I've decided that i'll be painting my front bumper because there are huge paint chips.
I recently bought a claybar kit and my question is, should i wait till i paint my bumper before i start with the kit?

Also, any advice before i start either project?
Thanks in advance!

 

Personally I would clay bar before so your not painting on top of the grit

 

If you are going to paint the bumper you will just waste time using claybar to clean it.
The only thing about clay bars is that if you drop it, you throw it away because it picks up anything that is on the floor and that will scratch your paint. so split the little bar in small pieces and if you run out of quick detailer you can use some car soap diluted in water, just make sure to rinse the car before waxing.

You should sand before painting so the sand paper would take care of getting the junk out.

 

I just dont see the point in clay barring after. Fresh paint shouldn't have too many imperfections in it...

 

I agree with that. new paint is clean enough.
Claybars don't remove imperfections tho, they just clean the surface.
That's the reason that on my opinion clay barring something that he will have to sand to smooth out the chips before painting is useless.

 

Clay bars dont remove imperfections, they just clean the surface?
What do you think cleaning the surface means? Removing imperfections maybe?

 

I think what he meant by imperfections was things like scratches and chips. All a clay bar is good for is removing contaminants in the paint, like ground in dirt or backed on bugs. You should NEVER clay or wax a freshly painted surface. If you are repainting it a clay bar will serve you absolutely no
Purpose, just make sure to sand the bumper properly, and use a good primer

 

oh lol my bad, Of course it wont remove scratches I'm talking about tree sap, grit, tar specks, those kind of things. Contaminants is a much better choice of word

 

right and a fresh paint job should have any of that **** in it. unless ur painting the bumper out in the woods or something idk

 

Yes by imperfections I meant scratches and stuff that would need a little more than just claybar to remove. Contaminants is the perfect word!

 

Especially considering that a clay bar actually creates scratches with every use. A clay bar, while removing contaminants, creates imperfections. It's something that you have to take into consideration when using one, that's why it should never be used on paint that is already in good condition. It's not something that can be avoided no matter how good you are with one.

 

heres what you do.... take it to the body shop and drop it off.... thats it.

dont clay it. and DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT WAXING IT before dropping it off. silicones of ANY sort are harmful in a body shop atmosphere and even though they degrease and remove all that stuff its still possible for it to leave reminents. so best advice is leave it be.

when you get it back dont wax it for 30 days. even though paint is baked at 160F for 45 minutes to an hour it doesnt always cure in that cycle. waiting 30 days allows the paints chemicals to cure 100%. waxing or sealing during that time period will prevent that from happening more times then non and it will lead to premature paint failure that wont be covered by a body shop.

also theres no need to clay bar fresh paint. it should be near perfect unless you drive on gravel or farm roads a lot and after a good wash the bugs and crap are still sticking. then you might need to clay bar.