New Project - Replace front bumper cover with used cover with same color

[hmeister]

Hello...

I had to find another front bumper cover for my 1997 Lincoln Continental. I just purchased this car with 37k from an estate sale and the front bumper is cracked / torn due to a small accident the original owner had. I found the same color cover in a salvage yard and the bumper is in tact without any cracking or tear damage but there is a scuff area and some surface dirt that appears to be in the clear coat on the replacement bumper.

It is hard to find this model bumper cover as most of these Lincolns have been crushed during the Cash for Clunkers or when I do find a unit, the front end is usually where the car got hit and the bumper is trashed. The factory paint is a 3 stage Beige that is typical of Lincoln, using base, color and clear.

The reason I want to try this is due to the 3 stage paint, a repaint and repair of the original bumper is close to $350.00. I got the bumper cover for $30.00.
Where do I start?

1.) I want to compound the clear coat but don't know what to expect and don't know if compound will remove all the issues. If I can get 80% of the problems with compound, that would be fine. There is a burnished scuff on the right side and some yellow paint left over from the C4C which should come off using rubbing compound.

2.) Can I wet sand the scuff area on the bumper with 1500 lightly to remove surface inperfections in the scuff area that will not removed with rubbing compound?

I can start with 1500 and see what happens on the old bumper so I am hoping I can assume the replacement bumper will yield the same results when I wet sand.

Can anyone give me some tips?

Kind Regards;

hmeister

[JimboB5]

Try claying it 1st to see what issues you really have left to deal with; then you can decide how strong your next step should be. Hope that helps. PS... if you decide to sand, try a higher grit - 3000 or 2500 ( least aggressive products 1st ). So, the theme would be lesser and step up till you get the results you want.

[Michael Stoops]

Give the new/replacement bumper cover a good wash and, as Jimbo suggests, clay it. From there give it a good going over with Ultimate Compound and see where that gets you first. It may even take care of the scuff mark so you can avoid sanding altogether. You do have the luxury of experimenting on the old bumper cover first with all kinds of things and not have to worry about damaging it. But if you're going to sand with 1500 grit, you'd better have a rotary to pull out those sanding marks!

Try the steps outlined above first, and if you still feel you need to go more aggressive lengths, spend some time experimenting on the old bumper first.

[Tim Lingor]

Originally Posted by Michael Stoops

Give the new/replacement bumper cover a good wash and, as Jimbo suggests, clay it. From there give it a good going over with Ultimate Compound and see where that gets you first. It may even take care of the scuff mark so you can avoid sanding altogether. You do have the luxury of experimenting on the old bumper cover first with all kinds of things and not have to worry about damaging it. But if you're going to sand with 1500 grit, you'd better have a rotary to pull out those sanding marks!

Try the steps outlined above first, and if you still feel you need to go more aggressive lengths, spend some time experimenting on the old bumper first.

I agree! Unless you have rotary experience and experience in removing sanding marks from composite body panels, this is not a job nor a safe one for the novice.

Tim

[hmeister]

Originally Posted by Michael Stoops

Give the new/replacement bumper cover a good wash and, as Jimbo suggests, clay it. From there give it a good going over with Ultimate Compound and see where that gets you first. It may even take care of the scuff mark so you can avoid sanding altogether. You do have the luxury of experimenting on the old bumper cover first with all kinds of things and not have to worry about damaging it. But if you're going to sand with 1500 grit, you'd better have a rotary to pull out those sanding marks!

Try the steps outlined above first, and if you still feel you need to go more aggressive lengths, spend some time experimenting on the old bumper first.

Ok, thank you everyone for the quick response...

1.) Yes, I did give the entire bumper a clean wash. I then tried 3m rubbing compound on a section. I am seeing some small junk here and there below the clear but for the most part it is cleaning up. I think I am on track with a simple clean up first and then re-evaluate. The rubbing compound is bringing up the pearl. Pep Boys did not have Ultimate Compound so I will be looking for this tomorrow and will probably exhaust my 3m by tomorrow.

2.) Pep Boys has the MG Clay and I will use that tomorrow just to get down to the clear and I think this is good advice as I actually did not think about clay. It should get me to a good starting point once it is done. I will need to clay the entire car after I get the front bumper project completed.

After I started compounding the small area I think I may be able to stay away from wet sanding providing I can get some of the trouble areas cleaned up. On a scale of 1 to 10, this bumper paint is a 5 or 6 with the exception to the scrub near the right side and some scattered black marks that the rubbing compound is not pulling out... The part that I completed is very good like I said with the exception to the black spots... Will see what the clay can do.

I should take a before photo before I go to far.... !

Thanks again Tim, Mike and Jim for all the suggestions and I will re-group for tomorrow!

[hmeister]

Everyone - Thanks for all the help...

I clayed the bumper and ran rubbing compound. There is too much damage to the clear coat and pearl. There are these black spots that don't come out. I tried WD40, GooGone, and Toulene with some success. Also, the burnished scrape is too deed and when I cleaned it more, the scrpe is into the base coat. Along with the scrape there is other surface damage that goes beyond the pearl at that area. I am still way ahead as this bumper is in better shape than the damaged one. (see pics below)

I took 1500 and wet sanded about 65% of the top and started the bottom. I was thinking of finishing off the sanding with 2000+ grit just to prep it.
I can install the bumper and run the buffer on it to see what I can get out of it... if I am lucky, the rough corner may just work out...

Original:


New:


Right Corner:


Thanks for all the help...

H.

[hmeister]

Hi...
I installed the bumper and here is the new look.
The scuff is still showing on the right corner but it is 99% better than the old broken cover...


Now should I use some scratch x to burnish out the wet sand...?

Thanks for the help...

H.

[JimboB5]

Just a thought - maybe ultimate compound might be a better choice for the purpose of removing wet-sanding left-overs; I'm sure there are detailers here with more correction experience than myself however. If you have some UC, I'd try it 1st anyway. Hope that helps.

[J. A. Michaels]

Looks great. I would also try Ultimate compound.

[hmeister]

Thanks Jimbo and JA;

Ok, yes I was just a Wally World and they have Ultimate Compound...
So, I will run with the UC first...
With all this hand work, I am thinking of buying a Meguiars DA polisher instead of doing it by hand..! I spent two hours today on the bumper assembly. I probably have 2-3 more days if I detail the bumper, clay the car, scratchX the car and final wax the car... I can only work on the car for a few hours on the weekends...

Thanks for all the help...

H.