[R Salesman]

So I've got an alarming amount of stone chips all over my front bumper cover -- and only the front bumper cover (nothing on the hood or fenders). They're very obvious, as some sort of silver primer shows through underneath the gray. They have been gradually increasing in number (i.e. not the result of some one-time event).

My wife, however, doesn't have a single stone chip on her car.

We both have ~6k miles on our cars respectively. We both drive the same roads. I wash both cars weekly (sometimes multiple times a week). In other words, the conditions the cars have been subjected to are nearly identical, and the maintenance given to both is nearly identical.

Is it possible that her blue is a more robust and/or higher quality paint than my gray? Is is possible that my bumper cover was prepped in a defective manner? The bumper cover looks like it's from a car with 20k+ miles on it, not 6k.

Any thoughts?

 

[talindsay]

Maybe instead of drifting off onto the gravel shoulder she stays on the paved part of the road

Seriously, I'd be surprised if there were a significant difference in plasticity of the two colors you own, since they are both the metallic paints and are both deeply hued, but it's certainly possible. The bumper, of course, is made of some highly-plastic, *ahem* plastic - and when I say "highly-plastic" I refer to its ability and willingness to change shape. The hood and fenders have low plasticity so the paint only has to stick to them, whereas the bumper is highly plastic so a paint that's less plastic than the bumper would be prone to chipping and falling off when the bumper deforms.

In my personal experience - and I personally tend toward being a cheap SOB so I've had plenty of cars with the cheap paint - the cheap paints (the no-charge black or white paint on most cars, or in the case of the JSW, the non-metallic paints) are cheaper because they're less plastic than the others, among other things, and so they chip more easily. I've come to take a longer view than I used to, and select cars with higher-cost paint in middle-palette colors because they seem to be less prone to damage when bumpers get bumped and mirrors get folded - I live in a central city and park in a University ramp so the chance that my car will be impacted by others is quite high. But both of the paint colors you own are mid-palette metallic paints so I would assume them to be of similar chemistry; that may or may not be true, of course.

There's no reason to assume a defect, but it would be interesting to hear from others with the platinum gray to see if they see an unexpectedly large number of chips in their bumpers.

 

[Jedidub]

Use this it works not so much on a scratch, but for stone chips it's awesome.

http://drcolorchip.com/?gclid=CNaa57bqibYCFQ-znQodMxEAfQ

 

[R Salesman]

Thanks for the tip - I'll have to look into that further. My next VW will for sure get a clear bra.

 

[jni3]

Thanks for the tip - I'll have to look into that further. My next VW will for sure get a clear bra.

the paint protection film is day one stuff. at least it is for me with all of my new cars. why don't you just get the bumper repainted and get the film installed? when i purchased my golf it had the front plate bracket installed. i immediately had it removed and repaired. then i got the film installed. it's totally worth it in my opinion.

 

[windsorblue]

OP, do you work for a VW store as you SN suggests?

What you are describing sounds like the bumper cover was painted somewhere other than the factory. One of a few different things could have happened... It could have been damaged and "fixed" at port, or at the selling dealer, or(if it was swapped in from another store) at the dealer that it was originally shipped to. Technically, the port is an extension of the factory and any repairs made to that point do not have to be reported or disclosed. Repairs made after the vehicle has landed at a dealership *should* be disclosed but sadly, they rarely are.

My advice would be to have the bumper cover re-finished, then immediately install clear bra.

 

[al-x]

I have a graphite tdi sport wagon as well, and have the same problem. I think it is a paint qualit/primer issue, it seems even a bug can chip the paint.
I would contact VW and make a warranty claim.
This is easily the worst painted bumper I have ever had on a VW or any other maker.

 

[macscac]

I think anyone who buys a car and expects it to be nice yet doesn't install clear bra is foolish
The car never leaves the dealership until clear bra is on!

 

[Kemer1]

I have a Platinum Gray one as well and my front bumper is perfectly fine...and mine is an 09. I would have to agree with the above statement that the bumper must've been refinished after it left the factory. I would certainly take that to the dealer and have it addressed.

 

[Namster]

I'm not implying that you follow other cars too closely, but maybe your wife stays further back behind cars in front when she drives? Just a thought

 

[al-x]

Like I stated above my 2012 jsw in graphite has the same problem, I have never had a problem with paint chips until now. I like the idea of clear bra but to think you need one to keep the paint on the bumper is a bit like stating you need seat covers and a carpet dash cover to keep your car in reasonable shape. I am not asking for my car to be free of any chips from stones but it looks like I have an "over spray" of paint chips on the bumper.

 

[R Salesman]

Well, I went to the dealer (took both my car and my wife's for comparison) and while the service manager agreed that the amount of stone chips on my car was alarmingly abnormal, I was essentially told "too bad, so sad." He did pull the vehicle's service history, which does include work done at the port, and there was no history of any paintwork on my car.

I don't think any difference between how closely my wife and I follow other cars can explain the extreme difference. I'll have to post a picture sometime. My wife's car looks like a normal car with ~8k miles. My car, on the other hand, looks like a car with ~30k miles that's been sandblasted. I probably will repaint and clear bra it. But I don't feel like I should HAVE to do this, when I clearly don have to for my wife's car.

 

[Namster]

Well, I went to the dealer (took both my car and my wife's for comparison) and while the service manager agreed that the amount of stone chips on my car was alarmingly abnormal, I was essentially told "too bad, so sad." He did pull the vehicle's service history, which does include work done at the port, and there was no history of any paintwork on my car.

I don't think any difference between how closely my wife and I follow other cars can explain the extreme difference. I'll have to post a picture sometime. My wife's car looks like a normal car with ~8k miles. My car, on the other hand, looks like a car with ~30k miles that's been sandblasted. I probably will repaint and clear bra it. But I don't feel like I should HAVE to do this, when I clearly don have to for my wife's car.

Yes, post up some pics. I love those Talladegas you're running on the jsw!

 

[CRJSW]

Ive been on many used car lots where clear bra's were not so clear anymore.

 

[al-x]

I have plenty more photos but this show the general poor paint quality.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=776871473028&l=e40870fdf1