Thought this thread deserved an update.
Installed the bumper I bought from the breaker on eBay a month or so into lockdown. I wasn't happy with it when I got down to it, because it was covered in fine scratches, scuffs and lacquer peel, and the fixing bolts for the crash bar weren't threading properly. Took the brackets off the old one before it went to the tip, and in between cursing my brakes this week, decided to spray it after I got UPol primer, paint and clear for £15 with an eBay offer.
Taking the lacquer peel back was a nightmare because it blew though so easily, so in the end on the bit under the plate, I had to prime and base coat as well.
The blend wasn't perfect, but it was on the
lower part of the bumper where it's not so obvious, and it's only when the light hits it a certain way that you notice it.
Sanded back the whole bumper and sprayed it with clear - got about four coats on, but it wasn't glossy, so wet sanded with 1,200, 1,500 and 2,000 grit. It was passable before, so when it goes chalky after sanding, you're kind of like 'oh crap - if I mess this up, I'm screwed' but I got my random orbital sander (Bosch PEX 220) and some pads and used T-Cut over the whole thing, before using a polishing pad with some Autoglym. Kept the sander moving all the time, as it's not variable speed, and it came out really well.
It's not a show car, but it doesn't look like a fifteen year old bumper, that's for sure.
It's a lot of fun, and definitively answered my question about whether you can do paint correction with a random orbital sander. Trouble is, now I know I can do it, and there's some paint correction I've needed to do for years on the other panels...
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