being said talk to the place where you are buying the stuff (I hope it is an auto body supply shop and not Home Depot) and they can set you up with whatever you need and explain to you how to use it all but it isn't cheap.

[Lwanmtr]

Ive found the SEM products be very good and durable..my front fascia has been off the car and moved around alot and havent seen any cracks or anything like coming on from the flexing.

[Flicky]

I got my paint from http://www.automotivetouchup.com

I used the 2011 Lamborghini Aventador's Grigio Antares Metallic (Code 0048). Spraying metallic is a little tricky since you can't sand it out if you mess it up. You have to redo it. I'll say it is better to have more paint than you think you need. I used 4 cans on each along with 4 cans of clear on each. They have all the things to prep and mask the car there too.

Adhesion Promoter:
https://www.automotivetouchup.com/spray-paint/adhesion-promoter.aspx

I recommend getting this too. Much easier to hold:
https://www.automotivetouchup.com/store/accessories/aerosol_trigger.aspx

[cdrusn]

It's actually easier to use a real spray gun, even the cheapest one from Harbor Freight will do a better job than a can. NAPA sells a matte clear coat that looks great and doesn't require any mixing. Most of the time and work comes from the preparation so why would you put all that effort in making it ready and then cheap
out on the paint? Do it right the first time and you will be happy every time you look at it. Yes, use the bully dog flex additive to the paint. :race:

[MikeWard]

Alfa Romeo, Grigio Antares Stromboli Met. Code 651A is a popular choice on this side of the pond as it's a fairly close match. I believe it's something like a 93% match to the original colour.

Some example pictures here showing a front fascia repainted in the Alfa colour, compared to an original

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yrpdo1lkkhmdxaa/IMG_3509.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jiel6uihj67jn20/IMG_3510.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k95enail51t5mcc/IMG_3514.JPG?dl=0

Being critical, I think the clear coat applied to this particular fascia was too glossy, and it could have looked closer to the original if they had used a more matt clear coat.

Good luck, and don't paint the black sections if you can avoid it.

[David T]

Alfa Romeo, Grigio Antares Stromboli Met. Code 651A is a popular choice on this side of the pond as it's a fairly close match. I believe it's something like a 93% match to the original colour.

Some example pictures here showing a front fascia repainted in the Alfa colour, compared to an original

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yrpdo1lkkhmdxaa/IMG_3509.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jiel6uihj67jn20/IMG_3510.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k95enail51t5mcc/IMG_3514.JPG?dl=0

Being critical, I think the clear coat applied to this particular fascia was too glossy, and it could have looked closer to the original if they had used a more matt clear coat.

Good luck, and don't paint the black sections if you can avoid it.

I agree and all too often when people get the facias repainted the clearcoat is too glossy. Common error. My guess is most of the time the shops use a glossy clearcoat on modern cars so they just use what they have and avoid ordering a small quantity of something they don't use much (if at all).

[Gregadeth]

Rob & Rich, I like how those look. Rob mentioned the color almost matches the stainless in some angles, and other times looks darker. That's good, that's how I would describe the look of the original. Does the SEM paint you used have flex agents like Alex brought up? Did you end up doing a satin clear coat over it?

[Lwanmtr]

The SEM paints are made for bumpers, so they can flex...fairly well too. They are very forgiving paints too, go on pretty evenly.

I didnt put any clear coat on mine, I liked how the finish is without.

[Rich_NYS]

~snip~
I didnt put any clear coat on mine, I liked how the finish is without.

Same here.

[Gregadeth]

Sounds good. But wouldn't the clear coat be necessary, especially for the rear fascia because of all the engine heat that it's being subjected to? To help further protect the paint against fade. How have they held up in your experiences? Thanks

[Lwanmtr]

Mine has held up pretty well, though the car has been sitting in the garage being restored. The fascias though were off the car for a long time and moved around quite a bit, twisting and whatnot..no cracks or splits scratch resistant...the front is still off and moved around.

I think the only real heat youre going to get is from the exhaust which is blowing away from the car anyway. with the car running I havent noticed any appreciable heat on the fascia.

[David T]

The clear coat layer is necessary to protect the base coat. If you do not apply a clear coat the base coat will wear quickly and look dull. Also you will not be able to polish the base coat. The clear coat (and base coat) have no heat resistance. If heat is a factor there are other paints that can handle high temperatures, not a base coat/clearcoat system.

[Gregadeth]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I decided to go with the SEM #39253 Medium Titanium. I thought the color looked great in Rob and Rich's pics, and I like that it's specifically a bumper paint and comes ready in an aerosol can. I left the fascia on the car, and just masked, prepped and sprayed. About 4 light coats. I'm really happy with how it came out. I bought 3 cans which set me back about 50 bucks total, and I'm still on the first can. I will probably do the front fascia this weekend.

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Before & After pics:
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[Lwanmtr]

Turned out really nice :thumbup:

[Mark D]

Nice work! That is a huge improvement in appearance for a really low cost. SEM products are high quality too so I would expect that to last as well.

[lazabby]

What kind of prep to the facia did you do before painting?

[Gregadeth]

What kind of prep to the facia did you do before painting?I kept it simple. Just hand-sanded with fine sandpaper until it was smooth.

[MikeWard]

Did you lacquer the fascia after painting it?

[Gregadeth]

Did you lacquer the fascia after painting it?No, I decided to skip the clear coat.

[Rich_NYS]

Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I decided to go with the SEM #39253 Medium Titanium. I thought the color looked great in Rob and Rich's pics, and I like that it's specifically a bumper paint and comes ready in an aerosol can. I left the fascia on the car, and just masked, prepped and sprayed. About 4 light coats. I'm really happy with how it came out. I bought 3 cans which set me back about 50 bucks total, and I'm still on the first can. I will probably do the front fascia this weekend.

I somehow overlooked your pics, I think the thread dropped off my radar. I came across it today....looks good!

[AirmanPika]

Glad to see this thread. I repainted my bumpers some years ago using a rustolium automotive spray paint that was actually a green shade per the label. It has held up in form fine...but since I skipped the clear coat it has worn. Seems I used a non-automotive paint for the black parts tho as they have begun to break away over the years.

Hoping to break down my car again this year, refinish all the parts, and reassemble. Keeping everything in this thread in mind.

[David T]

Hijacking this thread and asking if anyone has experience using ceramic coatings on painted surfaces. On the Delorean that would be the front and rear facias. Supposed to be far superior to any wax but is very expensive.

[Gregadeth]

I somehow overlooked your pics, I think the thread dropped off my radar. I came across it today....looks good!Thanks. They've held up really well, considering I drive my car a lot. The rear fascia I haven't had to touch since, but the front I don't think I did a good enough prep on it or not enough coats, so some small sections on the top part above the center grill faded away. Some masking and a couple of quick spray coats fixed it. Someday I'll remove the fascia and give it a proper spraying but for now I'm happy with it.