Painting old Toyota black bumpers

mrnimmo

I have on old toyota (80's) with those rough, not-quite-plastic-and-not-quite-painted black bumpers that are really faded. All the old Toyotas I see look like this. Is painting the best way to touch these up? What kind of paint will adhere to that surface (whatever it is)?

Mr_Shiftright

This could be tricky. You need a paint that has some flexibility.... a rubberized paint. So you may have to go to a specialty paint store that knows automotive or marine applications.

But you could try this first. Take a brillo pad and clean the old bumper thoroughly, scraping off the top layer of oxidized film. Then apply lots of Armor-all or other rubber treatment and see how that looks. It's a $5 investment that might work.

lancerfixer

I just applied some Meguiar's Endurance Tire Shine ($7) gel on the black bumpers of my '89 Volvo. They now look 10 times better, and I didn't have to mess with any paints or other recommendations I've seen floating around. Now, I must say that the bumper covers on my car are actually rubber, not a plasticized rubber, so your results may vary. It might be worth a shot, though.

britton2

I used Mother's Back to Black on an '87 Volvo's black bumpers and it really made a difference - this costs about $3 or $4 (sorry, can't remember exactly) at K-Mart and it was easy to use

mrnimmo

with the brillo thing. Scuffed them a little, and made some swirls, but it really doesn't look better.

My bumpers are definitely painted, not plastic, so I'm not inclined to try the tire shine type products. It's weird, though, the are sprayed with something that feels coarse and is flat black. It doesn't feel like plastic or rubber.

Any other thoughts on how to refinish or make these look better?

blarg1

black permanent marker...go to office max and get the really wide ones. need to re-do every month or so...