i'll be purchasing a new front bumper for my girl's car and will need to get it painted. what kind of things do i need to know before i walk into a body shop to get it done? i don't want to be a sucker because i don't know what to look and ask for. also what should i expect to pay just to paint it... no install.

 

I would have them prep and paint it. When you do auto paint you want to use a brand "set"....it means the solvent, filler, primer, paint and clear are all designed to work together.

I think most shops near me charge about $65-100 for a bumper dpending on what all has to be done.

 

sounds good... i was expecting it to be more expensive than that. any opinions on those 3M stoneguard/clear bra things. are they worth it?

 

i couldn't say, I've never used them....are they 100% un-detectable? even if they're not I'm sure it'll be worth it to keep off rock chips.

 

that's what i'm worried about. i don't want it to look like crap. i think i'll just forget about it. we're hopefully getting rid of the p.o.s. in the summer when i get my 3 anyway. just fixing it up so we can get some more money for it. the front end looks like a pubescent teen who was picking at his acne to much not to mention the numerous meetings with curbs it had.

 

hahaha