So after the years of highway abuse, my front bumper is in desperate need of a respray. A local shop quoted me for 14hrs labor on the job, which i kinda feel is absurd. In an attempt to cut down on labor cost, I would like to do as much of the prep work as possible, which leads to a few questions...

1) Ive read 140 grit is pretty safe for the pastic to scuff it/remove paint/get out minor scratches. sound about right?
2) theres lots of scrapes on the bottom from driveways, speed bumps, whatever... Do I need to sand the paint out of the divets completely, before I use filler as needed, or will most fillers adhere to some paint ok?
3) as far as fillers go, is bondo ok for plastic or should I look a different route?
4) primer... I will not have my compressor/sprayer for the job. Are there any decent rattle can primers I could use or should I just leave this to the shop to handle (they are gonna do the paint/clear)
5) Protection... Ive read mixed reviews about 3Ms clear bra...some swear by it, some claim it yellows/peels/looks like crap in a few years. Other than the flex additive to the paint, what are some thoughts on the 3M bra or other pebble protection?

 

14 hours is not absurd, IMO...Took me 8-10 hours just to scuff my Integra's front bumper the first time I did it. By the time you primer it, block it with 400/600, clean it, base it and clear it...well you do the math, haha.

1) 140 would be ok, definitely don't go any lower. I used 180 for mine.

2) I would think you would be ok there, but I would try to stay away from using filler as much as possible, as it's not very flexible. A flexible polyester glazing putty is the way to go for rock chips, etc. However, it's not meant to be used as a filler.

3) Evercoat Poly-Flex is a good flexible glazing putty. If you're going to use filler, I would go Evercoat Rage Gold, or Rage Gold Extreme.

4)Rattlecan primer isn't nearly as durable or as thick as 2k primer out of a gun. I would leave this to them.

5)Don't have any experience in that one, sorry.

 

awesome! thanks for the help. hopefully sanding and minor glazing will knock off a few hrs of labor. medical school doesnt leave you with much cash to throw around...

so if I bring it to a decent shop ready for primer, how many hours would you say is reasonable for labor? including primer/paint/cc/labor would it be realistic to get out under, say 300ish?