I think I may have burned through my clearcoat

[carlg]

Please take a look at my picture.

This car is 25 years old. The front end was kinda roughed up; tons of chips, etc.

A few weeks ago I started buffing it with my Porter Cable and some Meguiar's 101. I think I may have rubbed through the clear coat and it turned black.

First off, I'm not a pro detailer and I am really only a weekend warrior (and this is a hobby car for me) so I really don't need a 100% perfect finish. But, I would still like to get the best finish possible on my own if I could and I don't want to spend the $1000 to get the entire front bumper painted.

I started experimenting with Dr. Colorchip for the chips and I'm having great results. So now if I get get these black marks out, or at least somewhat out, I would be thrilled!

So, anyone here have any suggestions on how to fix this up? Even if it is a hack job since it's really a hobby car.

[TMQ]

Hummm...

Couple things.

First thing, The car is 25 years old? That brings it around 1995. And from the looks of picture above, paint may be single stage. There's no clear on coat on single stage,

Second thing, looks like deep chips in the paint. Deep enough for metal to rust and or even turn black.

If I'm correct regarding my assessment---Try metal prep or a product that reacts and seals the rust in the chips.

Then fill in chips with Dr Colorchip.

Tom

[carlg]

Hummm...

Couple things.

First thing, The car is 25 years old? That brings it around 1995. And from the looks of picture above, paint may be single stage. There's no clear on coat on single stage,

Second thing, looks like deep chips in the paint. Deep enough for metal to rust and or even turn black.

If I'm correct regarding my assessment---Try metal prep or a product that reacts and seals the rust in the chips.

Then fill in chips with Dr Colorchip.

Tom

Tom, thanks for the reply. This is a front bumper from a 1994 Pontiac Trans Am. It is not metal. I think it's fiberglass, so rust is not of concern.

[57Rambler]

GM F-bodies went to base coat/clear coat for the 1986 model year. Bumpers were urethane.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

So one thing to remember, the plastic bumpers cannot dissipate heat. On my cars, I don't even bother polishing them for two reasons. 1.) Don't dissipate heat and 2.) diminished returns. The paint system used on the bumper covers are not the same as sheet metal. It has a flex to it so it can bend with the soft material of the bumper. If I do decide to hit the bumper covers, it's usually a one-n-done skim, just because of reasons #1 & #2 as I mentioned. Sometimes you get lucky and get some typical road rash out with the one-n-done skim.

Lastly, if you did burn through, which is likely because the plastic under the paint of bumper covers is usually black, then yup.. You've burned through and there isn't anything you can do about it except get it repainted. If you don't opt to repaint, you can try the squeegee method with Doctor Color Chip. You can always try that as a cheap alternative first.

If you opt to get it fixed, I'd suggest taking the bumper cover off the vehicle and see if you can bring it to a body shop to get resprayed. They'll remove it anyway, but sometimes it's just best if you keep your car out of the body shop, with over-spray and them wanting to wash it, etc... They won't need to bleed the paint since it's just the bumper cover. A respray of a bumper cover (if you do the removal) shouldn't be more than $350.00. If they're saying $1000, go somewhere else. Get some quotes.

Sorry to hear this... It's one of the most common posts on this forum.... But this is how we learn right?

[carlg]

So one thing to remember, the plastic bumpers cannot dissipate heat. On my cars, I don't even bother polishing them for two reasons. 1.) Don't dissipate heat and 2.) diminished returns. The paint system used on the bumper covers are not the same as sheet metal. It has a flex to it so it can bend with the soft material of the bumper. If I do decide to hit the bumper covers, it's usually a one-n-done skim, just because of reasons #1 & #2 as I mentioned. Sometimes you get lucky and get some typical road rash out with the one-n-done skim.

Lastly, if you did burn through, which is likely because the plastic under the paint of bumper covers is usually black, then yup.. You've burned through and there isn't anything you can do about it except get it repainted. If you don't opt to repaint, you can try the squeegee method with Doctor Color Chip. You can always try that as a cheap alternative first.

If you opt to get it fixed, I'd suggest taking the bumper cover off the vehicle and see if you can bring it to a body shop to get resprayed. They'll remove it anyway, but sometimes it's just best if you keep your car out of the body shop, with over-spray and them wanting to wash it, etc... They won't need to bleed the paint since it's just the bumper cover. A respray of a bumper cover (if you do the removal) shouldn't be more than $350.00. If they're saying $1000, go somewhere else. Get some quotes.

Sorry to hear this... It's one of the most common posts on this forum.... But this is how we learn right?

Thanks, I don't think the squeegee method will work on this. It is smooth. There is nothing for the paint to grab on to.

I actually got two estimates, but they were with the bumper on the car. One was $800 and the guy turned out to be unreliable. The other was for $975. I think if I could get away with $350, I would do it.

[dpevans]

Just did a grand Prix, any paint chip on the plastic bumpers turns black or is black. I assume they use black primer or the color of the plastic is black.

[carlg]

Sounds kind of silly, but I almost thought about purposely chipping the paint where the black burn marks are.

I feel like this would then give the touch up paint (or the Dr. Colorchip) something to bind to.