[PaulatFast]

Joe it seams like I have a part time job explaining how we prep and paint Endura bumpers! lol!

I own a rstoration shop that specializes in GTO's, 68-70's in particular. Having owned and worked on these cars since 1983, the endura issue is one I am more than casually aquainted with. The method I am about to outline was established by myself through trial and error, asking ALOT of questions, and doing some unorthodox testing over the years. Since I have been following this proceedure, I have not had any issues with endura Bumpers paint cracking, lifting, bubbling, shrinking... whatever! In 2007 I met Barry Kives, owner of Southern Polyurethanes Inc, and the smartest and most knowledgable painters that i have ever met! I call him regularly for advice and he always has the answers. After questioning him about endura, I was shocked to find out he actually knew what it was! He also had painted several GTO's with that rubber material hanging on the front. Hs proceedure and his results mirrored mine. Based on this information, I am willing to stand up and state my way of repairing, prepping and painting these noses. One thing I will add before getting to the repair, unlike some of my peers, who do cars that are kept in climate controlled garages, or sent to an auction soon after completion, alot of my stuff is exposed to the elements. My judge was painted in 2007, car sat out all last summer. I put it in very damp uninsulated storage in mid Dec. after it sat out in the cold until then. It looks like the day it was painted.

We sandblast the noses down to bare rubber. It is very important to keep the nose clean and free of any oils or silicones, the rubber can act like a sponge and it seems to never come clean once it is oil soaked...

We do not use adhesion promoter. Ever. IT IS NOT NEEDED. The two part FLEX Epoxy repair material sticks to the bare endura better than you can imagine, no need to add anything into the mix.

All repairing and shaping is accomplished with the flex epoxy two part filler. We shape with 80 grit, followed by 180. The stuff sands well and sticks to the endura so well that it easily feather edges back to the bumper.

No filler primer. No filler primer. NO FILLER PRIMER!

The only primer I use on the noses is SPI epoxy. It doesn't harden, yet is totally sandable. We spray three coats of Epoxy allow it to dry for a day, then block with 180. any repairs are made with the two part flex epoxy, then the nose is shot again with 3 coats of epoxy. That is sanded with 320 to get the peal down, then 400 and finally 600 prior to paint.

If you want to use any other manufacturer's epoxy primer, that's up to you. I cannot tell you if it will work or not. If the epoxy stays pliable and sands well, I'd guess you'll be ok.

We don't use any flex agent in the base. After looking into what the flex agent actually does, which is simply retarding the drying time of the paint, I decided that was not what i wanted going on under my clearcoat. Seamed like a perfect reason for the clear to lift as the base cured out over time. I'll pass!

We don't use any flex agent in our clear. We spray SPI Universal High Solids Clear. It never seams to fully harden. It will sand and buff the same after a year as it does after a day. It remains pliable. I have used other high end clears that stayed pliable as well. Cheap clears seem to harden after a few days or weeks. Would flex agents help those clears? At least temporarily, I'd guess. keep in mind flex agents are temporary in most cases.

There you have it, my way of doing these noses. If followed exactly, I would be suprised to find out you had issues. Good Luck.