Why Bumpers Don't Match the Rest of Your Car

[Ron Ketcham]

Wonderful that such true craftsman are still staying the course.

Then it is a matter of what the average Joe will pay for such work.

Not "real world", in reality.

Charlie, you and I and some others here are aware that a few pounds of air pressure out of the gun, an inch or two away or closer to the panel, will cause the "flake" or "pigments" to create a color change.

We are also aware that things so simple as the particular reducer used, may affect the "float" of such components and as the "curing" process (not drying), the activator, may affect the "float" of these components, which in turn may darken or lighten, the final result.

There are other items to be addressed as well, moisture, temp's, etc, but basic's are basic's.

I know, well above the heads of most, but that's the way it is.

Grumpy

 

[David Fermani]

And I'm sure they charge accordingly....



Is this shop in Michigan?

Wonderful that such true craftsman are still staying the course.

Then it is a matter of what the average Joe will pay for such work.

Not "real world", in reality.

They are in S. Florida and yes, their rates are more then most, but when you are working on exotics and high end cars the extra price to deliver this service/quality is justified. And insurance companies are forced to pay it because the car deserves the treatment. If more shops were actually able/capable of offering this service then I'm sure it would be more prevalent. They bring a whole new meaning to the concept of pre-loss condition and demished value.

 

[solekeeper]

that BMW bumper had to have been resprayed before.. That is WAY off.



We generally tell customers before we repair bumpers of the possibility of it not matching. Most of the time they understand, and are surprised at the factory mis-match. But we do a darn good job of getting it 99/100 of the way there.

 

[RaskyR1]

that BMW bumper had to have been resprayed before.. That is WAY off.



We generally tell customers before we repair bumpers of the possibility of it not matching. Most of the time they understand, and are surprised at the factory mis-match. But we do a darn good job of getting it 99/100 of the way there.

It was at a used car auction so I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

I took this one at a GM corporate sponsored ride-and-drive event at one of the assembly plants this summer:

OUCH.

 

[Swanicyouth]

I saw at the BMW factory in Spartanburg how the bumpers come painted and assembled with fog lights, crash sensors, and wired harnesses from a separate supplier in another facility. The just snap them in on the assembly line.

 

[kapflaco]

I know a shop that does ultra high end body repairs that can tint any color w/o blending. For example, on a silver car say that you're replacing the door. They will panel paint it w/o blending into adjacent panels. AND, (get this), they take thickness measurements of the old door (and the entire car) and will apply paint on this new panel to match (within reason) the old door and adjacent panels. They will literally spend 1, if not 2 days spraying test panels so it matches *perfectly*.



Yes, you can do what 99.999999999999& of all shops do and blend into these adjacent panels, but technically you are not returning it to pre-loss condition quite like how they are. Good luck finding a shop that can "match" this kind of craftsmanship, because in all my years of going to 1000's of shops, they are the only one that insists on doing things this way.

It would be great to find out who does this level of work in the DC / NOVA area. It seems as though there is a dearth of quality body work in this area...even from the "high end" body shops. I've had a car come back loaded with holograms after a minor bumper repaint at a highly reputed area that works on tons of exotics. They offered and I agreed to add a detail / one step polish...lesson learned!

 

[ReflectionsADS]

I took this one at a GM corporate sponsored ride-and-drive event at one of the assembly plants this summer:

OUCH.

Bringing this thread back to life again after a few months. This is pretty bad- noticeably bad. In many cases it's hidden but in this case its more than obvious!



I guess if there is no demand on quality- crap is acceptable.

 

[David Fermani]

I try telling and showing people this mismatch all the time. Drives them nuts!

 

[ReflectionsADS]

Dave-



I was actually showing a similar mismatch to a customer recently- car was polished and they never noticed the mismatch and they wondered what I did! lol. "Well, I removed all the defects that were hiding the mismatch in colors." Not sure this was the correct response, since the wanted to know how I was qualified to know that. I thought visual inspection was enough.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Dave-



I was actually showing a similar mismatch to a customer recently- car was polished and they never noticed the mismatch and they wondered what I did! lol. "Well, I removed all the defects that were hiding the mismatch in colors." Not sure this was the correct response, since the wanted to know how I was qualified to know that. I thought visual inspection was enough.

I would say you're on the right track actually; if there was hazing on either the bumper or the body (or both) it might have altered the shade just enough and by removing the hazing, it brings out the true colors of both parts so a mismatch is more easily detected. Proving your qualification is easy in that case -- be sure to take at least a couple 50/50 shots that show the amount of difference removing the haze from a panel makes in terms of the depth/richness/shade of the color.

 

[bryan]

I had the fascia line at gm for about 4 years. Our once gm owned bumper facility had the worst colour match ever. And those were the good ones they sent. Needless to say they were shut down due to quality and ridiculous scrap issues.



sent using my thumbs, mispelling most words

 

[ReflectionsADS]

I would say you're on the right track actually; if there was hazing on either the bumper or the body (or both) it might have altered the shade just enough and by removing the hazing, it brings out the true colors of both parts so a mismatch is more easily detected. Proving your qualification is easy in that case -- be sure to take at least a couple 50/50 shots that show the amount of difference removing the haze from a panel makes in terms of the depth/richness/shade of the color.

C. Hahn:



This was the same theory that I was going with. Looking at a bumper that is nearly defect free would reveal the true condition where defects, hazing etc... would hide this kind of defects. I think the customer left accepting my answer, but still not 100% confident that what I was saying was true. I'm sure if they are curious enough they'll get it inspected.

 

[David Fermani]

They can't even get it right on model cars!!! OR, are they just trying to depict actual pretenses!!