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repainted bumper chips way too easily???

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Heavenwushi, Feb 18, 2020.

  1. Heavenwushi

    Heavenwushi New Member

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    Ill try to keep this short. I recently repainted the front bumper of my 2016 prius and installed plus painted a new rear bumper. After driving for 2 weeks, the front accumulated numerous pea sized chips, while the back had none. this seemed odd to me as before the repaint, the front had barely any chips at all after 3 years of driving, and i only decided to repaint the front and replace the back due to cracks caused by my negligence. Took it back to the shop and they blame the bad paint, redid it. After two weeks, same thing happened.

    As i was doing some maintenance in the dealership, i inquired about this with a mechanic and he told me that it could be poor prep work. but he also said that the paint on a repainted bumper would never adhere as well as a newly painted one. This seem to make sense as my back bumper had no chips at all, however i do realize that it may also be because the back is less likely to run into chips in the first place.

    Another thing is that i did the painting during the Canadian winter which means the temperature is always below freezing.i don't know if this would have made any difference due to its possible effects on the curing of the paint. Wha do you guys think, does a repainted bumper differ in cohesion compared to a new bumper? is it because the bodyshop did a poor job preping before painting? is it because of the temperature? or is it that bodyshops can never produce the durability of that of a factory paint?
     
  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    It's a bit confusing - did you paint it yourself - or did you contract a paint specialist shop to repaint it?

    Is it metallic - and more importantly, is it red?

    You mention "... I recently repainted ..." and "... I did the painting ...", but then later you're talking about a bodyshop doing paint prepping and painting. Or have you done it twice?

    I've never painted plastic - I believe it needs special preparation, different primers and paint. And with modern cars with water-borne paints, they're different from the old days when I did a little re-spraying.
     
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  3. Heavenwushi

    Heavenwushi New Member

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    thanks for replying.
    to clarify, no i did not paint it myself, i hired a bodyshop to do it.

    i dont think the paint is metallic, its blizzard white for my 2016 prius touring

    i am sorry for the confusion. i took it to the body shop twice, first time they painted, it chipped easily, i took it back and the same thing happened.

    so does this mean the modern paints chip easier? or that it requires special prepping? or both? because my original 2016 bumper barely chipped at all after 3 years and 79000kms
     
  4. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    Does the repainted bumper look like it has a clear coat on it? Clear coat protects the paint.
     
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  5. Hidyho

    Hidyho Senior Member

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    Bumper being a flexible plastic part requires special prepping and I believe an additive added to the paint to work correctly.
     
  6. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    No, they don't chip easily - but they aren't as straight forward to repaint as the old solvent based (or enamel) paints.

    But a paint shop should know what they're doing - and if they're not doing it right, keep taking it back.

    I don't have the USA colours, but I thought that BLIZZARD WHITE was a metallic (PEARL) - and will have a clear-coat. Someone from USA might confirm that.
     
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  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    There's Blizzard Pearl, and a non-metallic white, forget what the latter is called. Blizzard pearl is a metallic finish with clear coat. The white is not metallic, just regular white.
     
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  8. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    The two white colors for fourth-generation Prius cars are identified by paint code 040, called “Super White” or “Super White II”; and paint code 070, called—as @Mendel Leisk kindly mentions—“Blizzard Pearl” or “White Pearl Crystal Shine.” The latter is a three-stage paint system, with base, pearl, and clear coats.

    Paint suppliers provide specific instructions on how to achieve high-quality finishes using appropriate combinations of their products and surface preparation techniques. The processes for plastic parts, however, are often designed for use on surfaces that are unprimed (raw)—as on the bumpers Toyota sells as service parts—or pre-primed, but not necessarily completely painted.

    Did the body shop remove or sand the old paint first?
     
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  9. Heavenwushi

    Heavenwushi New Member

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    yes you are right, the color code is 070 so its blizzard pearl. i think they did sand the bumper as the stone chips show a black interior, which i assume is the bumper's original material? however, after the second repaint, the upper part of the bumper would show a white interior after rock chips instead of the original black, so does that mean they painted it over the previous paint?

    just to clarify, what you are saying is that the plastic bumper requires no primer, and are supposed to be painted over only the raw material, and not the original paint right?
    if that were true, then poor sanding would have definitely reduced the cohesion right?
     
  10. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I doubt that it would need no primer - but as I said, I've never sprayed water-borne paints. I'd ask the paint-shop.
     
  11. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    That’s possible, but if they scuffed or sanded it, it might have been fine to leave the old paint.
    Exactly what has to be done depends on the paints and other chemicals used by the body shop. The paint supplier’s manuals and data sheets explain the required preparation steps. PPG’s Custom Restoration Guide, for example, has a general procedure for used plastic parts on page 52; depending on the condition of the old finish, it might have to be removed, or it might just need to be sanded, scuffed, cleaned, and sealed before the new paint is applied. If any raw plastic is exposed, those areas usually need adhesion promoter, too.
     
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  12. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    Sounds like a poor body shop to me.
    When I cracked my old Gen 3 front bumper I took it to the dealers and a quote for prep, repair and paint the old one was almost as much as a new bumper fitted and painted and they couldn't guarantee the repaired crack wouldn't crack again, so I went for a new one.
     
  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I had to get my rear bumper replaced on my FOCUS when someone hit it. The bumper was about $800, and the painting was $300 - back in 2011. The only complaint I had was that the paint finish (they were the BMW dealership) was far better than the original South African paint job!!!!
     
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  14. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    My new one, prepped, painted, old one removed and new one fitted was £450 back in 2012, to repair the old one was quoted as £370. At the time I had a £350 excess on my insurance so not worth claiming.
     
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