Clear Coat Chip :(

D

DaveButcher

Premium Member
Premium
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Hey all,

so i used to have a relatively small clear coat chip in my front bumper, and with modding the FX and such, it got away from me. It is about 7'' long now.

Well, it needs to be fixed. bad. The rest of the FX is a gem (besides the window trim) and then the bumper is just crappy to look at. What should I do? is a whole repaint in order? Im just worried about it not matching. (although i guess that might look better than this.) and i assume insurance would not help?

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

Pictures attached.

///9594[/ATTACH] (for some reason picture is sideways.)
 
that looks to be the result of a respray with less than great adhesion, the only right way to fix it is to remove the bumper cover and strip it, or at least sand most of that "bad" layer off, then seal it and repray, doing it on the car is less than ideal because you can't wrap the edges by the fenders and headlights, and without wrapping these edges those spots too will become likely candidates for further peeling in the future... that peel spot you are showing is def not factory paint
 
not just recleared, that's not possible, needs to be completely repainted... it's not impossible to just fix that one area and blend just that area but this is not going to be a good long term solution as the integrity of the paint is only as good as the foundation it's laid on, and that spot shows that the paint that's on there now isn't solid enough to paint over unless you're just looking for a quick fix to sell it... if you want it done with longevity then the whole bumper needs to be redone
 
turbocad6 said:
not just recleared, that's not possible, needs to be completely repainted... it's not impossible to just fix that one area and blend just that area but this is not going to be a good long term solution as the integrity of the paint is only as good as the foundation it's laid on, and that spot shows that the paint that's on there now isn't solid enough to paint over unless you're just looking for a quick fix to sell it... if you want it done with longevity then the whole bumper needs to be redone
Click to expand...

Okay cool. I contacted Infiniti and they quoted me about 350-550 and to get my lower trim up front (like Logan's to make it look like a lip) an extra 200-300.

Is that a ripoff or no?
 
Looking closer at the pic on my computer, it seems like you have a small crack in the corner of the light, also on the curve of the grille it looks like the paint is lifting up/about to chip off. Was this bumper painted before.

If so I'd say sand it all off and do the right thing instead of my previous suggestion.
 
GetLuckiFX said:
Looking closer at the pic on my computer, it seems like you have a small crack in the corner of the light, also on the curve of the grille it looks like the paint is lifting up/about to chip off. Was this bumper painted before.

If so I'd say sand it all off and do the right thing instead of my previous suggestion.
Click to expand...

Not while I've had it but it could have been before me. I'm thinking so.
 
Definitely looks like a bad paint job. As other have pointed out it's poor clear coat adhesion and the over spray around the grill area confirms that it's a repaint. I would suggest going to a body shop that you are familiar with or that has done work for a friend, have them strip it and repaint it. Since you are in So Cal I would estimate the work anywhere between 200 to 500 for the front bumper.

Good luck!
 
average NY prices would be ~$500 for the bumper removed, prepped and repainted then reinstalled, breaks down as ~$300 for paint, ~$100 add'l prep to deal with the bad paint and $100 for the R & I of the bumper itself, a few bucks more if you want to get into partial repainting of the lower as the texture needs to be removed and that area also primed/sealed... so the prices don't sound so bad as far as NY prices go... I would think cali to be around similar pricing, ohio may be a little less so doing it at the dealer brings it back up to somewhat premium pricing I guess
 
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My shop charged me 220 but they were doing a lot of other work at that time. your price at 350-500 sounds like a decent range, I'd say it should fall in at under $400.00 as you don't have any structural work. TC is right though that patch is a runner and will grow with time, save the cash and pick a time for the repair!
 
Logan, thanks for the response. I will probably end up doing something similar to your bumper where you painted your lower trim in the front. Do you have any detailed pictures of where you did your lines in the middle and how you ended it on the bottom? Thanks man!
 
You bet, give me a second to dig them up. I'll also add the side shot where you have to create a false paint line on the black fender well (you can do yours better than mine).
 
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I have prettier pictures of the face but this one shows it best. You cut to the inner edge with the tape so the silver edge looks rolled or round and intentional.

///9597[/ATTACH]

Mine runs the silver a little too close to the black, I'd pull it it a bit further back so the black width is consistent.
 
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