Front plastic piece?

[bdhaeh]

My front painted plastic bumper piece below the grill looks like crap. Its rough and looks like every bug that ever hit it took off the clear coat. Is there any way to fix this without repainting the whole thing. I bought the truck used, its a 2006 CC w/ 33K miles.

[seand1111]

have you tried to clay bar that section and see if it helps at all? You might be able to use a rubbing compound on it if the clay bar does not work. Be careful with the rubbing compound as you can make things worse if you do not follow the instructions on how to do it. (if you have never used it, I would suggest first doing it by hand and see what your results are before you move to a machine to apply it.)

[cctmobiledetail]

Originally Posted by seand1111

have you tried to clay bar that section and see if it helps at all? You might be able to use a rubbing compound on it if the clay bar does not work. Be careful with the rubbing compound as you can make things worse if you do not follow the instructions on how to do it. (if you have never used it, I would suggest first doing it by hand and see what your results are before you move to a machine to apply it.)

Wrong !!! Don't use a clay bar on plastic ! Or definately don't use compound on plastic it'll make it worse and will stain it the compound color !!!!!!

If it has a bunch of bugs on it , use some "Invisible Glass" Spray glass cleaner and a rag and all the bugs will come off easily !!!

if it's rough , there's not much you can do other than replace it, or depending on the roughness use a heat gun or mapp gas torch and remelt the plastic and smooth it out with a small trowl or similar tool. But be careful if you use the torch , you can do more harm than good ! Obviously unbolt it off the truck before trying any remelting of the plastic .

if it's cracked and the like you can have it fixed with a plastic welder ( you'll have to have it professionally done ) If it's at that point, you might want to replace it !

[bdhaeh]

cctmobiledetail, I the piece I am talking about is the painted plastic piece that wraps around to the fenders. Any help w/ that?

[seand1111]

Originally Posted by cctmobiledetail

Wrong !!! Don't use a clay bar on plastic ! Or definately don't use compound on plastic it'll make it worse and will stain it the compound color !!!!!!

If it has a bunch of bugs on it , use some "Invisible Glass" Spray glass cleaner and a rag and all the bugs will come off easily !!!

if it's rough , there's not much you can do other than replace it, or depending on the roughness use a heat gun or mapp gas torch and remelt the plastic and smooth it out with a small trowl or similar tool. But be careful if you use the torch , you can do more harm than good ! Obviously unbolt it off the truck before trying any remelting of the plastic .

if it's cracked and the like you can have it fixed with a plastic welder ( you'll have to have it professionally done ) If it's at that point, you might want to replace it !

He is talking about the body of the vehicle dork. It is a painted part, using clay bar or rubbing compound will work just fine. I wanna see you torch the painted body parts of your vehicle....

Originally Posted by bdhaeh

cctmobiledetail, I the piece I am talking about is the painted plastic piece that wraps around to the fenders. Any help w/ that?

Don't do what he said, he has no idea what part you are talking about. Clay bar and/or rubbing compound will be your friend in this area. If the bugs have "eaten" through the clear (i.e. previous owner left dead bugs on it too long), then there may not be much you can do to save it.

[cctmobiledetail]

Originally Posted by seand1111

He is talking about the body of the vehicle dork. It is a painted part, using clay bar or rubbing compound will work just fine. I wanna see you torch the painted body parts of your vehicle....



Don't do what he said, he has no idea what part you are talking about. Clay bar and/or rubbing compound will be your friend in this area. If the bugs have "eaten" through the clear (i.e. previous owner left dead bugs on it too long), then there may not be much you can do to save it.

OK goof , I thought he meant the plastic piece under the bumper ......oh and you've never made a mistake , huh , punk !

and yes the invisible glass will take bugs off your painted plastic part, if it's nicked up try some touch up paint from an airbrush and smooth over with acetone.

[bdhaeh]

i just went out and looked at it again, and it looks like it has clear plastic wrap like on the rear panels. if the bugs were left too long on this I guess the plastic may be damaged?

[cctmobiledetail]

Originally Posted by bdhaeh

i just went out and looked at it again, and it looks like it has clear plastic wrap like on the rear panels. if the bugs were left too long on this I guess the plastic may be damaged?

It may be too far gone, but you can try some laquer thinner and a rag to see if they come off, if they don't next try some heavy duty compound and a buffer , if that doesn't work a repaint will be necessary. Once a repaint is done , have a 3M Clearguard application ( clear 5mm plastic bra applied over cured paint )applied to prevent it from happening again.

[seand1111]

Originally Posted by cctmobiledetail

OK goof , I thought he meant the plastic piece under the bumper ......oh and you've never made a mistake , huh , punk !

[06_footy]

Originally Posted by cctmobiledetail

OK goof , I thought he meant the plastic piece under the bumper ......oh and you've never made a mistake , huh , punk !

and yes the invisible glass will take bugs off your painted plastic part, if it's nicked up try some touch up paint from an airbrush and smooth over with acetone.