need paint expert opinion

[ak]

My front bumper was repainted over the original paint(without my knowledge) and it cracked/fish eyed badly. So I took the bumper off to get it repainted, and the painter told me that he could only paint over the current paint due to the original(first coat) was on there well and he couldn't strip it.

Today I get a call saying the paint is not sticking on the second coat(the bad one) and he couldn't do anything about it.

My question is, can he not just strip everything down to the plastic and repaint? I know it's plastic and it's a lot harder but I can't understand why he can't strip the paint including the original one.

 

[Tantheman]

That is BS about his inability to strip off the original paint from bumper.

Tan

 

[Zishan]

I am no expert, far far from it. But I thought they sanded down the area to be painted so that it sticks. So... he should sand down the bumper, and then repaint it, no?

 

[j14nsx]

I had my front bumper repainted, by a Honda dealer. First he spent a day sanding it down to the plastic.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I would private pbassjo (Joe) on this board. If you want expert advise.

If he sees this thread I am sure he will comment.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[chriswtx]

They can sand it all the way down to the plastic and start over. I would take it to a different shop because they are giving you a B.S. response. That leads me to think they dont want to do it right in the first place.mad: bad, bad, shop)

 

[NoSeX4U]

Even Macco can sand paint. If the shop is simply spraying over the existing paint then you must be paying about $50 for the job. And body shops have a cleaner for removing silicone and wax etc. from the surface for spot jobs. Run-don't walk from this shop. Take your part to a pro who'll match colour with a prism laser device and sand/prep then paint. That's how it's done there ain't no other way.

 

[nsxexotic]

I paid $200 @ maaco to strip and repaint the back bumper on my old 95 legend GS (Sold now).

 

[JPS Europa]

They can definitely sand it. When I had my Europa repainted they sanded all the old laquer paint off the car, sanded out and built up the stress cracks in the gel coat, regelled where needed, sanded some more, then finally painted with black Glasserit. The joke in the shop was that if someone had any energy, go over and use the jitterbug sander on that wee English car for a couple of hours. That'll suck the life out of your arm!

 

[nsxexotic]

i think sometimes they strip the paint chemically.

 

[LJSB]

Your bumper can be sanded down but it is quite a bit of work.
Use of a paint stripper, even the ones made for bumper covers are not suggested. They can eat into the cover.
The thing you describe that makes me concerned is the cause of the cracks. Are they from the new paint being hit or flexed or are they coming up from a prior repair? Hard to make a call on this without seeing the part in person.
The situation sounds a little screwy to me what with the paint not sticking and all.
It might be a good idea to take the car to another shop that is well regarded and see what they think.
If this guy used a chemical stripper on your cover you may need a new one.

 

[ak]

The short story is: I had new bumper installed last winter, and last summer it started to crack and fisheye. The original painter claims that it was repainted after it was originally installed so no refund or repaint.

So I took the bumper off myself(to save cost. I was quoted $1400 to the job including taking it off etc) and took it to this painter. He decided not to sand it down, maybe because the bumper was already off and it's hard to sand it without it on the car. Who knows.... I'll take it to another one tomorrow to see what's going on.



I'll get it right one of these days...

 

[gheba_nsx]

Sanding will give you a very good result! Not sanding... hmm.... I would not go for it