You are here:

Classic/Antique Car Repair/front bumper protection

Advertisement

Expert: Paul Wilczynski - 6/17/2009


Question
hi..what are some good products you could recommened to protect a front bumper from rock damage. i have a car that is white and the front bumper needs to be touched up. after doing that, what are some good things to put on the bumper to protect it from futher damage? also, am wondering if touch up paint requires 30 days to cure before waxing? thanks so much!!

Answer
James,

Usually a couple of good coats of wax go a long way toward helping a painted surface to resist impact chipping.

However, should you want more protection, there are self-adhesive transparent sheets available that are what pros use for this sort of thing.

The best chip protection films are made by 3M. Use this guide to find someone in your area who can help you with this application:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotchgard-PPF/Home/For/the_Pro/WTB/

If you're using touch-up lacquer in bottles, overnight is enough drying time.


--Paul

Classic/Antique Car Repair

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Paul Wilczynski

Expertise

Most questions involving vintage car restoration, mechanical and body, paint and upholstery. Parts sourcing. Extensive experience in wood-bodied station wagons, British and French cars of the '40s through '70s. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger, Citroen Maserati, VW Beetle, 1955-65 Chevrolet (especially Nomad station wagons), Corvair.

Experience

Wide-ranging and long-term. I owned a restoration shop in the 1970s, continue to dabble in vintage exotics. At one time, had a seven-car collection of contemporary exotics which I had restored and maintained myself. When I was 18 years old, I designed a woodie kit for the VW Beetle, which I developed into a product which was featured on television and in over 100 magazines and 25 books at last count. I still own and drive one of my creations. I owned a design and fabrication consultancy from 1982-2002, specializing in show car fabrication for manufacturers including Ford, Mazda, GM, Subaru, Mitsubishi, etc. Since 2003, I have been a department manager in Industrial Design, and a full-time instructor in automotive design and fabrication at the university level. My students go on to design automobiles as staff designers for major auto manufacturers worldwide.

Organizations
Western Automotive Journalists, Industrial Design Society of America.

Publications
Long list of magazines and books, including Playboy, VW Trends, VW Greats, Hot VWs, and European automotive magazines.

Education/Credentials
I teach design and fabrication at university level. My education is in Industrial Design, University of Illinois (1966-1970).

Awards and Honors
Many awards for restorations in local concours and shows.

Past/Present Clients
Mazda, Ford, GM, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, Mercedes, Porsche.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.