The paint on my front bumper has really started to peel and you can see the black rubber thats underneath so I wanted to get it repainted but the autobody shop that I went too said that I would need a new bumper and then have it painted they said that the paint wouldnt stick to the old bumper for some reason which I dont really understand but is this true or are they just trying to get over on me.

 

without seeing the bumper, and from what your describing it sounds like they could just sand the bumper down and repaint the whole bumper, it the bumper is cracked or really damaged then it may be another story.

 

Even cracked and torn bumpers can be repaired.
They may not want too because they don't know how to correctly paint Flex

 

It sounds like you have an aftermarket bumper (factory bumpers are yellowish/orange...ask Chris ) and I have read that some addatives (adhesive promoters) that are required for paint to stick to plastic may not work with the different types of plastics that different aftermarket manufacturers use. With that being said...when they saw it was an aftermarket bumper they may not have wanted to fool with it because they didnt know what type of plastic it was. Or they may have seen that the paint already came off and figured it would again.

Then again maybe they just wanted to make more money.

I do know that painting a car is not as easy and is much more involved than one might think...I have learned a lot over the last several months in preparation of painting mine...which will hopefully be done in the spring some time.

The easiest thing to do would have been to ask why they didnt think paint would stick. You may take it back and ask them that.

 

they don't want to is the jist of it.
the bumper has to be removed from the car, chemically stripped, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, any cracks/dings repaired, etc etc.

It would be cheaper for you to buy a new bumper cover for a couple hundred bucks than to pay them to remove and refinish yours.. (at $50/hour for bodywork, they're going to put 5-6 hours into cleaning and prepping your old bumper, when all they have to do is clean a new one in 15 minutes)

that's why they say it should be replaced.

 

A friend of mine can get me body parts for pretty cheap. Am I buying the bumper cover, bumper assembly or absorber?

 

if the only problem is peeling paint, then all you need is the bumper cover.

The absorber is the styrofoam piece inside the bumper cover.
the assembly is the whole freakin thing, including the metal bumper underneath everything...
you just want the cover.
should be $125 or so for aftermarket, and about $175 (if memory serves correct) for OEM.

 

I found a place online that has Maxima body parts really cheap. They have the bumper cover for 72.00. You guys should check it out they have front window regulators for 28 bucks. Its called partstrain.com. Thanks for the responses guys I appreciate the help.

 

internetautomar sells the regulator also...help out a fellow org member.

nothing will fit like a Nissan OEM part...IMO.

mike...easy to determine what type of plastic. you should know the water float trick...TPO or not.

 

yeah, but they're $70 for the rear regs.




Dam couldn't come up with a better retort than that

 

yeah I havent got that deep into it. I just remember reading something about the differences in the plastic and certain adhesive promoters will not work with certain plastics..btw I cant believe you missed my Chris comment LOL.



I agree with matt on his post as to why they wouldnt re paint the bumper especially if its a good shop. I just forget that not all shops will offer a cheapy...sand down and repaint deal instead of doing it the right way like Matt said.

 

Current list on a NEW OEM front bumper cover is $174.28. You can get a aftermarket front bumper cover, but it will fit like $HIT! That shop won't waste their time on a $175 bumper cover. It's a waste of time to repair it, prime it, and try to get it to look worth a crap.

There are certian aftermarket parts that work as good as OEM or better, but when it comes to body parts, the only way is to go OEM, or used. Typically aftermarket parts such as shocks, bearings, starters, batteries, a/c parts are going to be just as good as OEM, and a lot cheaper.

I would think an aftermarket regulator would be fine.

 

If you are going aftermarket on bodyparts get CAPA certified parts they are OEM or better in terms of quality and fit

 

They have one thats capa certified for 105.00 but I dont really want to buy one if I can find a good shop that will repaint my bumper.

 

AHH the trick as you said is finding a good painter.
I'm lucky a buddy of mine is one of the best painters in the chicao area .