discolored bumper

[tdy240sx]

Is it just me or has anyone else experienced rear bumper color problems?

I've got a White 98 240 SE and the paint is in terrific condition, except for the rear bumper. It's all faded, dull kind of cracked looking up close in appearance. I've seen one other white 240 around this area, It looked the similar. (couldnt get up close)

Is or has anyone else experienced this?

--Tdy

[89240sx]

yep they fade... mine is fading to a nice yellowish under color

[BoyWonder]

Think you could snap some pics? Just interested to see how bad it is.

[89240sx]

Sure after I get off work... will be later this evening

[Checkered-Member]

Yes, I had the same problem with my Altima...(Cloud White QM1)

What I did is to take some light nail polish remover and gently remove all the oxidized paint, I then waxed it twice and buffed it out once a day for about a week with detailer.

Or use a clay bar, and really scrub it hard, then repeat steps above.

[bcar240]

That sounds so familiar. I have seen about 4 other 240s around my area and all of them except one have that problem. I attached a picture of my rear bumper. (btw, living on a gravel road sucks, there is no point in even washing your car.) I want to get my bumper repainted and have been looking into some shops. Maaco looks like the best place around here, anyone got any war stories about them?

[Soy]

I've seen Maaco paint jobs where the idiots literally painted over dead bugs and bird $hit. Maaco is NOT recommended, at least by me.

However, in the world of cheap paint jobs, I do recommend Earl Scheib. They're quick, clean, and honestly, their paint jobs look pretty decent for the money.

Just my $0.02

James

[tdy240sx]

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I'd like to snap some pictures of it but unfortunately I dont own a digital camrera or a scanner.

In the future I will probably replace it with an aftermarket bumper. I dont much care for the shape anyway.

Anyone know why the discoloration happens?

[Soy]

It happens on the bumpers because they're not made of metal, and they're in a "high wear" area. How many times do you rest something against your bumper when you're unloading your trunk? Also, you'll notice that the bumpers are the first places on the car to really get dirty, and the last to fully dry after a wash - that's because they're horizontal surfaces.

I too, have the excessive wear on the bumpers. It sucks, but that's just the way it goes. When I go to get a new paint job, I'm going to remove the bumpers entirely, and have them painted with a few extra coats just to make sure that they last. It seems that the factory paint job looks good on the metal surfaces, but just wears WAY too fast when it's semi-bonded to plastic.

...at least, that's MY experience.

James

[bcar240]

I am pretty sure that the discoloration is because of UV exposure. Apparently, the paint on the plastic bumper doesn't hold up very very over time. Once it starts to go, it gets bad quick.

[tdy240sx]

I dunno about those S-13's but yeah, my back bumper is definately the first thing to get dirty... even clean it looks awful.

even still I still LOVE my baby.

thanks for the imput folks

[marshun]

i went to earl scheib a long time ago. my car was ****ed. the end.

but that was just the shop here. there were bubbles, drips.

but my 240 isnt going to get a really expensive paint job anyway so i might go to maaco's. who knows.

[wangless]

my cousin got his car painted at Earl Scheib. cracking, peeling, and chipping paint like two years later or something. i dont recommend them either. on the other hand my friend got her car painted at citrus, it came out pretty good.

[Soy]

That's odd... I haven't heard anything bad about Earl Scheib... but my friends had gotten their "upper end" paint jobs... like around $500-$600, instead of their bargain basement krylon jobs.

[D1SR240]

hmm, my rear bumper is fine, but my front one is really faded

~swave

[Smurf6x6]

Use a buffing compound and it should bring it right back. It's turning yellow because the bumpers are made of uritain. You can hand buff it on. It worked like a charm on my bumpers (super white).

[Checkered-Member]

The discoloration in the rear bumper is usually more intense because of the exhausts fumes, ever clean your car, drive for a bit and there is a nice layer of black powder covers the whole rear of the car, well that causes discoloration