Opinions on Body Work

Will paint (base coat, clear coat) gain more texture on a textured bumper cover as it cures?

Here’s my story…

So I’ve been through a lot of with some recent body work on my 2010 Toyota Tacoma. I had work done by an initial body shop which I had to bring back for further repair 4 times. I had gotten to the point where I believed to have given them enough chances to fix my truck right. They had repeatedly returned my truck back to me with support brackets missing on the bumper, mistakenly painted a fender flare and lost the textured finish, forgot to aim the headlights (so off they were pointing in the median of the interstate), didn’t have the grill secured in place, missed flaking paint on the fender and had to paint whole fender. And used so much heat from a heat gun to fix a couple defects in the bumper cover that they actually warped the plastic filler panel under the headlight and the paint on the bumper cover began to flake off afterwards. And it all started with them turning what was supposed to be a 2 day job into a 5 day job which racked up a big rental car bill.

I will give that shop credit for trying to satisfy me as a customer however with all the issues I had gone through my insurance said I could take it to another shop if I so desired. At this point I needed the paint flaking off the bumper fixed and I was going to see if the plastic filler panel could be replaced too. I had gotten some good opinions/reviews for another body shop near me and had actually spoke with them a few times getting a second opinion. So I took it into them.

I got my truck back and the plastic filler panel is replaced, looks fine. However the bumper cover is not what I was expecting. The paint finish doesn’t match the rest of the plastic pieces and there’s a bit of warping. I had repeatedly spoke with the second shop making sure they could match the factory finish and expressing that I would like to make sure the bumper cover is free of defects (warping particularly). I actually went to the local Toyota dealer and looked at a bumper cover in person to insure it was free of defects and told the shop that the dealer had a good bumper cover on hand for them. One of the managers at the shop is saying that as the paint cures the paint will “sink into” or “tighten up” into the bumper covers texture. Has anyone else head of paint doing this as it cures?

Please, I need opinions.

Paint properly mixed with flex agent, properly applied on a properly prepped and primed surface, and clearcoated (Toyota uses clear coat) will not do what you describe. Toyota paint applied without the clear coat will, however, present a sort of dull finish, somewhat between semigloss and flat. It’s designed to get its sheen from the clear coat.

I’m guessing that the shop missed one of those steps, probably clearcoating. Without actually seeing the finish, I’m only guessing, but that’s what the description sounds like to me. Is it possible to get a good photo of the bumper and post it?

there’s dozens of factors determining how to match paint from how much the stock color faded to the temperature and equipment used to spray it. matching colors correctly between separate body peaces such as bumper to fender or fender to door actually requires sanding a fading into the adjacent panel. without doing this you can get it close but not perfect. it also helps with fading considering the new paint will fade at a different rate than old paint. this is especially true with metallic colors putting 2 panels painted at serperate times next to each other and the look like night and day

paint will take up to month of breathing and letting chemicals out that’s why you cant use non-breathable sealers on it for the first month i don’t know how much it will change the color or texture though that has many variables. in my experience i have had clear coat flatten out a little after sitting for a couple day

Paint will always follow what is under it and make that highly visible assuming the paint was not applied too thick to begin with. If the underlying part had a textured surface but the painted surface is now smooth, then they applied it too thick and the paint is masking the underlying texture. There will be outgassing of the paint’s volatile components over time but in my experience, that will not make up for laying it on too thick to begin with. Usually, if the paint changes appearance in any way after application, it’s the result of an adhesion problem.

Paint properly mixed with flex agent, properly applied on a properly prepped and primed surface, and clearcoated (Toyota uses clear coat) will not do what you describe. Toyota paint applied without the clear coat will, however, present a sort of dull finish, somewhat between semigloss and flat. It's designed to get its sheen from the clear coat.

I’m guessing that the shop missed one of those steps, probably clearcoating. Without actually seeing the finish, I’m only guessing, but that’s what the description sounds like to me. Is it possible to get a good photo of the bumper and post it?

That would make sense. I did not see a flex additive included on the bill. The finish on the bumper currently I would describe as a glossy orange peel. And it’s not an even texture throughout either. The factory texture is a even what I would call “micro texture” that gives an overall dull appearance. I attached a few pictures. The flares on the bumper have the correct textured appearance and the bumper has the glossy orange peal type of texture. The first picture shows a comparison of the two. The second shows just the flare and the third is the bumper cover.

Would you ask for a redo? I really do not like being what seems to a problem customer as I worked as a mechanic four years and know what it’s like. I do believe I’ve been reasonable in what I have asked and expect though. This is something that I believe to be noticeable.

OK, I understand better what you were describing. For some reason, I thought you were talking about those finishes over a textured background.

It does look like orange peel and worse than the OEM panel. It’s hard to see in the pics even though you did a good job taking them. The last pic looks like something worse is going on that I would definitely take exception to if it is not just a weird reflection from the background showing up in the image. The other pics are hard to say because it is probably quite a bit different looking at them in person under various lighting conditions versus a computer screen. In the end, you are the one that has to be happy. However, bear in mind, it’s a production truck not a showroom masterpiece. If it looks OK at 5 ft, that might be considered acceptable.

They could fix it by color-sanding it and re-shooting the clear. However, it will then be smoother than the OEM paint…

Forgot to mention, that’s not going to change for the better over time. Something was wrong in the set up or application process. It is what it is now. He’s blowing smoke on that part.

It does indeed look like “orange peeling”. There are a number of possible causes. I’ve posted a link.

I’d go back. But I have to admit that based on the photos it’s a judgement call.
They might even be able to make it better by just reshooting the clearcoat. If the finish is not consistant, that’s probably what they’ll do.

Yep, I agree with Turbo and Mountainbike. Thats orange peel and pretty common on new cars and hard to mimic on a repaint. I consider it a lack of quality on the original finish. Color sanding and polishing is needed to take it out but I’m sure they don’t want to do the whole truck. Its just the difference in a standard finish and a highly polished smooth show car finish.

I should make it clear that all the flares and bumper cover from the factory have the textured finish which is built into the plastic, not an orange peel. Just want to be clear. I know there’s plenty of factory cars that have an orange peel appearance however 2nd generation Tacoma’s do not show significant orange peel except on the rocker panels where there’s some extra durable paint. Second generation Toyota Tacoma’s with the SR5 package like mine have a smooth paint finish over the body panels with textured flares and bumper cover.

BTW, thanks for all the feedback gentlemen. Definitely appreciated. This whole fiasco has been stressing me out.

the rougher looking paint in wheel wells and on the lower part of the car may be a product i forget what its call but i sprayed it in school it goes under the paint to absorb hit from rocks and debris. if the paint is not single stage im sure its orange peel like the other 2 mentioned and is from the different variable when the clear coat is sprayed it may be too thick, wrong guns adjustment or even some of many other variables. it can be finish sanded and polished ive done it many times. but like they said you can over do it and have it look better than whats there so it depends on what you can deal with and how close it has to be for you to be happy because it will never be perfect unless they repaint the whole truck. also the flex agent is only needed if the bumper is painted off the truck and is otherwise optional it wont affect color and is added for the twisting and flexibility of installation. it may help retain paint in a impact but that’s not something most people plan on

The product is Rocker Schultz or something to that effect. You can buy it in a spray can. Like spraying fiberglass resin only rubbery. Flex agent wouldn’t be on the material list per se. Its just part of the mix like reducer, catalyst, etc.