Paint question about my bumper which has been repainted twice in 4 months

acdHQK713K · 04-21-2011, 03:34 PM

I have a CPO JB e90 that had paint peeling from the front bumper in January 2011. It was repainted late January at no cost by the body shop with which the dealer contracts.

After about a month I noticed the paint was nearly all orange peel. It looked awful. I called them up and they agreed to redo it again at no cost. I picked up the car last Friday after they had it for 9 days. It looked fine.

I checked the bumper today and it's chipping more than I think is normal. In that time I have put roughly 200 miles on the car.
Pictures below of the chipping that has occurred in 6 days and are driver side only. I haven't washed the bumper in those 6 days.

Is this normal?

What is my next move here? They have tried it twice, and from what I can tell can't seem to get it correct. The first time I contacted them I went straight to the dealer manager, which seemed to stir up quite the frenzy. The body shop had been receiving several repaints per week on cars they had done in the past. It sounded like their contract with the dealer was in jeopardy. They were more than pleasant, but this is starting to get ridiculous.

acdHQK713K · 04-21-2011, 03:42 PM

Here is what it looked like when I took it in the first time. Dirty, I know, but washing it turned my towels black with paint chips at that time.

Joonsup · 04-21-2011, 03:46 PM

wow that's horrible. I would take it back and ask them to compensate you so that you can have it repainted at a bodyshop of your choice that actually knows what they are doing.

MuttGrunt · 04-21-2011, 03:47 PM

Bumpers are going to take damage, and that damage will be very noticeable on dark colored cars like yours. Also take into account that the first month after being painted, the potential for the paint to be damaged is higher as the paint isn't completely cured. This means the paint is softer and hasn't bonded as strongly as possible yet. Driving in these conditions means you have to be VERY careful.

That being said... it's obvious this shop has a bad reputation and they haven't been doing everything right. Contact them and address your concern. In doing so, make sure they know that you understand the situation (which I talked of in the above paragraph), but that you are concerned because while some chipping is normal, you feel you're experiencing an excessive amount of premature chipping, and you're just certain that this couldn't be the type of standard they hold themselves to.

acdHQK713K · 04-21-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

Bumpers are going to take damage, and that damage will be very noticeable on dark colored cars like yours. Also take into account that the first month after being painted, the potential for the paint to be damaged is higher as the paint isn't completely cured. This means the paint is softer and hasn't bonded as strongly as possible yet. Driving in these conditions means you have to be VERY careful.

That being said... it's obvious this shop has a bad reputation and they haven't been doing everything right. Contact them and address your concern. In doing so, make sure they know that you understand the situation (which I talked of in the above paragraph), but that you are concerned because while some chipping is normal, you feel you're experiencing an excessive amount of premature chipping, and you're just certain that this couldn't be the type of standard they hold themselves to.

Thanks for the response. Their reputation with me is second rate at best, but yelp and citysearch give these guys 5 stars with hundreds of reviews. Go figure.

Every time I leave their shop it looks fine but within weeks it looks like a junkyard bumper.

acdHQK713K · 04-21-2011, 04:17 PM

Hmm. They also managed to paint the underside of the bar on the center lower grill, and the under body panel (not a big deal, but

)

acdHQK713K · 04-21-2011, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuttGrunt

Bumpers are going to take damage, and that damage will be very noticeable on dark colored cars like yours. Also take into account that the first month after being painted, the potential for the paint to be damaged is higher as the paint isn't completely cured. This means the paint is softer and hasn't bonded as strongly as possible yet. Driving in these conditions means you have to be VERY careful.

That being said... it's obvious this shop has a bad reputation and they haven't been doing everything right. Contact them and address your concern. In doing so, make sure they know that you understand the situation (which I talked of in the above paragraph), but that you are concerned because while some chipping is normal, you feel you're experiencing an excessive amount of premature chipping, and you're just certain that this couldn't be the type of standard they hold themselves to.

Marc,

Do you anticipate the paint will improve with more cure time to the point that I won't be seeing as many chips in such a short time span?

I know little about paint so I am not sure how valid my concerns are right now.

acdHQK713K · 05-06-2011, 03:35 PM

Update: They admitted to not stripping it last time. They have also decided to purchase a new bumper and start from scratch.

04-21-2011, 03:34 PM	#1
acdHQK713K Major 239 Rep 1,473 Posts Drives: Car Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (9)	Paint question about my bumper which has been repainted twice in 4 months I have a CPO JB e90 that had paint peeling from the front bumper in January 2011. It was repainted late January at no cost by the body shop with which the dealer contracts. After about a month I noticed the paint was nearly all orange peel. It looked awful. I called them up and they agreed to redo it again at no cost. I picked up the car last Friday after they had it for 9 days. It looked fine. I checked the bumper today and it's chipping more than I think is normal. In that time I have put roughly 200 miles on the car. Pictures below of the chipping that has occurred in 6 days and are driver side only. I haven't washed the bumper in those 6 days. Is this normal? What is my next move here? They have tried it twice, and from what I can tell can't seem to get it correct. The first time I contacted them I went straight to the dealer manager, which seemed to stir up quite the frenzy. The body shop had been receiving several repaints per week on cars they had done in the past. It sounded like their contract with the dealer was in jeopardy. They were more than pleasant, but this is starting to get ridiculous. Attached Images
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04-21-2011, 03:42 PM	#2
acdHQK713K Major 239 Rep 1,473 Posts Drives: Car Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (9)	Here is what it looked like when I took it in the first time. Dirty, I know, but washing it turned my towels black with paint chips at that time. Attached Images
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04-21-2011, 03:46 PM	#3
Joonsup Lieutenant General 332 Rep 17,315 Posts Drives: E92 M3, E30 325i Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8) Garage List 2008 BMW M3 [9.50]	wow that's horrible. I would take it back and ask them to compensate you so that you can have it repainted at a bodyshop of your choice that actually knows what they are doing.
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04-21-2011, 03:47 PM	#4
MuttGrunt Banned 27 Rep 872 Posts Drives: beater;) Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SE Michigan iTrader: (0)	Bumpers are going to take damage, and that damage will be very noticeable on dark colored cars like yours. Also take into account that the first month after being painted, the potential for the paint to be damaged is higher as the paint isn't completely cured. This means the paint is softer and hasn't bonded as strongly as possible yet. Driving in these conditions means you have to be VERY careful. That being said... it's obvious this shop has a bad reputation and they haven't been doing everything right. Contact them and address your concern. In doing so, make sure they know that you understand the situation (which I talked of in the above paragraph), but that you are concerned because while some chipping is normal, you feel you're experiencing an excessive amount of premature chipping, and you're just certain that this couldn't be the type of standard they hold themselves to.
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04-21-2011, 04:17 PM	#6
acdHQK713K Major 239 Rep 1,473 Posts Drives: Car Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (9)	Hmm. They also managed to paint the underside of the bar on the center lower grill, and the under body panel (not a big deal, but ) Attached Images
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05-06-2011, 03:35 PM	#8
acdHQK713K Major 239 Rep 1,473 Posts Drives: Car Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (9)	Update: They admitted to not stripping it last time. They have also decided to purchase a new bumper and start from scratch.
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