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paint tradesman bumpers HELP!

14K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  snrusnak 
#1 ·
i got the 2012 tradesman 2dr hemi(same as express pretty much) it was a better deal than the express plus im going to mod it, but im wanting color matched front end and bumpers now, any one done this or know how much it will cost? the paint shops told me the "textured" front upper bumper on the two piece cant be painted but ive seen it done any suggestions? and no express bumper wont fit different hardware :SHOCKED:
 
#5 ·
the problem with the grey or black texured non painted plastics is that it is very hard to get the paint to stick especially in areas that cant be fully sanded.

the bodyshops warranty all their work but cannot warranty the paint to stick .

yes you can sand and paint the part and use adhesion promoter but there is still no garrenty that the paint will stick .

its better just to buy the top cover that comes in primer and ready to paint or buy the one piece bumper cover.
 
#9 ·
I've seen textured pieces painted successfully but it's more difficult. Also painting over chrome is difficult but can be done. You're best bet is to get the primered piece like they are talking about.

Also, it is possible to swap from the metal bumper to the sport bumper, I just did it this sunday.

Before:




After:




You just have to swap EVERYTHING. All hardware, brackets, etc. We pretty much traded straight up.
 
#11 ·
I've seen textured pieces painted successfully but it's more difficult. Also painting over chrome is difficult but can be done. You're best bet is to get the primered piece like they are talking about.

Also, it is possible to swap from the metal bumper to the sport bumper, I just did it this sunday.
Hey Sean,

What was the reason for the swap? I do like both the chrome and the Sport bumper, just surprised that someone would want to swap and be left without the fog lights.

Was the harness there and it easy to hook up? And did you have to put in a manual switch or swap the existing one?
 
#10 ·
i have a 2011 st that came with the black textured bumper cap. a local body shop by me sanded it, primed it and painted it. the owner said that he had a new product for plastic that he wanted to try. turned out great. $200. the primed bumper cap in the LMC catalog was $150 at the time and that didn't include labor on it.
 
#14 ·
Hey I'll try to answer your questions, let me know if I missed anything.

First of all, the guy I swapped with actually had another metal bumper with fog lights that he painted white. So when he got home he swapped the chrome one for that one. He just preferred the metal bumper over the plastic. I prefer the plastic over the metal, so it worked out great for both of us.

If you were to buy all the parts to make the swap it is extremely expensive(like $1000+ expensive). Luckily I did a straight up trade with a guy locally and all I had to buy was a few pieces to get the fog lights working.

My truck does not have the harness for the fog lights but mopar makes an oem fog light kit that mounts fog lights in the metal bumper where the tow hooks go(you can google this for more info). So I bought this kit and used the harness from it to wire up the factory fog lights in the sport bumper. The harness connections are the same or the fog lights, and then you just plug two wires into an existing harness(they are already pinned so you just snap them in), then connect one ground wire, and it's all set up. It's EXTREMELY easy. Then you just have to have the dealer program the pcm with a certain code so the fog lights function. It's a lot easier than it sounds. The fog light kit was ~$175. I then had the xtra fog lights/brackets/hardware and sold those to a guy on the forum for $50. Oh and the kit comes with a replacement switch for in the cab(oem switch, really clean install). I can probably sell the old switch on ebay for $20 or so.

If I missed anything let me know...
 
#18 ·
Thanks! I'm actually eventually going to swap back to an oem wheel(the 2013 17" wheels) with street tires. I am on pavement 99% of the time so these just don't make sense.

You should be able to buy that upper bumper piece and get it painted for a few hundred bucks.
 
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