Im looking at a 2000 camaro ss for a pretty good price, the problem i have with it is the front bumber has a fair amount of spider webbing in the paint, i dont think it will buff at all since its actually cracks in the paint, but im wondering if theres any alternatives to repainting the whole bumber because that would be quite pricey, any ideas would help a lot, thanks

 

Repaint is about the only way sometimes if its not too bad you can wet sand and buff them out.

 

alright thanks they arent very bad theres just a lot of them so i guess it wouldnt hurt to just try wetsanding and buffing first, any ideas on prices of a front bumber repaint?

 

If the paint on the bumper cover is cracked, there is really no alternative than to repair and refinish. Take it in to a reputable body shop for an estimate. It'll probably run $500-$700, to sand the paint down to the base material to ensure that the cracks won't show through, refinish, and materials. If the shop gives you an estimate that doesn't include remove and install the bumper cover for the repair and paint work, take your business elsewhere. It never hurts to ask to see the shop's work either. Look at the color match, check for orange peel, if your car is metallic, ask if they have any recently repaired vehicles similar in color to yours. Check for mottling in the metallic. These are actually very routine repairs that body shops do every day. Also, It wouldn't hurt to ask for your insurance company's labor rate from the shop either. It's usually $5.00-$10.00 dollars per hour cheaper than the off the street door rate.

 

thanks, wow i was hoping it woudnt cost that much im still undecided on wheather or not to buy the car

 

My car is basically perfect except i have some spidering on my front bumper as well. The previous over bumped the wall in the garage. Im just going to pull the bumper off and repaint it myself though so I dont have to worry about paying someone to do it.

 

It might not be that bad... Let me give you the math.
Assuming the labor rate is $42.00/hour, and $24.00/hr for paint materials.

If you allow 5 hours to repair the cover (this will cover basically reconditioning the cover entirely, should take care of not only your spider cracks in the paint but also any misc. stone chips and the stray curb rash on the underside from those steep driveways) your labor total will come to $210.00. Now, if there is only the cracks in the paint and nothing else, you might be able to cut this figure by as much as half.
The front bumper covers on these cars are very large. The refinish time generally runs around 3.5 hours. 3.5 hours at $42.00/hour is $147.00. You won't get the shop to move on this number much. Your materials at $24.00/hour only applies to the paint hours, and comes to $84.00. This all brings your total to $441.00 plus your local sales taxes, and misc odds and ends the shop will tack on to the end of your estimate. You can expect to see around $5.00 for hazardous waste removal, and you might see a charge for shop materials as well that'll probably be around $10.00. If you refer to my earlier post though, you definately want to pay the shop to remove and install the cover. This'll probably add about $100 to your estimate, but you won't have any tape lines around the edges of the panel, you won't get any overspray under the hood or on the a/c condenser or fender liners, and you'll be far less likely to experience paint peeling from the edges down the road. Paint work is something that you want to pay the good money for now, and get it done right because if you don't, it'll cost you twice as much later.

 

thanks ziggy that helps a lot

 

No problem!