paint peeling on front bumper and tree sap "stains"

[Chris Garcia]

The paint on my front bumper is peeling.. Every time i drive (cause of wind) the paint peels further.. Is there any way i can stop it from peeling? and is there a DIY solution to repainting (possibly sanding and touch-up spray?) the spots that are peeled...

or is this going to be a costly "body shop has to repaint the entire bumper" job?

.... also as mentioned here before.. I used a clay bar to remove a good bit of the sap spots on my car.. the older spots are still there.. and a lot of the ones that came off.. there's a greyish "stain" left.. i'm guessing that's permanent.. am i wrong?

 

[SoCalMike]

The paint on my front bumper is peeling.. Every time i drive (cause of wind) the paint peels further..

when was the front bumper replaced? who did the crappy paint job?

 

[Chris Garcia]

"SoCalMike" decided to join the
conversation on 29 Jul 2003 with message @rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.net:

when was the front bumper replaced? who did the crappy paint job?

i'm not 100% sure if it was replaced or not.. i got the car from my grandpa 2-3 weeks ago.. i looked at the records he gave me .. there's some body work that was done about 2 years ago. lemme see if i can find it...

... some time passes ..

here it is.. ok, i was off by a few years.. it says november 11, 1998. I may call them up and ask what kind of warranty there is on it.. (invoice is posted at bottom of message)

since my last name matches one on the invoice.. the license plate isn't recorded on the invoice.. i may be able to get around that "warranty is non-transferrable" by saying that i'm bringing it in for my 88 year old grandfather. .... that is IF the warranty is still in effect.

*** begin invoice excerpt ***

A REPAIR COLLISION DAMAGE AS REQUIRED OR NEEDED
911 CAR REPAIRS PERFORMED AS NEEDED
37 CBH 6.60

1 SAMS FRT-COVER
1 71191-S01-A00 STIFFENER
1 71141-S01-A00 STIFFENER
1 71121-S00-A01ZL GRL BASE
1 60211-S04-A00ZZ RT FENDER
1 33101-S01-A01 HEADLIGHT
1 71122-S00-A01ZB GRL MLDG
6 9987-40-310 SCREW,TAPPING

B PAINT REPAIRED AREA
911 CAR REPAIRS PERFORMED AS NEEDED
457 CBH 10.30

*** the rest is some other stuff that doesn't seem important at this moment***

 

[SoCalMike]

B PAINT REPAIRED AREA
911 CAR REPAIRS PERFORMED AS NEEDED
457 CBH 10.30

sounds to me like they didnt use the "flex additive" that should have been sprayed on the bumper, prior to priming and painting. they either didnt know it needed it, or didnt care. ive seen a lot of cars with paint that comes off in sheets like that. ugh.

 

[Chris Garcia]

"SoCalMike" decided to join the
conversation on 30 Jul 2003 with message

sounds to me like they didnt use the "flex additive" that should have been sprayed on the bumper, prior to priming and painting. they either didnt know it needed it, or didnt care. ive seen a lot of cars with paint that comes off in sheets like that. ugh.

so should i even bother asking about a warranty almost 5 years later? it doesn't seem to be peeling in "new" spots, just continuations of the same spots.. if that makes any sense.. if there's some way i can stop it from peeling further, i'd be a bit happier about the situation. i'd be even happier if i could easily mask off the peeled areas and repaint them with some "import color" from pep boys.

 

[SoCalMike]

so should i even bother asking about a warranty almost 5 years later? it doesn't seem to be peeling in "new" spots, just continuations of the same spots.. if that makes any sense.. if there's some way i can stop it from peeling further, i'd be a bit happier about the situation. i'd be even happier if i could easily mask off the peeled areas and repaint them with some "import color" from pep boys.

well, it wouldnt hurt to ask about a warranty. if they cheaped out by not properly prepping the bumper and using the flex additive.

otherwise, id probably go to an auto body supply place and get a can of the flex additive. lightly sand the peeled spots so they are feathered in, put some of the flex additive on a sponge and wipe it on, then prime and paint within 24 hrs.

best job would be to sand the whole bumper down, spray the flex additive, then prime and paint the whole thing.

 

[Chris Garcia]

"SoCalMike" decided to join the
conversation on 30 Jul 2003 with message

otherwise, id probably go to an auto body supply place and get a can of the flex additive. lightly sand the peeled spots so they are feathered in, put some of the flex additive on a sponge and wipe it on, then prime and paint within 24 hrs.

best job would be to sand the whole bumper down, spray the flex additive, then prime and paint the whole thing.

How hard is it to remove the front bumper? Do I have to worry about the airbag sensors?

How much (ballpark figure here) would it cost to have it professionally done? I'm sure it varies from area to area, but a rough estimate would tell me if this is going to be DIY or not.

 

[SoCalMike]

"SoCalMike" decided to join the
conversation on 30 Jul 2003 with message

How hard is it to remove the front bumper? Do I have to worry about the airbag sensors?

its just a shell. all the sensitive stuff is behind the bracing.

How much (ballpark figure here) would it cost to have it professionally done? I'm sure it varies from area to area, but a rough estimate would tell me if this is going to be DIY or not.

probably about $100 in materials, and 2 hrs labor, or under $300 total. depends on the shop, what they use, and what they charge. its not hard to mask a bumper, but the price would be higher if they removed it. if the car is otherwise pristine, sure- id go for taking the shell off, sanding, etc. if its just a daily driver, id just mask the body from the bumper, and have at it.

 

[Chris Garcia]

"SoCalMike" decided to join the
conversation on 30 Jul 2003 with message

its just a shell. all the sensitive stuff is behind the bracing.

good.. i'll probably DIY

probably about $100 in materials, and 2 hrs labor, or under $300 total. depends on the shop, what they use, and what they charge. its not hard to mask a bumper, but the price would be higher if they removed it. if the car is otherwise pristine, sure- id go for taking the shell off, sanding, etc. if its just a daily driver, id just mask the body from the bumper, and have at it.

the body of the car is in really good condition.. the only physical problems are there's maybe two tiny dents (i might try to figure out how to take the fender off to pop it out.. it's a really small dent... or "ding") and there's tree sap all over it.. I took a clay bar to it and it took off most of it.. some sots left a greyish "stain" behind..

if it's just a matter of undoing a few bolts, then i'd probably want to take it off and paint it.. if i have to remove (much) more than just the shell, then i'll probably mask it off.. i'd really like to take the whole thing off so i can sand down the whole thing and re-do the WHOLE thing.. since if i don't, it'll just start peeling somewhere else.

i just need to know: what grade/grit/whatever sandpaper should i use? are there any websites that show how this is done? can i find flex additive online? same for the color i need (although i can get it at pep boys)? how much would i need? anything else important i should know?

Thanks!

 

[P. Moss]

How hard is it to remove the front bumper?

Pretty easy. Just a few screws and those plastic clip things you access by raising the hood. I took mine off a few months ago to fix the license plate nut.

-patrick

 

[Chris Garcia]

"P. Moss" decided to join the conversation on 31
Jul 2003 with message

"Chris Garcia" wrote:

> How hard is it to remove the front bumper?

Pretty easy. Just a few screws and those plastic clip things you access by raising the hood. I took mine off a few months ago to fix the license plate nut.

good deal... now i just need to find out what kind of sandpaper to use and how many cans of spray paint i need... and where i can find flex additive.

 

[SoCalMike]

good deal... now i just need to find out what kind of sandpaper to use and how many cans of spray paint i need... and where i can find flex additive.

try the yellow pages, under "auto body supply". take the car down there and get a second opinion. they might wanna mix up a custom can of paint (spray bomb) for you, thatll be compatible with the flex additive and primer.