Expert: William Forster - 7/26/2007

Question
I had an insurance repair to my partners Subaru impreza and the plastic front bumper was replaced and sprayed. This was about two years ago. I took the car out the other day and noticed that near two stone chips, not sure when they occurred, the paint was bubbling. The repairer said that this is perfectly acceptable and no fault of their workmanship or products used. Is this right as it does not appear to happen on the rest of the car

Answer
Hello Mark! I can't see the damage, but the plastic bumper has a tendancy to be easily damaged by stones and even insect impacts. The soft rubber tends to be easily displaced, and the paint just can't absorb the impact with nothing firm to back it up. Now, if the paint is flaking in dime size chunks, the repairer is at fault. If they are the size of a pencil reaser or smaller, it's normal. It's paint, my friend. Not Kryptonite. Have a great evening. bill