Painting Wolf Rims, Bumpers and Bull Bars

Hi everyone!

I have done a search but it didn't answer my question.

Over the weekend I plan to paint my Wolf Rims as there is some rust showing through the paint, Bumpers and Bull Bars. They are the bull bars that wrap around the headlights and cover the whole front of the car and are a little worn and rusty in places.

I was planning on using smooth black hammerite, but am a little worried it will leave a glossy finish and look wrong, so was going to get some stain black paint instead. Is that what you would recommend?

Can the paint be brushed on or would I need to spray? Don't have a compressor or spray gun so would need to use spray cans if I was spraying them.

The bumpers are obviously a little rusty with flaking paint, so I was going to rub everything down with a wire brush on my drill to get rid of any paint, sand down and paint. Same with the bull bars.

What I want to know is, is satin black paint the stuff I should be using?

Is it OK to brush the paint on, or will it look terrible? I guess brush could be used on the bumpers but I'm not sure about the bull bars and wheels.

Obviously I will use a rust inhibitor first, and prime and paint.

Just after some general advice really. When I did my search I came up with all sorts but none answered my question.

Thanks

use smooth satin black, for faded plastic or bumber i use satin black spray cans from local automotive paint firm as you cant really tell you painted it they will give you choice of colour and type and make you up spray cans, i find better to use than stock aerosols ,it would look better if using cans to sand smooth

jamesmartin said:

use smooth satin black, for faded plastic or bumber i use satin black spray cans from local automotive paint firm as you cant really tell you painted it they will give you choice of colour and type and make you up spray cans, i find better to use than stock aerosols ,it would look better if using cans to sand smooth

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Would you spray the everything then? Wheels, bumper and bars? Was thinking the bumper would be easier if I brushed it on, in fact I would prefer to use a brush for it all, but if it will look crap then I would spray.

All advice appreciated!

I bought a set of scruffy looking steel wheels off fleabay last year. I rubbed them down with wet'n'dry, then sprayed them with Halfrauds primer, wheel paint and lacquer. They genuinely look as good as new ones.

If I was painting my bumper, I'd probably spray that too. Brushes are fine for chassis, etc. where the finish doesn't matter too much, but I think you'll struggle to get a good finish with one on the bumper / bull-bars. The other option for larger areas, if you don't want to spray, is to use the little gloss rollers - many people paint their whole vehicles using them and get surprisingly good results.

i wold get spray cans made up it looks better

Thanks guys. May try the gloss rollers, that sounds like an idea. Will do a test on a piece of metal tomorrow and see what the finish is like with the gloss rollers.

Obviously the finish on the bumpers and bars isn't going to be perfect due to the pitting from the rust anyway.

brush and gloss rollered my whole truck last week and the finish came out great. used smooth black hammerite straight to ruston my bumper and rear x member. it seems to have spread itself out after i finished and has a great finish. if id dne more/better prep work....

it comes down to time and effort. spray cans still need prep doing and the right technique with the risk of painting stuff you dont want to!

Siliconwombat said:

brush and gloss rollered my whole truck last week and the finish came out great. used smooth black hammerite straight to ruston my bumper and rear x member. it seems to have spread itself out after i finished and has a great finish. if id dne more/better prep work....

it comes down to time and effort. spray cans still need prep doing and the right technique with the risk of painting stuff you dont want to!

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Ill give it a go. Going to get some mini gloss rollers and do a test but from the sound of it they leave a good job. If they do a good job on bodywork then they should do a good job on parts that have rusted a little.

i use the hammerite satin black spray cans for my bumper,rock sliders light bar and on my old set of wheels,you dont have to use primer with it and if you take your time and apply 2-3 layers they look just like they been powder coated,the paints hard wearing to

19MART82 said:

i use the hammerite satin black spray cans for my bumper,rock sliders light bar and on my old set of wheels,you dont have to use primer with it and if you take your time and apply 2-3 layers they look just like they been powder coated,the paints hard wearing to

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I didnt know they did hammerite in spray cans. May be worth a try especially for the wheels and bars.

RikWilson said:

I didnt know they did hammerite in spray cans. May be worth a try especially for the wheels and bars.

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yes mate got mine from halfords,they do a gloss finish and smooth(which is like satin)it says on tin it can be applied direct to rust to

Thank you!

Likewise... I did my bumper recently. Took it back to bare metal with sanding plate on angle grinder, then spray on primer and spray on hammerite. Good finish and looks great :clap2:

Just a word of caution. When I painted the bumper on my last Defender it looked like crazy paving afterwards. God knows why?

I sprayed primer and gloss straight onto the cleaned black bumper. Guess there must have been a reaction between whatever Land Rover coat the bumpers with & the primer I used.

Mike

i just went to pount land an got some cheap black spray paint and some primer. everything turned out prety sweet too.

Before:


After:


Bumper and grill:



so far it hasnt scratched and ive put it thought alot of bushes, trees and a punto.... the punto scratched it but thats what it took to do it haha

Bayden_uk said:

i just went to pount land an got some cheap black spray paint and some primer. everything turned out prety sweet too.

Before:

After:

Bumper and grill:

so far it hasnt scratched and ive put it thought alot of bushes, trees and a punto.... the punto scratched it but thats what it took to do it haha

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thats tidied it up loads,my light surrounds are starting to look a bit tired,never thought of spraying them

19MART82 said:

thats tidied it up loads,my light surrounds are starting to look a bit tired,never thought of spraying them

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yeah i give them a good scrubbing down with soapy water so there was no moss or sort of mould being covered in primer and paint otherwise it dont stick well and it just looks naff. i give them about 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of black gloss from pund land. the stuff is called "AutoQuest auto spray" i stocked up on plenty for some reason. never know when your gunna need it.

Bayden_uk said:

yeah i give them a good scrubbing down with soapy water so there was no moss or sort of mould being covered in primer and paint otherwise it dont stick well and it just looks naff. i give them about 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of black gloss from pund land. the stuff is called "AutoQuest auto spray" i stocked up on plenty for some reason. never know when your gunna need it.

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i'll give that a try,thanks