Bumper cleaning and repair

"CP" wrote in news:EUpVe.236252$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

You can start with 400-grit if you wish. This will go faster, but may wear down your own paint more quickly.

Be patient and conservative. Better too light than too heavy. Sand very lightly and evenly, staying on the affected area as much as possible, and only hard enough that you notice the white paint being worn away.

Lots of water. Running the garden hose over the sandpaper as you work is a good idea.

As the white color starts to disappear, concentrate on the areas that still have discoloration.

You will probably end up scuffing your clear-coat a bit, and may need to do a bit of touch-up with a spray can of clear-coat.

I always go with the least aggressive method first. Try some Lacquer thinner or mineral spirits. If the paint is not embedded into the plastic, it may just come off with no problem. If these do not work then you can try acetone, but you may remove the origianl paint.

I am assuming you are talking a spray can of t-u paint.

As Tegger said, if a thorough cleaning doesn't remove it, sand and paint, and have a can of Clear Coat on hand.

I'm with starting with clear coat polishing compound --- if that refuses to take it off them rubbing compound.

This is my first time dealing with plastics bumper.

I really appreciated the info.

Thanks again.

I would opt to go the Lacquer thinner route first too...since your car's paint is Catylized the thinner will not take anything off except the wax. If that does not work then go to a more expensive and time consuming task like fine rubbing compound. You can get these products from

Mike Gallagher

Hey, Mike. I'm a professional detailer at a Toyota dealer.

Our hands are tied; we HAVE to buy our supplies from one company, that is, the supply company that is owned by the guy who owns the DEALERSHIP! We don't have a big choice; most of the stuff is Ardex; some of it is good, some of it is...

I'm looking for a gum/adhesive remover we can use with just one or two wipes to get marking, lettering, etc off easily. Got anyhting? We did have something, but it is long gone and we can't get it anymore.

Hey! I see you sell 3M. I am looking for Fill 'n Glaze Pink; the OLD stuff, not the replacement. When I CAN find it I generally pay $15-18 for a QT. Got any??? And what would you ask for it?

I recommend 3M General Adhesive Remover. All 3M products are great and this particular one comes in spray cans or quarts. For what you are doing it seems that the spray can will work best for you.

If you are interested, you can give me a call at 1-800-548-4321

lol sorry that post was run together like that. The HTML got all messed up and my reply is at the bottom.

As far as the Fill N' Glaze goes it is discontinued and if you find any it will probably be old. There are new products out, like you said, that get rid of the swirl marks rather than just fill them. But other than that I am not aware of any place that has or uses Fill N' Glaze anymore.

Mike Gallagher '

Yeah, for the most part I like 3M stuff, it is generally the best.

I have also found that Car Brite has a nice array of supplies, like everything else, some of it is just OK, but a lot of their stuff is super.

But they won't let us buy it anymore... :(...