car bumper repair Archives

How to blend when painting a car

Learning how to blend new paint with old is a crucial part of the touch up paint process and the easiest way to guarantee that you get the most out of your DIY car paint kit. Thankfully, learning how to blend paint isn’t a complicated process and can even be done by people who have no automotive experience.

What is blending?

Figuring out how to blend car paint is the art of making the lines between your vehicles paint and your OEM car touch up paint vanish. You take your car spray paint and apply it to the existing paintwork to give the illusion of them blending into one.

Blending your automotive touch up paint gives the same kind of great finish that you would expect when visiting a professional body shop. Learning how to blend spray can paint will provide you with that ideal color match and is a process that we recommend absolutely everyone follows.

We outline the best practices to ensure maximal blending below. But we also have a fantastic YouTube video on how to blend paint on a car panel, which highlights the entire process step-by-step. Check it out here.

Why is blending your touch up car paint important?

Purchasing a car paint repair kit has several benefits. Not only are they significantly cheaper than going to a professional, but you also save yourself a lot of time and can work around your own schedule. However, you shouldn’t have to compromise on a great finish, and this is where blending comes in.

Getting instructions on how to blend paint automotive means that you are more likely to get an original factory finish on the work you do at home. On top of that, even with the perfectly matched OEM touch up paint we provide, color differences can still occur because of the environment you paint in, so blending is crucial to minimizing the disparities.

Overall, you don’t want to apply auto touch up paint to your vehicle to ruin your beautiful car’s look. That is why blending is essential.

When to blend car paint

Many of our customers ask how to blend spray paint and assume there is a magical step or product that does the work. However, blending paint is a technique that needs to be applied while you are spraying on your OEM touch up paint.

You should constantly be blending the entire time you are applying your OEM touch up paint on your vehicle. You can find an outline of these steps here, but we will outline tips and tricks on how to blend paint auto body below.

How to blend paint on a car with a spray can

The steps below only apply to use our spray can repair kits as the scratch or scrape when using a paint jar will be too small to blend. As we said previously, these steps need to be applied throughout the entire process as they are a technique rather than a task in their own right.

Before painting, you must ensure you have sanded and smoother the area down. The damage should be completely smooth and even, without this, blending is very difficult. Aim to complete the work out of direct sunlight as it can cause the paint to dry unevenly, which may leave a patchier finish. Below are the steps on how to blend spray paint:

Shake your paint can for 1-2 minutes to mix the color properly
Depress the spray tip to give it a test run and get an idea of the pattern
Start with the edges of the damaged areas first then work in. Your first coat should try and cover the primer, then taper as you go.
As you spray, track the panel’s contours, you are spraying to ensure even coverage and uniformness.
You should wait 5 minutes between layers. When the paint has an even mat look, it’s time for the next coat.
Aim for three to four coats overall and always aim for an even application with relatively wet coats.
After the first few coats, start to extend the spread of each coat by 3 to 4 inches to help it blend with the surrounding paint.
The final coat should fade out and not be heavy.
Wait 20 minutes before applying the clear coat and aim for 2 to 3 coats.
With a clear coat application, it is vital to keep your movement consistent to prevent it from running.

Please check out our YouTube video on how to blend urethane paint for more information on the entire process. It gives step by step examples of the above.

Let the paint dry completely before you check for the final color match as it can look lighter or darker prior to being completely dry. Discovering how to blend paint on your car will leave you with a superior finish that will make your car shine like it just rolled off the factory floor.

What are you waiting for? Get your car paint repair kit today, and get your vehicle shining again.

We pride ourselves on quality products, competitive prices and outstanding customer satisfaction.

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Bumper Damage

Assume that your car was crashed, has bumper damage and now it needs to be fixed. How much does it cost to repair a bumper? $200? $400? When the payment bill comes you will surely get surprised.

This happens because of the outdated understanding of a car bumper. In the past, the bumper was a piece of wood, bolted onto metal at the ends of the car. They provided protection if a car bumped into nearby objects. Furthermore, it was easily replaceable, just unscrewing the bolts allowed it to detach.

Now bumpers are more complex. Today, bumpers are integrated with components of the vehicle and have more functions than just protecting. This causes the bumper repair cost to rise. In order to know the cost, you need to understand a modern bumper’s purpose, and the process of fixing or replacing one.

Automotive Labor Time

Today’s system of repairing or replacing is much harder than it was in the past. Before taking out the bumper, professionals need to disconnect it from numerous vehicle systems. It does not only consumes time but it also takes trained skills. You must be wondering what kind of systems are in the bumper, below is the list of all systems:

– Lights

– Trim

– Warning Systems

– Airbag Sensors

– Air Intakes

Removing all the above parts takes almost 2 – 3 hours and sometimes even more. The average labor cost is $100 per hour.

Automotive Paint Labor

After the removal of bumper, it’s time for the paint job. This job starts when the damage to the bumper is repaired. It also includes using body filler(putty), plastic repair material or other materials to repair dents and cracks. The primary objective is to create an exact copy of the original bumper.

After the repair job, sanding is done to the surface of the bumper. Before painting, trim or cutouts are removed. Now it’s time for painting and this includes laying a base coat, coats of colors and clearcoat.

The average time spends in this whole job is around 3 – 4 hours. The paint labor cost almost $100 per hour.

Automotive Paint Materials

This includes masking tape, plastic repair material, basecoat paint as well as body filler. You must be thinking that the measuring tape and paint also includes in cost? Yes, auto-body shops charge a flat rate for materials. They charge around $45 per hour on average.

Bumper Parts

In any collision, there must some part or component that was damaged. In the worst scenario, because of high damage, a replacement will be made. A replacement of bumper will cost you around $300 – $700. If sensors, lights, cameras or any other component are damaged, then you can expect an increase in overall cost. Even a low-speed collision of a new car could cost up to $1,000.

Overall Bumper Repair Cost

Car bumpers have changed from very simple to complex. Not just tools and parts cost but also time and effort the person whom you hired.

If we sum up all the expenses, you can easily see why car bumper repair costs so much.

Labor Time: 2 – 3 hours (rate= $100/hour) will cost= $200 – $300
Labor Time: 3 – 4 hours (rate= $100/hour) will cost= $300 – $400
Paint Materials: 3 – 4 hours (rate= $45/hour) will cost= $135 – $180
Parts: Average cost of parts = $300 – $700

The average bumper repair will cost between $935 and $1,580.

Does this blow your mind? Well, you are not alone. Do you know you can fix a damaged bumper yourself? If you have small scratches or dents then you can easily fix it yourself, but if the bumper is heavily damaged then consider getting it fixed by a professional.

IN THE END, WE KNOW YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF. Be sure to check out our How-To videos on YouTube!