[Barry0305]

Hello guys,

I just noticed that there's paint peeling off the front bumper in the wheel well area of my (new to me) 2013 E92 BMW. The other side has a tiny bit of peel, but not as much as the other side.

According to the previous owner the bumper was never repainted but it was taken down a few times (the headlights were apparently both replaced under warranty).

Is it possible for factory paint to peel like this or was the previous owner lying about the bumper never being repainted? Any idea if I should do anything about this (touch up stick or something like that)?

Thank you for any advice/information.

[Wolf 335]

With BMW's paint procedure this is highly unlikely.

Only way I can see this happening is if the bumper was in fact re-sprayed or that section was hit or dropped to cause the plastic to bend enough causing paint to crack.

Considering that the bumper has been off a few times, some damage could have resulted to that area causing the paint to crack and eventually peel off.

[Barry0305]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

With BMW's paint procedure this is highly unlikely.

Only way I can see this happening is if the bumper was in fact re-sprayed or that section was hit or dropped to cause the plastic to bend enough to cause paint to crack.

Considering that the bumper has been off a few times, some damage could have resulted to that area causing the paint to crack and eventually peel off.

Thank you for your points. I’m considering pressing the previous owner for an explanation, but I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. The previous owner mentioned a minor incident but he was adamant the bumper wasn’t painted afterwards (it even made its way into the contract we signed). Rest of the bumper seems pretty standard - no masking tape lines, color matches the rest of the car fairly well etc. I don’t know...

[Barry0305]

Anyone else with their 50 cents?

[robthewrench]

I would also guess that the bumper 'flexed' significantly and this caused the paint to crack. Once cracked, it is only a matter of time before water starts to work under the paint and this eventually causes it to peel.

[MysticRob]

Originally Posted by robthewrench

I would also guess that the bumper 'flexed' significantly and this caused the paint to crack. Once cracked, it is only a matter of time before water starts to work under the paint and this eventually causes it to peel.

Yeah, my first thought was look under that area to see if there's any evidence of the lower bumper hitting a curb, etc. Flexing that area upward could explain the lack of paint adhesion there.

[robygomez]

I think the important thing is that the paint is peeling re-painted or not is peeling so fix it before it gets worse.

[Barry0305]

I’ll look underneath for bumper damage. Thank you for the pointers.

Originally Posted by robygomez

I think the important thing is that the paint is peeling re-painted or not is peeling so fix it before it gets worse.

I see what you mean, but considering the car is still under warranty (5 years/100k km) it would be exceedingly helpful if I could get some opinion on whether it was or wasn’t repainted, so I could decide if I should bring it up on my next visit to the dealer.

[OP3NAIR]

Any competent body shop can determine whether the paint is original or not. Just call and make an estimate appointment and ask the estimator to check the thickness because you’re not sure if it’s been previously repainted.

[Barry0305]

So I checked the bottom of the bumper and there seems to be some minor damage there. Not sure if it's enough damage to cause the paint to crack.

I also checked the other side wheel well once more and the inner side of the wheel well section of the bumper and it seems there's plenty of paint peel there - even on the primer-only sections of the bumper. I'm starting to think it might have been caused by the jet wash when the previous owner washed the wheels or something like that. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get this fixed under warranty. It's also still possible the bumper was repainted, but I'm not sure if the bodyshops even ever paint the bumper in these areas when they repaint it (considering you normally can't really see these areas of the bumper). What do you think?

[Barry0305]

Originally Posted by OP3NAIR

Any competent body shop can determine whether the paint is original or not. Just call and make an estimate appointment and ask the estimator to check the thickness because you’re not sure if it’s been previously repainted.

Can they check paint thickness on a plastic bumper?

[Wolf 335]

Ok so based on the additional photos you provided I would feel confident to say that the peeling was not due to excessive flexing of the bumper.

This seems like a bad paint prep work.

Definitely seems like the pressure washer has contributed to this, however the root cause would still be bad paint prep work.

I would go by a body shop and ask if this was a repaint job. They will know right off the bat.

[Barry0305]

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1043584

This seems to be the same problem as the one I have.

[Barry0305]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Ok so based on the additional photos you provided I would feel confident to say that the peeling was not due to excessive flexing of the bumper.

This seems like a bad paint prep work.

Definitely seems like the pressure washer has contributed to this, however the root cause would still be bad paint prep work.

I would go by a body shop and ask if this was a repaint job. They will know right off the bat.

Do you mean bad prep work at the factory (or Peguform) or bad prep work on a repaint? I guess it could be either of those...

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by Barry0305

http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1043584

This seems to be the same problem as the one I have.

Seems like it. I would mention this to the dealer.

By bad prep, I meant proper ceaning, sanding, priming, and primer sanding.
Could be from factory or just from a repaint.