www.psulpac.org

So I dk how the bleep this happened but aparantly the clear-coat level is being peeled up off the rear of the bumper near the license plate on the rx8. after muuuuuuuuuuuuuuch cursing (b/c i dont know how the bleep it happened the car is < 6 yrs old) I decided to try to find somewhere to just do that portion. No pics but its roughly a 6" by 6" area at max of just clear coat......

So I was going to get that done yesterday, however the day I drop my car off at my mechanics shop for some hassle free tune up I get a call back two hours later. My mechanic is a family friend who literally does my entire, including extended, families car work. He charges lighter on labor and I asked him to do a tuneup in to replace ALL fluids and rotate tires and do spark plugs (at 30 a plug). He calls two hours later after looking at a car that HAS NOT HAD ANY ROUTINE MAINT done since the last owner and we have no idea what he did. but need less to say he said its going to cost $700. Long story short my high end car bit a high end wallet that I dont own and I have no money to fix this clear-coat problem before it spreads and becomes a huge problem as I can only assume it will with washing and road wear n tear.

Sorry about the ranting. Anyone in the club know or have access to do this patch for me. A case will be payment but I dont have the $100 or so to get it done at a body shop. Even my fathers body shop that hes next to wont cut me much of a deal on the labor as seen above and MAACO wants to see the car that I dont have until I find money to pay my mechanic.

Help quick por favor.

--Alan

The clear coat is lifting because either:

A. Factory paint job had lousy adhesion

or

B. Bumper was hit and repainted with lousy adhesion

The quick fix would be to rough up the bumper and reclear; decent amount of material and effort involved here and I would shy away from anyone offering to do it for < $100 unless you want to redo it in short order. Since the whole piece will probably need to be recleared, I don't see any harm in waiting until the funds are available.

really. well the rear bumper was repainted prior to buying it by a mazda dealer but it wasnt near where the chipping is. how much u think to do the bumper.

i was told it will spread especially if i wash the car too.

--alan

If the bumper was chipped, then the base coat was probably touched up and the entire thing clearcoated. Therefore the fault is with the dealership paint guys doing a lousy job prepping the part or not following the guidelines for the paint system. The only way to stop the problem dead will be to remove the clearcoat and reclear, or, preferably, take it all the way down and primer/base/clear.

It's a bumper-probably urethane. There is no rush to get it repainted as it will not oxidize. This shouldn't be high on your list of priorities if money is tight.

alright good. i can deal with the ugly looking spot for time being. just didnt want it to chip the whole car. should i not wash the bumper or what? i have mad ocd with cleaning.

--alan

It doesn't really matter. I wouldn't be scrubbing on it if there is an exposed edge to a layer of paint.

Took forever to upload them at my fathers house but heres the pics. you can tell the second one really well. looks more noticable in person. major sadness.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/ajm5291/docs/Paint%20Peel/

--alan

Hard to notice unless you're looking for it. I bet YOU can see it even from the front of the car though

I would never notice that on a car in person.

There is a shop near my house that is willing to do smaller jobs and does not charge an arm and a leg to do it. They just repaired my car after it was hit in pittsburgh.

interesting.....

and yes i can see it miles away even from the front lol

--alan