Paint removal - BMW Forum

e30dream · 05-12-2007, 10:30 PM

Hi guys, recently i bought one of those.. i think its an is rear spoiler (one of the very low profile ones...) and its red, but the paint is cracked and faded... i want to paint it black.. i want to do it myself.... my question is... how do i go about safely removing the paint without damaging the rubber? im afraid to use harsh chemicals on it. Thanks!

gotKRAUT · 05-13-2007, 12:58 AM

i used an orbital sander with 400 grit sand paper, just to rough it up down to the primer and remove the cracks, then painted it with Duplicolor Black bumper paint, turns out gorgeous

its kind of a semi flat black paint but its a flex paint so it wont crack...

Starmavin · 05-13-2007, 05:08 PM

Is it the factory rubber one?

e30dream · 05-13-2007, 11:37 PM

yeah the factory rubber one. another question is... should I drill the holes and install myself? or should i leave it to professionals?
kyle.. 400grit??! well i guess with a sander that might not be so bad... but since ill be doing it by hand.... ill stick with 60

ill finish it up with some 400..but thatd seem like id take a beating and itd take a year.

gotKRAUT · 05-14-2007, 05:06 AM

60?! nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo that will damage the spoiler, orbital sander with 400 grit will take you 5 minutes tops man...i wouldnt use 60 on concrete lol....250 is the lowest i have EVER used on body work and that was to fast cut through some bondo....

BTW invest in an orbital sander, they cost all of $50 lol...even if doing it by hand it wouldnt take long with 300-400 grit...you dont need to strip it all the way down, just rough it up enough to get past the cracks and down to the primer, then wash it off with some dawn dish soap and let it dry, then go to town with 3-4 light coats of the duplicolor black bumper paint...if thats the color you are using which i highly recommend because of its supahflyhotness

i have mounted spoilers before, not thaaaaat hard...easiest just to line it all up and just mark where to make your holes...not that big of a deal, just when making the holes dont make them much bigger than you need them to be as you dont want to promote leakage of water into the trunk

e30dream · 05-14-2007, 02:35 PM

yes yes... 60 grit is WAY too coarse. I think i picked up some 300, or around there because I only had 150, 60, 100 and 400 lol. the 400 didnt do much... I think im gonna make my dad get an orbital sander, he said he wants one and hed get one.

question for this particula spoiler though... would the holes be drilled one or (very close to) the curve of the trunk? or more on the sides/flats.? ive lined it up and it seems like itd go in at damn near the curve.

Rfitz25 · 05-14-2007, 03:51 PM

there should be acces holes on the under side of the deck lid through the framing. That should be were the holes go.
but I saw a template with the exact dimension and location of the holes in apost I think from OEmparts.com
Find this first cuz you proabbaly want to measure twice drill once LOL

'm going to do Krauts trick on m is spoiler ASAP that sounds like exactly what I wanted to do. the trick is to get good flexible paint that wont crack.
Mines black but wasnt sure if there is a gloss black available too. Either way if its strong paint I'll use the duplicolor stuff. Sounds like the fushizzzel. LOL

gotKRAUT · 05-14-2007, 04:27 PM

hmm i dunno, the last spoiler i installed was not the stock one so i dont know...seems like a lot of work for a stock spoiler haha

the duplicolor bumper paint is a semi flat black and looks fantastic on EVERYTHING lol....

x2 for the templates i saw it somewhere but im too lazy to look

gotKRAUT · 05-14-2007, 04:31 PM

e30dream · 05-14-2007, 05:35 PM

first just let me say thank you guys. yall are teh uberbest.

and I sanded it, painted it, 4 coats and a clear top coat. looks pretty good imo.
probably will install tomorrow or the next day.

gotKRAUT · 05-15-2007, 12:38 AM

doh, you use standard gloss paint with no flex agent? be suuuuuuuuuper carful with it, with heat expansion and cold contraction its probably going to crack shortlyeven the stock spoiler paint had a flex agent in it....and even it cracks over time...

e30dream · 05-15-2007, 01:40 AM

i picked up 2 11oz cans at kragen of "flexible bumper coating" for like $15.

gotKRAUT · 05-15-2007, 06:31 AM

ohh fantastico!, my fault i assumed you used standard as you said there was a clear coat involved, i didnt know they made a clear flex paint sold at kragen...mah bahd dayum jeena

e30dream · 05-15-2007, 09:50 AM

yeah. thanks for all your help guy! looks pretty good imo. i have a hate and love relationship with color contrasting.. i guess if its the right colors it does the trick.. i personally love red/black combo. ill have a pic up after i wash.

gotKRAUT · 05-15-2007, 06:05 PM

i love color contrast