The reason your bumper is peeling is because of improper preparation. That’s how shops give low cost bids. Spraying paint is what everyone wants to do. But the real key is surface preparation. Absolute cleanliness is required. Since the base coat/clear coat paints are so easy to use and buff down people take short cuts and still get a great looking job to ship out the door. You will only see the problems after some time and weathering works on the paint. Also your stone chips most likely will be painted over and will be visible in the new paint. The only way I ever got rid of them was to do it myself and spend the hours looking for and filling all the chips. It just depends on how picky you are and what you will accept.
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Any pictures of that body kit on a "real life" car..


Riski maybe we should start a new thread!

 

Jon: again thanks for the advice, i wish I could ship your boy to Boston and let him have at it!

Tbird: I am extremely meticulous, I wash my car 1-2 times a week and in between washes I'm always out there with a CLEAN microfiber cloth and some detailing spray for the body and wheels. Of course the vehicle being black makes me almost OCD. I clearly told him that I do not want to see any rock chips and from inspection of the bumper it seems as though the plastic itself is not damaged, just the paint. The previous paint job was done so poorly that it somewhat seems as though when a pebble hit it it would actually cause a flake/chip to come off. From our conversation I am under the assumption he will be sanding it down so both coats are completely gone, filling any chips or imperfections, then sanding again. Even if we did not talk about that, I would just assume that any body shop would do it that way, not just spray over rock chips and imperfections. Maybe I am way off. When you say "low cost bids" do you think that $350 is low or fair?

 

What do you mean "almost OCD"? If you're washing your car twice a week and out there wiping it down with detailing spray on the days you don't wash it, there's no question that you are completely OCD!

 

Sorry was in denial, its just that FREAKING dust, pollen drives me absolutely NUTS. My car can be prestine in the morning and by the evening I feel the need to spray it again. May be because its black, may be becasue Im a crazy person.....dont know, take your pick!

 

Bull27--Sorry I meant the paint and body guys NOT you!! You are taking great care of the paint. But all those paint protecting chemicals (If not completely removed) are also responsible for paint adhesion problems. In particular Silicon based or containing products are the worst!!

No if you look at most bumper re-sprays the chips are still there but when everything is the same color it's difficult to see the chip.

I think you price quotes are pretty much in line for I would pay. One thing I would recommend is before taking the car in is to really wash the front bumper good with Dawn dishwashing soap. This removes most wax and other chemicals. Since the bumper will be painted anyway consider wiping the bumper cover down several times with solvent after washing. If the surface is not clean and the shop starts sanding they will sand the contaminants into the surface to be painted over. They will return!
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Great advice, tbird. Bull, the cleaner you take it in to the shop, the better your new paint job will turn out....

By the way, are you as OCD with your wife's Saab as you are with your STR? Don't want to make her jealous, you know....