Front Bumper Clear Coat...
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Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Front Bumper Clear Coat... Here's the story:
1. Purchased a brand new 2002 Honda Civic Si coupe in October of 2001.
2. Summer of 2002, I notice a thumb size layer of clear coat peeling off my front bumper in the curved area where the fog-lights are installed.
3. Bring the car to the dealership and I'm told that the whole front bumper has to be 're-clear' coated again. So I leave the car for nearly 2-days and the work is done.
4. A few days later after picking up my car, I begin to notice in direct sunlight that one of the corners of the bumper has internal scratches that I can't clean off.
5. Again, I bring it back to the dealership and they take my Civic in for 'touch-up' for another 2-days.
6. Everything is fine there after and in comes the summer of 2003 (July). I begin to notice that there are numerous spots around the whole front bumper where the clear coat is peeling off.
7. I take it back to the dealer who informs me that it has to be 're-clear' coated again. I asked him where, and he tells me it will be the same place as last time. Once again, I'm told that they need the car for 2-days. I say ok, but then ask how I will get to work. They tell me that they have no loner cars and that their courtesy van is not a taxi service. So I call up Honda of Canada customer care line and find out that I'm covered for a rental car with the "Honda Plus" coverage for any warranty work that's 5 hours or more. Call my dealership and ask them to arrange my rental car, they call Honda Plus, and then call me back telling me that the rental car only applies for 'mechanical work', not 'body work'. That sounded like bullsh*t to me, so I called customer care myself and they told me the same thing.
8. So I've made an appoitment for next week, and I'm going to have to find ways of getting to work for 2-days. Sucks. At the same time I get a question from my service manager asking if I used a 'high-pressure' spray to wash my front bumper. I said yes I do, but he replies by telling me that I should use any high-pressure water on any plastic part... because it bends the part and which could cause these clear coat peeling? Is any of this true? Can I find that in the owners manual that I shouldn't use high-pressure water on any bumper surface?
I appreciate your thoughs (in addition to the loner car 'provisions' per Honda Plus).
1. Purchased a brand new 2002 Honda Civic Si coupe in October of 2001.
2. Summer of 2002, I notice a thumb size layer of clear coat peeling off my front bumper in the curved area where the fog-lights are installed.
3. Bring the car to the dealership and I'm told that the whole front bumper has to be 're-clear' coated again. So I leave the car for nearly 2-days and the work is done.
4. A few days later after picking up my car, I begin to notice in direct sunlight that one of the corners of the bumper has internal scratches that I can't clean off.
5. Again, I bring it back to the dealership and they take my Civic in for 'touch-up' for another 2-days.
6. Everything is fine there after and in comes the summer of 2003 (July). I begin to notice that there are numerous spots around the whole front bumper where the clear coat is peeling off.
7. I take it back to the dealer who informs me that it has to be 're-clear' coated again. I asked him where, and he tells me it will be the same place as last time. Once again, I'm told that they need the car for 2-days. I say ok, but then ask how I will get to work. They tell me that they have no loner cars and that their courtesy van is not a taxi service. So I call up Honda of Canada customer care line and find out that I'm covered for a rental car with the "Honda Plus" coverage for any warranty work that's 5 hours or more. Call my dealership and ask them to arrange my rental car, they call Honda Plus, and then call me back telling me that the rental car only applies for 'mechanical work', not 'body work'. That sounded like bullsh*t to me, so I called customer care myself and they told me the same thing.
8. So I've made an appoitment for next week, and I'm going to have to find ways of getting to work for 2-days. Sucks. At the same time I get a question from my service manager asking if I used a 'high-pressure' spray to wash my front bumper. I said yes I do, but he replies by telling me that I should use any high-pressure water on any plastic part... because it bends the part and which could cause these clear coat peeling? Is any of this true? Can I find that in the owners manual that I shouldn't use high-pressure water on any bumper surface?
I appreciate your thoughs (in addition to the loner car 'provisions' per Honda Plus).
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 13,151
Likes: 3
From: Washington DC
Rep Power: 423 
The pressure washing thing is true... don't use it too much.
As far as re-clearcoating goes... I hope they're sanding the bumper bare and re-painting it as well. Just clear coat isn't gonna cut it, because it's probably the original layer that keeps peeling from underneath and is pulling the other layers off as well. Tell them to strip and sand it, re-prime, paint and clear coat it.
As far as re-clearcoating goes... I hope they're sanding the bumper bare and re-painting it as well. Just clear coat isn't gonna cut it, because it's probably the original layer that keeps peeling from underneath and is pulling the other layers off as well. Tell them to strip and sand it, re-prime, paint and clear coat it.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 9,165
Likes: 0
From: Duluth, MN
Rep Power: 393 My car is going in for the same problem at the end of September. It might also be that the body is that good of a body shop. My guy told me that, it is going to be repainted, and than clearcoated again.
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