reds10406

iTrader: (3)

Has anyone used an aftermarket rear bumper cover on their cars? I noticed the clear on mine is spiderwebed and I am guessing the body shop will tell me that it will be cheaper to just buy a new cover and repaint it instead of stripping the old one. Not sure if I want to spend $250 or more for a GM cover or go aftermarket for $150. Any input would be great, thanks.

whytryz28

iTrader: (28)

Grab a DA and some 80 grit and go to town on yours.

theskitztikwon

iTrader: (18)

^^what he said

mhorn0817

aftermarket always has some type of flaws, would go gm if ya could, it can be stripped and repainted or replaced an painted... my buddy wanted his bumper stripped and repainted on his 06 M3, it only cost him $80 more for a new OEM cover painted, and my buddy plans on selling his old cover to recoupe more then the $80. so just get estimates and weigh your options

mikedamageinc

iTrader: (49)

A little old but bump for the same situation...

Both my covers are spiderwebbed and several shops told me that buying new covers was the best. I'm on a budget so I would prefer sanding and repainting but not worth it if it will just crack again. The platic itself is solid tho..

OP did you fix yours yet?

MurderedOut

iTrader: (21)

I dont get why it would be better to buy a new one. Its easy to take the paint off one. Do it yourself if they want, even by hand it wouldn't take that long.

LilJayV10

iTrader: (39)

You can start out with 80 grit if you are comfortable with a D/A sander. If not start with 150. It will take a little longer but you aren't as likely to mess up the bumper. After 150 hit it with 320. You don't want to gouge the actual bumper. Keep that in mind when you are sanding the paint off. You don't want to get down to the urethane bumper with 80 or 150 and have those scratches. You want to try to end up with 320 or so when you hit the bumper.

Is just the paint cracked or is it the bumper? If it's just the paint you can sand it out, obviously. Even if there are cracks in the bumper you can use a good filler primer like PPG's K36 or K38 and it will fill them in. I'm helping a friend of mine do the bumper on his camaro. I should have taken pictures of it before we started but I can get some if you want if it would help.

If yours is real bad it would be better to find another one from a junkyard or from the classifieds on here then sand it down and repaint it. Every aftermarket part, especially urethane parts don't fit worth a ****. There are tons of these parts out there, especially with the internet so I'm sure you can find one.

reds10406

iTrader: (3)

No I haven't fixed it yet, probably someday just in no hurry, looks like whoever painted it forgot to put some flex in the clear, when I took the front bumper cover off it spiderwebbed at the bottom as well and I was really careful with it. I will probably just buy a new rear cover, for what the body shop will charge to strip it down to repaint it will probably be close to what a new one is and it helps that I can get a new one for cost and a deal on paintwork since my brother works at the dealership.