Serious Paint Problem

M

MattB

New member
I had my front bumper cover replaced about a year ago due to a minor incident. Now I find that the paint is disintegrating like hell! Whoever painted this bumper did a really crappy job. I don't know about you, but I don't think barely year old paint should look like this:

1200P2020009-med.jpg




What should I do about this? I've kept this paint clean, washed and waxed (after the neccessary curing time) ever since I got the work done, so there's been no neglect of the paint. It just fell apart, and I'm pissed as hell about it.
 
Looks like a case of poor prep work by the body shop. Plastic parts require a little different paint process than an normal body panel to avoid exactly what you have now.



I'd take it back to the shop that painted it, and make them fix it.
 
Did you get any warranty from the shop that did it?

If it was done through insurance, shouldn't they gaurantee the work for a certain amount of time?
 
Was not done through insurance...but I believe there is at least a 5 year warranty (if not a lifetime one, have to look it up in my records) on workmanship defects which this clearly is.
 
I haven't found the warranty sheet yet, but I've got to believe there's more than a one-year warranty on it (that would be pathetic).
 
theveed said:
probably wasn't primed
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That's actually my thought too now that I look at it. The grey is the color of the part. There doesn't seem to be any trace of primer at all.
 
They either skipped the "plastic prep" chemical or were sloppy at applying it. The first step after degreasing any urethane part is to use a clear liquid prepping chemical. It allows the primer /paint to bond to the plastic. Without it, you will see exactly what that photo shows.



It wasn't the primer, but rather the prepping agent that caused that. The primer sticks because of the prepping agent, the paint sticks to the primer. Yes, it's of course possible they skipped the primer altogether as well, and just painted over the bare bumper, but if it was treated with plastic prep the paint would still adhere better than that, even without primer. Nothing surprises me these days, which is sad. No self respecting body shop would do work that way. They *may* also have used a paint of poor quality, with no elastomeric ability (can't flex enough for a flexible part) but MOST urethane enamels don't need a flex additive since they're already elastomeric right out of the can. If they used acrylic enamel without a flex additive, this could factor in as well. But my money is on the plastic prep, or lack thereof. Cutting corners.



Complain and have them fix it CORRECTLY. Best of luck.
 
One way to tell for sure is to find out the true color of the bumper (look at the backside of it ). If it came to them that gray color, then the plastic prep is likely the culprit because nothing stuck to it. ( Of course they could also have screwed up on the below also, in addition to that, but that's a stretch of errors to me ).



If the bumper is yellow or black (the molded urethane itself ) or such then it was obviously sprayed with a flexible gray epoxy primer , and THAT bonded well, but the paint didn't, so in THAT case, they either;



1) Didn't scuff the primer properly to etch it for paint adhesion.



2) Used a paint other than an quality urethane that didn't have elastomeric ability (no flex).



Usually though, paint that has no flex in it will "spider crack"when the part bends too much, but still adhere, instead of complete delamination. Delamination is usulally a bonding issue.
 
2001civicex said:
Maybe they did not add flex? Would that cause that?
Click to expand...



entirely possible.



I'd say looking at the picture though that it is more likely unprimed... I've got the same thing happening to the grille on my blazer (IDK why it was repainted, but obviously must have been at some point)



I would just take it back to the shop it was done at and make them re-do it.
 
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