Hi all,

what do you think is the most effective (and possibly, not expensive) way to re-paint part of a plastic bumper, where the paint started to come off (mainly because of humidity)?

Also, which color would you advise to buy for a red Camaro (standard Red w/ white stripes Berlinetta, '79)?

Thanks all !

 

Leat expensive would be to do all the paint and prep yourself, but if that's not an option, then at least strip it chemically and prep it, then take it to a shop for paint. As for the color, it will be best if you have it color matched, not just buy paint and hope it's close. No way we could suggest a color, (even if it's original) and get it to match with exposure to weather and sun over the years.
If it's coming off, don't try to save any part of the paint that's on it, or you'll be doing this again in the future.

 

I'm curious why humidity is peeling the paint? All cars live through humidity, rain, snow, etc. Must be a bad paint job on the bumper then. Considering that, you'd want to strip the paint off the entire bumper, by hand. Do not use a chemical stripper on your urethane bumper, it can/will attack and ruin it. On the bright side of that though, you'd be buying a new bumper that you wouldn't have to strip!

 

I've used chemical stripper on urethane, but just make sure it says on the label it's safe for plastic. If it doesn't, then it can melt the plastic, or cause a reaction that might make new paint let go. But any chemical stripper can cause a reaction if the surface is not properly cleaned after use.
Some strippers will etch the surface and cause more work once it's stripped.
An off the shelf item that works great on stripping paint from plastic is DOT 4 brake fluid. It's harmless to plastic, but takes the paint off pretty quickly.