Noticed a lot of guys skipping the primer step on plastic bumpers lately

Had a bumper come back from a shop down the street after 4 months with the paint peeling off in strips, and when I asked the owner he said they stopped using adhesion promoter to save time, has anyone else seen this shortcut causing problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.hannah3d ago

Wait, 4 months is considered lucky? That's insane, I would be furious if my paint job didn't even last a full season.

jackson.wesley3d ago

Yeah, you said "adhesion promoter" there, but technically that's one part of it - primer and adhesion promoter are two different things, you know? Adhesion promoter is that clear stuff you wipe on before primer to help the plastic grip the paint, and skipping it is just asking for trouble, especially on those new flexible bumpers. I've seen too many jobs where guys think just scuffing the plastic with sandpaper is enough, but that bare polypropylene is like Teflon - nothing sticks to it without the right prep. The real shortcut that's gonna bite you is skipping the cleaning step too, where you use that special wax and grease remover, because even a little mold release from the factory will mess up everything underneath. Honestly, 4 months before peeling sounds like they got lucky, usually that cheap work shows up in like 6 weeks, especially if the bumper sees any heat from the sun.