FranES300

I have a chip on the door trim (see photo) of my 2002 ES300 that I would like to repair. The paint here as well as on the bumpers appears to be a very slightly different color than the body paint (Millenium Silver). Is it just that the paint in those areas is in rubber instead of metal or are they two different shades?

FranES300

You can't really see the color difference in the previous picture. It is more obvious in this one of the bumper.

kissbang

That seems odd to me. It certainly doesn't seem like it SHOULD be two different colors. Especially the bumper.

EFMJR

iTrader: (4)

somebodys bumpers been repainted? My gs 400 has the same issue.

tonysofly

are you the first owner? if not, it most likely got repainted with the color slightly off, and over time, it changes more and more.

FranES300

It's a CPO. I guess both bumpers and the trim were all repainted at the same time because they are all this slightly different shade. I am somewhat annoyed b/c I signed something noting that the front bumper had been refinished (not unreasonable considering it was a few years old), but it didn't say anything about the rest. I was obviously not very observant the day I bought it. I guess I should still just use the usual touch-up paint, right?

Guitarman

What you're seeing here is common. The urethane body parts (bumpers) are painted seperately from the rest of the car at the factory, and added on along the assembly line as the car comes together. You will see they often appear darker than the rest of the car. Different batch of paint, flex additive, and the fact the paint lays on plastic instead of metal all affect the tone.

This does make it even harder to match, you pretty much can't 'spot-in' paint, and a full repaint of the part is often the only cure.

If those parts were painted at a body shop, chances are they would match better, or be blended in with the rest of the car.

I'm pretty sure that's all due to the factory process, and there isn't really a cheap way around it.

FranES300

Dan, So you think this is an original paint difference and not something due to painting between when the car was new and when I bought it? As I said earlier, I was told at the time of purchase that the front bumper had been refinished. However, all of the rubber surfaces--front and rear bumpers as well as the trim on the sides--are consistently this different color. I doubt that all of these were replaced for the CPO so I am wondering if this is old repairs or original from the factory as you suggested. Should I try complaining to the dealer? I would tell them that I was told the front bumper was refinished but that all of these other surfaces obviously were also repainted as they are all the same color. I am wondering if they did in fact repaint all of this (and didn't disclose) and that as the paint has cured (it's been about a month since it would have been prepped) the color difference has become more noticeable.

Guitarman

Well, it can hurt to complain, the squeaky wheel's the one that gets the grease.

I really can't tell you that your front bumper was definitely resprayed (It's common on pre-owned and such for dealerships to have a guy come in and respray them just because of bug damage and rock chips) but it's also possible it WAS resprayed and the tone still didn't match the body paint. Too many variables to say for sure.

Give it a go, tell them you want a car 1 cohesive shade. Best of luck.