Metallic paint on Plastics

[Bigmuz7]

I got tail ended in a low speed shunt that needed my rear bumper replaced I was not happy ... it took a month before The BMW approved body shop painted and fitted a new bumper but I am refusing to accept it. I took it for a second opinion to another BMW franchised body shop who said it could be 'improved' upon, but would require spraying the cars rear wings to get a match .. then another dealer who said its totally normal and I should just accept it ? In fairness .. he showed me other 5 series cars where you can definately see differences between the painted plastics and metal, but my front bumper has nothing like this variance ? Surely in this day and age a closer match can be achieved ? It does look a close match close from some angles, but way out from others ?

I wiped the bumper with a cloth in 2 swirls, pointed my phone at it and this is what came out with the one and only photo I took, says it all, but I'm not sure where the boundary is between accepting the paint on plastics argument against it being just wrong ? The body shop in Glasgow is a reasonably good one, and advised me I will not get a better job. Whats thowing me off here is the BMW dealer that said its ok what do you guys think ? ... think ive read here before that MCB is a tough one to get a match for ?

[13M5F10]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

I got tail ended in a low speed shunt that needed my rear bumper replaced I was not happy ... it took a month before The BMW approved body shop painted and fitted a new bumper but I am refusing to accept it. I took it for a second opinion to another BMW franchised body shop who said it could be 'improved' upon, but would require spraying the cars rear wings to get a match .. then another dealer who said its totally normal and I should just accept it ? In fairness .. he showed me other 5 series cars where you can definately see differences between the painted plastics and metal, but my front bumper has nothing like this variance ? Surely in this day and age a closer match can be achieved ? It does look a close match close from some angles, but way out from others ?

I wiped the bumper with a cloth in 2 swirls, pointed my phone at it and this is what came out with the one and only photo I took, says it all, but I'm not sure where the boundary is between accepting the paint on plastics argument against it being just wrong ? The body shop in Glasgow is a reasonably good one, and advised me I will not get a better job. Whats thowing me off here is the BMW dealer that said its ok what do you guys think ? ... think ive read here before that MCB is a tough one to get a match for ?

I've heard this argument before and was told that by a good friend of mine that specializes in body work. It really sucks and a good friend of mine on here has the same issue with Silverstone MCarsFan

I have Space grey and when my bumpers were resprayed I was told it took three tries to get the paint to match. I have no color variations with mine. I think it comes down to whether the dealer wants to spend the money to do try to match it which requires multiple attempts.

[Bigmuz7]

Sorry my pic didnt upload on first try

[Bigmuz7]

Looks like a no brainer ? ... but from some angles it does look ok ? .. remember .. this a one only shot taken inside my garage .. you are looking at the bumper under the rear light comparing it to the rear RHS metal body panel

[Dracon]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Looks like a no brainer ? ... but from some angles it does look ok ? .. remember .. this a one only shot taken inside my garage .. you are looking at the bumper under the rear light comparing it to the rear RHS metal body panel

I recently had someone bump into my rear bumper as well. I didn't require the bumper to be replaced as there wasn't much damage, but she did crack the paint so it required a complete respray on the bumper.

My body guy was able to match my Sakhir Orange Metallic (which is several shades lighter than the factory color due to spending a lot of it's life in the Arizona sun) 99% perfectly without blending into the other panels.

He took a week to repair some areas of the bumper and repaint it. He said it took him a whole day to playing with the paint in order to get a damn close match.

It all comes down to the skill of the painter and shop. My guy owns his own shop and specializes in high end vehicles and is a perfectionist.

Production paint shops, even if BMW Certified, are all about moving cars as quickly as possible and tend to cut corners whenever possible. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule but in general, I've never been happy with a production paint shop when it comes to higher end vehicles and quality.

[13M5F10]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Sorry my pic didnt upload on first try

Space Grey? Looks like two different shades of colors. That's bad if that's the case.

[Dracon]

Can you take a picture of rear of the vehicle from outside in the sun?

[nynd]

They should be able to do better. If its a "pearl" paint, that is tougher to match and in all fairness, there is a "slight" variation between metal and plastic painted parts. Keep in mind as well, that the bumpers are normally sprayed off-site and then sequenced into the plant, so isn't painted alongside the vehicle at the plant.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Dracon

Can you take a picture of rear of the vehicle from outside in the sun?

Yes I will do tomorrow .. from a distance it will probably look ok though .. because its a non fault accident, I dont really see why I should accept anything else other than a perfect repair .. I love my car and would hate to think in a couple of years time I take it for a trade in and some cheesy stealer remarks on how the bumper has been replaced and takes several £k off the trade in value ..

Thanks for your views so far guys

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Dracon

My body guy was able to match my Sakhir Orange Metallic (which is several shades lighter than the factory color due to spending a lot of it's life in the Arizona sun) 99% perfectly without blending into the other panels.

I did suggest to the body shop that this was the reason for variance, but they said that these paints are all UV stabilised these days and it has no effect .. anyway the car lives in Scotland and is garaged and I only use it on weekends so I'm guessing its not the reason.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by 13M5F10

Space Grey? Looks like two different shades of colors. That's bad if that's the case.

No its Monte Carlo Blue .. just has a bright lamp shining at it

[Dionysus]

Match doesn't look good from pictures, however, what lighting conditions is your picture taken under as it doesn't even look MCB? How well have they matched the bumper paint with the rear tow hook cover & parking sensors? Are you able to post pictures taken with a quality camera (e.g. DSLR)?

My rear bumper also does not precisely match with the rear quarters and has not done so from new.

Personally I would not want the rear wings blending for fear of overspray, future top coat failure, etc. In your position, I would just have the rear bumper repainted.

I'd have to agree with the comments regarding paint on panels of differing materials not quite matching if you look close enough. But I would expect a fairly good match. Under the right lighting conditions, you can see different levels of metallic flake on some cars when comparing painted metal, plastic & carbon fibre, let alone a different hue! And this is straight from the factory.

If it helps with regards to what I would be happy to accept, I have just had my front bumper removed & painted: -

Picture 1; to my eyes, good match with tow hook cover/parking sensors & front wing - you may just notice very slight difference between bonnet/hood & horizontal section of front bumper.

Picture 2; difference more visible in this picture.

Picture 3; taken on collection from dealer when new (approx. 8 miles) - no dealer prep & pre-detailing. My old F10 in same colour in the background. On both cars the bumper matches to the front wings, but both display slight difference between bonnet/hood & horizontal section of front bumper. There was also a slight but not insignificant difference in hue between these two cars (built 6 months apart). To some this would be imperceptible, but it's the reason why I would choose colour matching over factory paint code + blending.

Hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

[Rearview]

Helen Keller wouldn't accept that job! Sucks, my man. Sorry it happened to you. I'd make them paint it through trial and error until it was at least 90-95% right.

Remember when people used to care about doing quality work?
Me neither.

Good luck!

[PatrickC23]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Sorry my pic didnt upload on first try

It would help to see more pics in light, but based on that pic I would bring it somewhere else to get done, that is ridiculous. It almost looks like a gray with a silver. Again, it could be the lighting, but I can't imagine light would make it look that mismatched.

What color is it?

[Bigmuz7]

Some daylight pics look OK .. but others still show the contrast. Its most noticeable from the side. I should remind that I'm noot looking to flay the bodyshop here, if this is as good as it gets for MCB fair enough ... It just surprised me how far off it looks from some angles .. and its just the plastic bumper that was replaced

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Sorry my pic didnt upload on first try

OP. I prepped cars for paint and did some painting while I was in High School at a very high end Collision shop in KC. We worked on BMWs, Mercs, Audis, Porsches, Jags, and Ferraris.

Based on the photo, that shop didn't do a good job.

Metallic paints are very tricky and require over decade of booth experience to master. The reducer temp, air pressure, spray distance/angle, and the size of metallic flakes used will make or break the paint job. For bumpers, flex additives is added which also change how the flakes lay down. Blending is not required for bumper panels, so it's usually slightly off anyways. For your case, it's wayyyy off.

I suggest taking your car to a high-end body shop and send the old body shop a bill.

[JNoSol]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Some daylight pics look OK .. but others still show the contrast. Its most noticeable from the side. I should remind that I'm noot looking to flay the bodyshop here, if this is as good as it gets for MCB fair enough ... It just surprised me how far off it looks from some angles .. and its just the plastic bumper that was replaced

IMHO, the day pic doesn't look bad. My post above highlights why it's never a perfect match, but with experience the painter can come close.

[TrevorM3]

Most if not all bumpers are mismatched from the body from factory, Will provide more input when i get home to help.


I have a pearl white lincoln in the shop right now and the bumper is way off from the fenders. And its factory.

[M5essex]

The bumper is definitely darker than the metal panel.. I'd demand a respray!

[TrevorM3]

the first pic i thought the car was grey. the outside pics show the color much better (which is what matters) it seems whatever light you used to capture the first image had an effect on the flop of the metallic. i'd say it's acceptable.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by TrevorM3

the first pic i thought the car was grey. the outside pics show the color much better (which is what matters) it seems whatever light you used to capture the first image had an effect on the flop of the metallic. i'd say it's acceptable.

Yes I was quite surprised at the first pic, i wasnt trying to do anything for effect, I just shone a lamp at it and took the picture in my garage in the evening

[TrevorM3]

Originally Posted by M5essex

The bumper is definitely darker than the metal panel.. I'd demand a respray!

this is normal. bumpers almost always vary from the body.



go outside and look at that porsche, bet it's off.