How Can I get Orange Peel OFF of Newly Painted Front Bumper?

[RED2001GT]

I just got my 02 Mustang back from the body shop again for the 2nd time today and I noticed that there is some orange peel paint on the bottom part of the front bumper in the area where the front air dam is located. The orange peel extends from the bottom middle part of the front air dam opening of the front bumper all the way across to the passenger side fog light.

I also noticed that the paint is kind of scaly (rough looking) in the area just below the right hand passenger headlight unit just under the amber colored turn signal light. The scaliness is underneath the paint. It looks as if you can see where the bumper was sanded underneath the paint. There is no orange peel in this particular area, but you can tell that the surface underneath the paint where they sanded the bumper before they painted it is scaly or rough looking. Can this be corrected without having to repaint the whole front bumper again?
How about the Orange Peel problem that I mentioned? How can that be fixed?

The body shop told me to bring back my car in 1 week to have them fix the orange peel. They said something about wet sanding the orange peel. Will this fix the orange peel problem?

 

[Black'02]

The orange peel should be a pretty easy fix with just wetsanding. Usually its just a defect in the clearcoat so wetsanding should smooth it out. As far as the other defect goes if its under the paint it may require fixing the imperfection under the paint to get it to look right.

 

[DTNODYA]

The orange peel should be a pretty easy fix with just wetsanding. Usually its just a defect in the clearcoat so wetsanding should smooth it out. As far as the other defect goes if its under the paint it may require fixing the imperfection under the paint to get it to look right.

+1

The marks that you see on the bumper are from the body shop not getting the surface sanded perfectly smooth before they applied the basecoat. Assuming that the orange peel is in the clearcoat, it needs to cure for a few days then have it wet sanded and buffed (which is what they are telling you). I'd call and let them know about the spot where you see the sanding scratches so that they would be prepared to redo it.

 

[RED2001GT]

If wetsanding will fix the orange peel on the paint then that's good.

There's ALSO another imperfection/problem:

When I ran my eyes across the top part of the bumper just underneath the driver's side head light, I also noticed an imperfection underneath the paint which looks like a bump on the bumper or a bubble under the paint. I don't know exactly which one of the two it is. I didn't dare touch it because I am afraid that if it is a bubble underneath the paint that it will crack and peel. If it's not a bubble, then could it be that the spot that I am describing is an area where the plastic on the front bumper could have popped outwards like a bubble reshaping itself? If this is so, how and why would something like this happen after the body shop repaired the bumper. I would think that they smoothed the entire surface of the bumper out before they repainted it?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Just let the body shop correct the situation.

 

[RED2001GT]

Just let the body shop correct the situation.

That's what I want to do, but WHY did they allow this to happen in the first place? I am starting to believe that it's very difficult for a body shop to do a 100% excellent quality job repainting a plastic front bumper correctly without flaws showing on the bumper.

As for the small area which I described earlier where I see that there is some roughness underneath the paint just under the amber colored passenger side headlight, what is the cause of the bumper looking rough underneath the paint in that particular area? Is it because they didn't smooth out the surface of the bumper well enough when they sanded down the bumper before they painted it? Can the body shop fix this without having to repaint that area of the bumper? Or do they have to take off the paint in that area and then resand and repaint ONLY that area without having to repaint the whole bumper again?
I am afraid that the body shop will not fix it if the entire bumper has to be repainted again. They already repainted a small area on the bumper below the passanger headlight when they accidently scratched the bumper when they tried adjusting the headlight unit because it was not flush with the front edge of the front fender.

These flaws that are showing up on the front bumper are starting to become a big pain in the a$$ for the body shop and for me. My car has already been returned back to the body shop twice already and it will be returned for a 3rd time within the next 10 days again.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Some shops make mistakes, painting is an art form at is subject to environmental conditions like humidity and temperature.

 

[98bluevert]

Just to let everyone know most body shops pay their employees by the job and not by the hour. Therefore the quicker they get the job done the more money they can make for themselves in that hour.

So alot of the time little mistakes are made that the average customer that doesn't care as much about there car, as we do ours, doesn't notice.

The imperfections under the corner lamp you are talking about is roughed up plastic that they sanded to quickly and didn't get enough primer on. Since repriming it would have taken more time therefore more money out of there pocket they just hope you wouldn't notice it.

The orange peel you are talkin about i am afraid is probably dry spray, which is kinda like orange peel but really rough, its where the painter didn't go all the way down with the clear as they were suppose to. happens alot inside foglight openings and such. They might be able to sand it out but don't count on it.

The little bubble your talking about i would have to see a pic of it to tell you what it is. But again its just probably the shop trying to turn out more work quickly to make more money. QUANTINY DOESN'T EQUAL QUALITY.

Another thing so eveyone knows, clearcoat doesn't take days to dry just a couple of hours after it has been baked. also most shops are getting out of wetsanding and use 3M's trizact method instead.

If you have anymore questions let me know or send me a personal message.

 

[TripleBlk]

I just got my 02 Mustang back from the body shop again for the 2nd time today and I noticed that there is some orange peel paint on the bottom part of the front bumper in the area where the front air dam is located. The orange peel extends from the bottom middle part of the front air dam opening of the front bumper all the way across to the passenger side fog light.

I also noticed that the paint is kind of scaly (rough looking) in the area just below the right hand passenger headlight unit just under the amber colored turn signal light. The scaliness is underneath the paint. It looks as if you can see where the bumper was sanded underneath the paint. There is no orange peel in this particular area, but you can tell that the surface underneath the paint where they sanded the bumper before they painted it is scaly or rough looking. Can this be corrected without having to repaint the whole front bumper again?
How about the Orange Peel problem that I mentioned? How can that be fixed?

The body shop told me to bring back my car in 1 week to have them fix the orange peel. They said something about wet sanding the orange peel. Will this fix the orange peel problem?

It is very easy to get orange peel with the clear coat. What I do is wetsand with 1500 grit sandpaper. Keep the sandpaper wet while doing this . There should be lots of whitish substance removed. You will have to get a "feel" for when you are finished, but I look for a dull finsh with no "bumps". Dont freak out at this point. Wash the panel down. Buy some 3M Compound (the pro stuff) from a professional body shop, and buy/rent a buffer and buff the clearcoat out. Works like a charm. Oh yeah, be careful on the edges with the power buffer- it's easy to buff through.

When painting bumpers or any other flexible plastic, it is advised to tell the paint shop that you may need flex agent added to the paint. I could be wrong; about the need for flex agent nowadays,but most automotive paint places are glad to answer any questions you may have.

 

[98bluevert]

When painting bumpers or any other flexible plastic, it is advised to tell the paint shop that you may need flex agent added to the paint. I could be wrong; about the need for flex agent nowadays,but most automotive paint places are glad to answer any questions you may have.

flex agents keep the sealer and clearcoat from complety curing in a few days, just long enough to work with it to get the bumper back on the car. Most shops don't use it because it is a pain in the a$$ do buff a bumper anyways let alone with clear that just wants to smear instead of buff.

Also if anyone is woundering i do work in a bodyshop, so i'm not just some joe off the street giving advise about what i think should be done.

 

[RED2001GT]

I don't have any clue about body work and I am very scared that the body shop might not want to go to the extreme extent to do the repairs correctly. The thing that I really feel uncomfortable with right now is that I know the body shop owner now for the last 2 years and he worked on the undercarraige area of the rocker panel on the same exact vehicle. I feel that he might think that I am being a pest about all the imperfections that I am finding on the front bumper right now. I am worried that he might get mad and tell me that he can't do anything about these various imperfections in the bumper. I want to keep away from pi$$ing him off.

I haven't shown him the imperfection and roughness underneath the paint on the driver's side bumper just below the right amber turn signal which I noticed "AFTER" I told him about the Orange Peel.
ALSO, I haven't shown him the small bubble under the paint that I noticed on the top part of the bumper just below the driver's side head light.
I noticed the roughness underneath the paint and the bubble underneath the paint "AFTER" I told him "ONLY" about the Orange Peel. I am afraid that he will flip out when I take the car back to him and when I point out the other 2 flaws in the paintwork on the front bumper.

 

[ZIncGTSTANG]

I would take it off and ask to have it redone. Just tell the guy that you found a few more flaws and that the orange peel is noticeable compared to the rest of the cars paint. I wouldn't try wetsanding or buffing it...these methods will remove a lot of clearcoat. If you do want to try something to smooth the clear, meguiars scratchx is a gentle product that you just rub in with a pad and wipe off. I've seen it work on some orange peeled paints. This might work...im not sure if it will remove all of your orange peel. Its worth a try.

 

[DTNODYA]

I don't have any clue about body work and I am very scared that the body shop might not want to go to the extreme extent to do the repairs correctly. The thing that I really feel uncomfortable with right now is that I know the body shop owner now for the last 2 years and he worked on the undercarraige area of the rocker panel on the same exact vehicle. I feel that he might think that I am being a pest about all the imperfections that I am finding on the front bumper right now. I am worried that he might get mad and tell me that he can't do anything about these various imperfections in the bumper. I want to keep away from pi$$ing him off.

I haven't shown him the imperfection and roughness underneath the paint on the driver's side bumper just below the right amber turn signal which I noticed "AFTER" I told him about the Orange Peel.
ALSO, I haven't shown him the small bubble under the paint that I noticed on the top part of the bumper just below the driver's side head light.
I noticed the roughness underneath the paint and the bubble underneath the paint "AFTER" I told him "ONLY" about the Orange Peel. I am afraid that he will flip out when I take the car back to him and when I point out the other 2 flaws in the paintwork on the front bumper.

You seem to be a nice person but if you pay for a good paint job then it's about business and not personal relationships. You have every right to point out imperfections unless the paint job is free.

 

[RED2001GT]

I paid $642 out of my pocket for the bodyshop to take off and to repair and repaint the front bumper and the rear bumper and I paid another $60 for them to replace the hood latch because the original one was rusted and the spring was broken on it.
I am very shocked that I keep finding flaws in their body work on the front bumper. The shop that I took my car to is a very small body shop with a total of 4 employees including the owner and his son, but the owner has over 20 years of experience doing body work on Ford vehicles. I just don't understand why he didn't pay attention and see these flaws before he told me that the car was all fixed up and ready to be picked up? He knows that I am very fussy about my Mustang.

 

[98bluevert]

$700 is actually pretty cheap to have all that done but if he gaurantees his work and believes in quality then he should fix any problems you have. Just because you know him for the past couple years doesn't mean he can lower the quality of work on your vehicle.

What insuarance company do u have?? if you have state farm i am pretty possitive that if he doesn't do anything about your car then you can get ahold of your agent and have them help you out and get it fixed.

Either way be persistant and don't let this go by the wayside.

 

[98bluevert]

I would take it off and ask to have it redone.

Sorry to disagree with you but take the entire car in and have him do all the work so if anything happens to the bumper while it is off it there fault and then they have to fix it.

Don't need to scratch it yourself or break clips gettin it off.

 

[RED2001GT]

I am going to take my Mustang back to the body shop on December 4th which is 1 week from this Monday. I am ALSO going to point out to him the bubble under the paint and the roughness on the bumper underneath the paint in the area just below the passenger side amber turn signal.