Faded bumper colour

Louisa Currie · Post by **Louisa Currie** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 8:22 am

Morning,
As a proud new owner of an '89 MX5 (its a red one) I have been washing her
most weekends and the paintwork comes up really well. My problem is that
the great finish on the paint tends to emphasise that the front and rear
bumpers have faded.

Can anyone suggest a product that will bring the plastic (or whatever the
surface is) bumpers back to life??

Cheers,
Lou

Richmond, Colin · Post by **Richmond, Colin** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 8:42 am

Hi
A new bumper paint job?
Are you sure the bumpers are not from a different car refitted to yours? You
could try cutting and polishing first but be careful not to go through the
paint - if it is original, the enthusiasts guide reported the paint to be thin
and if attacked too vigorously some of the edges may expose the plastic
underneath.
I would refer to the Meguiars internet site - the detailing process may be
useful to you and help sell some of their products.
Colin R

Louisa Currie wrote:

[...]

Gary Morrison · Post by **Gary Morrison** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 10:28 am

The bumpers, as I understand it, are clearcoated (like the mirrors). You
need a good cleaner product such as some of those from Meguiars... plenty of
elbow grease and it comes up looking good. It needs regular attention to
keep it looking good though, and a protective wax coat. You could also have
them repainted, guess about $200 each. The paint job won't be as immune to
stone chips as the original though.

Gary

Post by **zorruno** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 11:36 am

Hi Lou (and congrats on your new MX!)

I think that you'll find the coated plastic parts on the early reds tend to
fade quicker that the rest. This will be mainly the bumpers, mirrors and
the piece surrounding the number plate. I think the only remedy is really a
repaint of these bits. I'm guessing the paint or clearcoat finish may have
been different or thinner on these parts. You could try a strongish paint
cutting compound then polish/wax, but that may make it worse or bring the
plastic through. If you do, try in a small area, maybe on the front bumper,
as it is easy enough to remove and have painted. Possibly try with just a
polishing compound first.

If you do have them painted, make sure they match the condition of the red
on the rest of the car - you don't want the newly painted items to look
twice as bright as the rest!

I have seen a number of early Reds around with the same problem.

H.

[...]

Louisa Currie · Post by **Louisa Currie** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 11:48 am

Thanks for the info fellas.
I'll look into getting the plastic areas repainted.
Cheers,
Lou

mx-5 · Post by **mx-5** » Mon Feb 19, 2001 5:18 pm

Colin .. I can attest (sp?) to what Louisa is saying. I have a 1990 red and
the rear bumper was/is quite faded compared to the rest of the car when I got
it.

Louisa ... I had to have the front bumper repainted last month thanks to a
careless driver in a carpark. It cost me $100 incl having a couple of scrapes
and things like that fixed, so it shouldn't be too bad just to repaint.

Tj

Hi
A new bumper paint job?
Are you sure the bumpers are not from a different car refitted to yours? You
could try cutting and polishing first but be careful not to go through the
paint - if it is original, the enthusiasts guide reported the paint to be

thin
[...]