I am applying touch-up paint to my bumper. Do i have to apply primer? ?

Question

The scratch is about half and inch long. You can see the black underneath it. Do i have to apply primer since it is on plastic, not metal? Or can i just apply the paint then the clearcoat?

Answer 1

If you want to make it so you will never even know the repair was made, then wet sand it after the paint has dried for a few days. Use a wet piece of 600 until the area is perfectly smooth to the touch. If there are any low spots, just add a little more paint and sand again. When it feels perfect, then wet sand it just a little bit with 1000 and then 1500. After that, you can use a polish. If you take your time, you can do it so there is barely a trace that anything happened there.

Answer 2

I wouldn't use primer.  Make sure you use a special bumper paint because a regular paint is not flexible and may crack.  That is if its a black flexible bumper.  I used Duplicolor special bumper paint and Duplicolor Adhesion Promoter (its like a plastic primer sorta).  You can get this at most auto parts stores.  If its the color of your car i'm not sure. You also do not need to clearcoat a black bumper.  For a scratch that small i would see if you could just use a paint pen.