Should You Paint Your New VW Bumper Cover Yourself?

When you replace a bumper cover, one of the steps is painting it to match the body of your car. You could skip that step, but your Volkswagen would look odd with an unpainted bumper cover.

What an Unpainted Bumper Cover Looks Like

When you order an OEM bumper cover, you’ll receive a black unpainted plastic bumper cover. It’s ready to be primed and painted. Some people decide to forgo this step and install an unpainted bumper cover on their car. The end result looks like this:

Black cover

Gray bumper cover

If you like the look, more power to you. If you prefer a more uniform look, then painting your new bumper cover is necessary. This brings us to the next question:

Should you paint the bumper cover yourself, or would it be better to have an auto body shop do it for you? It depends on what your utmost priority is: cost, appearance, or convenience.

Having a shop paint your replacement bumper cover is the most convenient solution. It’s also the safer choice if you want a flawless paint job. If saving money is more important to you than time or the quality of the paint job, then DIY might be your best bet. However, keep in mind that painting a bumper cover at home isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Pros of Painting the Bumper Cover Yourself

Golf bumper cover

The biggest reason people choose to paint their bumper covers themselves is cost. Generally, you’ll save quite a bit of money on labor. However, if you’re inexperienced, the project might take longer than expected and the end result may not look so great. Here are some of the most common things that could go wrong:

  • The paint color may be difficult to find
  • The paint color may not be quite right
  • You might not have the right equipment on hand
  • The paint job may not be as smooth as expected

We suggest checking out a DIY bumper cover painting tutorial to figure out if it’s a project you could tackle.

Pros of Hiring a Shop to Paint the Bumper Cover For You

If money is no concern to you, then hiring a shop to paint the bumper cover is the much more convenient option. A good shop will ensure that they get the exact paint color you need, have the right equipment on hand, and put forth the effort to do a flawless job.

You’ll find a great shop if you do research to determine which one is the best in town for paint jobs.

Finding an Affordable OEM Bumper Cover

At RealVolkswagenParts.com, you can get an OEM bumper cover at wholesale pricing. Look up your Volkswagen model in our catalog to see if we have a bumper cover for your car.