Paint Quality on Plastic Bumper Cover Question?

Fellow PRIUSCHATTERS,

Who knows if a good body shop can match the OEM Toyota paint quality on the plastic bumper cover? Judging by the feedback received, this is an unusually pedestrian posting topic.

This is the first new vehicle I have owned and I have been very fastidious about its maintenance and appearance. After 20 years of driving old Ford F-150s I have seen the light but also have turned over a new leaf by caring for the external car instead of just the internal workings. I am trying to keep this little black wundercar pristine.

I had my rear bumper re-painted by a supposedly high quality body shop and after several tries (3 in a month), under insurance, it still looks like an Earl Sheib or MAACO job instead of the plastic glass that a new Prius bumper looks like.

Does anyone know if a body shop can get the job done right or is the sub-standard "peel look" the norm on repainted plastic bumpers? My repaint would never have left the assembly line. It is definetly not a match with the previous paint quality which was akin to black glass on the plastic areas (bumper covers and sideview mirrow covers)

My Prius is black so it catches everything in the sunlight.

I am in Southern Cal and need to get the bumper fixed correctly. I am wondering if it can be brought back to the Toyota paint quality. I know the difficulties involved in adding vinyl to the paint when painting plastic and the fact that the Toyota painting process is automated and done in a controlled environment.

Please make suggestions or offer insights as to: what kind of bodyshops to look for or specific recommendations in Orange County. I went to C&W in Costa Mesa and they just couldn't get it done back to the original quality. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you and Best Regards,

Brig

Oh Yeah, this is kind of funny I have been driving a rented Focus for the last 3 weeks and it is a costing my almost twice as much in gas ($3.50) with the most miserly 2.0 PZEV engine that Ford of the Americas puts in a vehicle. Anyone who has written this post off as an overly meticulous obsession (true) will understand that despite the fixation over the vehicles appearance, I am still acutely aware of the real value that sets the Prius in league of its own.

Quiet
Smooth
Good jump off the line to 20 MPH
Handsome and comfortable interior that doesn't look cheap
Amazing integration of technology (nothing else is in its league still!)
And nobody on Priuschat gives a darn about mpg. Apparently, I am a hog. I average between 42 and 44.

Still great MPG even if you aren't patient enough to pulse and glide.

 

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Thanks for the tip. This is a replacement that doesn't look like it came of the assembly line. I will try to get some information from a high quality paint/body shops locally.