Which rear bumper for colour coding?

[Crs_b]

Hello everyone.

I honestly believe the answer is out there somewhere, but I have spent the last 2 evenings looking for which rear bumper to use to colour code it, I don’t know if I’m searching the wrong thing but I really can’t find just what bumper to use for my swb 2008 caddy.

I’ve read everything from people using a high build primer on the textured bumper, to people using caddy life bumpers, and apparently I can’t go straight for a facelift bumper unless I change other parts? But I’m looking for the easiest option that’ll mainly just require a spray job and so it’s more or less a straight fit, any help is greatly appreciated

Cheers,
Chris

[peely]

Hi , exactly what I want to do with my BG van , front also, mine is a 2011, have been looking at custom bumpers too,don’t fancy going down that rout, what do you think the average cost of prep and spray of originals , I know that every spray shop has its own price and you pay for quality , but will second hand painted bumpers that just need a bow over be cheaper ,what do you think forum members , always get good sound advice here , thanks

[Barbel330]

You just want a primed bumper if you're buying new, either from VW, TPS or even a non genuine pattern part if cost is an issue.

I'm a sprayer and I can tell you that textured bumpers are a lot of work to prep for paint and often flake if not done to a very high standard. Don't get me wrong, it can be done but it's not the best option.

Getting a secondhand painted bumper would be much better than having a textured one done. Keep your eye on eBay or call up breakers yards and ask if they have any in stock.

[peely]

Thanks for your input , could you tell us what front bumper will fit , I know caddy life of the same year, but what about golf gti of the same year , I know the rear won’t fit but we need to know what to look out for , thanks again

[Barbel330]

Only (and all) caddy and Touran front bumpers of the same shape (ie: pre-facelift or facelift) fit without modification. No golf or other models are a direct fit. The ones you see are heavily modified custom made bumpers which consist of 2 bumpers plastic welded together. Mine for instance is a custom made caddy/scirrocco R hybrid front bumper.

Rear bumpers, only caddy will fit. (Pre-facelift and facelift rears are the same)

You can definitely fit the newer mk4 shape rear bumper to any year caddy. I believe you only have to change the side clips to make them fit but I haven't done that mod myself yet so I can't tell you 100%. The info for this is definitely on this site so search around and you'll find it.

[peely]

That’s brilliant thank you

[Dbigwookie]

Only (and all) caddy and Touran front bumpers of the same shape (ie: pre-facelift or facelift) fit without modification. No golf or other models are a direct fit. The ones you see are heavily modified custom made bumpers which consist of 2 bumpers plastic welded together. Mine for instance is a custom made caddy/scirrocco R hybrid front bumper.

Rear bumpers, only caddy will fit. (Pre-facelift and facelift rears are the same)

You can definitely fit the newer mk4 shape rear bumper to any year caddy. I believe you only have to change the side clips to make them fit but I haven't done that mod myself yet so I can't tell you 100%. The info for this is definitely on this site so search around and you'll find it.

Thanks for that

[Crs_b]

Only (and all) caddy and Touran front bumpers of the same shape (ie: pre-facelift or facelift) fit without modification. No golf or other models are a direct fit. The ones you see are heavily modified custom made bumpers which consist of 2 bumpers plastic welded together. Mine for instance is a custom made caddy/scirrocco R hybrid front bumper.

Rear bumpers, only caddy will fit. (Pre-facelift and facelift rears are the same)

You can definitely fit the newer mk4 shape rear bumper to any year caddy. I believe you only have to change the side clips to make them fit but I haven't done that mod myself yet so I can't tell you 100%. The info for this is definitely on this site so search around and you'll find it.

Cheers for the info! Struggling to find just a primed one or a second hand one in good condition and TPS don’t seem to have one, think I’ll be taking a trip to my local VW dealer to find out a price but I can’t imagine it’ll be cheap!

[Ricksy1121]

Hi if your going to paint you textured black bumper what would the steps be

Adhesion promotor
Plastic primer
High build primer
Paint

??

There’s a lack of second hand bumpers that aren’t fucked on eBay and I don’t know what to make of the cheap pattern part bumpers so was thinking of going for it with the one I have.

Thanks

[peely]

I second that , has anyone had any experience with the pattern parts. I spotted a BG blue one yesterday on the bay fog lights and all , no spraying needed and it was gone this morning. Gutted.

[Gresley]

When I'm prepping a textured bumper I do the following:

Throughly clean the plastic, I use a water based degreaser followed by a solvent - either rubbing alcohol or a plastic specific cleaner. They say not to use wax and grease remover on plastic, I haven't actually tested this out for myself yet.

Sand down the bumper. I use 180/240 grit on a dual action sander. I wouldn't go to a lower grit than this (unless bumper needs bodywork), you want to avoid putting deep scratches in the plastic as these can create a furry finish which will take more primer to cover. Your primer can also shrink back into these scratches as it cures, which you will see appear weeks after you've finished painting it. It's not necessary to remove all the texture with sanding, but what you can remove will help. The scratches will help the paint stick to the bumper.

I then use a red scotch brite pad to get into all the low spots that the sand paper couldn't. Give the whole thing a going over, get all the edges and corners. Make sure there is no sheen left on any part of the bumper.

Once again throughly clean the plastic.

You can then spray on your adhesion promotor (plastic primer). It's best to follow the guide lines for your product, the products I've used instruct you to wait 30 mins before you can apply your paint.

Apply your high build primer, don't worry so much if you get any dust in the paint as you'll be sanding this anyway. Follow the instructions for your particular primer. Bare in mind, the more primer you put on, the longer it will take to cure and the more it will shrink, but you need enough primer so it can be sanded smooth without cutting through to the plastic. I usually leave it at least a week before sanding. If you can keep the bumper in a hot environment, that will accelerate the curing process.

Block sand the whole bumper. The grits you use will depend on how smooth the primer went on. I wet sand up to 400 grit for solid colours and 600 grit for lighter metallics. I use a powdered guide coat which helps with the sanding process. If you sand through to the bare plastic, you'll most likely need to re-prime that area.

Wash off all dust and you can clean the bumper with a wax and grease remover.

Tack/blow off any dust. It's then ready to paint with your basecoat/clearcoat. If you're using rattle cans it may be very difficult to get a good finish. It really needs to be done with a spray gun with 2k paint if you want the best finish. If you have to use rattle cans I'd try and find an aerosol 2k clearcoat. 1k clearcoat is not great.

I've missed a lot of info out as it would take too long to list everything, but that covers the basics of how I do it.

As mentioned above, it is a lot of work, even if you have access to proper spraying/sanding equipment. If you've not painted before I'd have a practice on something small, mirror caps perhaps, and see how you get on.

[Ricksy1121]

Think you for that. Will see how I get on in a few weeks

[nodeward]

Great write up, worthy of the how to section I reckon

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

[Ricksy1121]

Yes very helpful, thanks a lot for that. Iv been watching lots of YouTube vids but nothing mentioned how to deal with textured plastics

[Gresley]

There is so much more detail to it you could write an essay on it. I think the best way to learn is to just try it on something small first. You may make mistakes but you should embrace them because you'll learn from it. You may well find your own way of doing it that works better for you as everyone will have there own way of doing things. Good luck.