All Terrain Painted Bumper Chips

jamin87ss · December 28, 2014

250 miles and I got 2 big chips, something kicked up, wasn't anywhere close to another car, not sure what it was, dealer has to touch up the other side of bumper, hoping maybe he will help me out as a courtesy, then I'm gonna ask if I can pay for a extra coat of clear,

Has anyone thought of this? I'm thinking some extra clear will help, was planning on 3m at least the bumper, but seems some are having issues, and being Sonoma red I can see there being issues if removed is necessary,

KMGZ400 · December 28, 2014

250 miles and I got 2 big chips, something kicked up, wasn't anywhere close to another car, not sure what it was, dealer has to touch up the other side of bumper, hoping maybe he will help me out as a courtesy, then I'm gonna ask if I can pay for a extra coat of clear,

Has anyone thought of this? I'm thinking some extra clear will help, was planning on 3m at least the bumper, but seems some are having issues, and being Sonoma red I can see there being issues if removed is necessary,

If be amazed if they would actually pay for an extra clear coat... Honestly I would just touch the chips up yourself, get a clear bra installed and forget about it and move on it life

tanner709 · December 28, 2014

Few months old Denali with around 5k miles and have 3 chips already. When bumper gets too chipped.....replacing with chrome. Cheaper than protection and is a 1 time fix. I do agree it is chipping very easy and should not be.

I have to disagree that a chrome bumper is a one time fix. With a carbon steel bumper that is painted - you have the option of painting again. With the chrome - when it pits and corrodes it looks 100x worse and there are little to no shops that will tackle stripping and re-chroming a bumper as quickly or as cheap as paint.

Although I understand where you are coming from, and the chrome will definitely last much longer to begin with. My climate eats up everything....

POS VETT · December 29, 2014

I don't know where the concept of paint can withstand impact with a rock/stone came from. No vehicle I own or have owned in the US are chip-free without a clear bra, including a GMT 800. The sole reason why I applied painter's tape to the leading edges and surfaces of my '15 for the 600-mile trip to home.

Chrome-plated bumper cover is still prone to damage caused by stone/rock impact. The plating is a bit tougher than paint but not by much. My GMT800 had the chrome-plated part of the front bumper cover replaced and the difference was stark; the old one was chipped but not severely corroded.

Rewillia · December 29, 2014

No automotive finish is impervious to road rash and that's the reason companies such as 3M and Xpel design, manufacture, market and sell "clear bra" for all makes and models of automobiles (and not just GMC or Chevrolet pickup trucks!!!).

If you want to complain about rock chips on the front of your vehicle try calling your state, county or local municipal dept. of highways and see where that gets you.

EXSlider400 · December 29, 2014

I have to disagree that a chrome bumper is a one time fix. With a carbon steel bumper that is painted - you have the option of painting again. With the chrome - when it pits and corrodes it looks 100x worse and there are little to no shops that will tackle stripping and re-chroming a bumper as quickly or as cheap as paint.

Although I understand where you are coming from, and the chrome will definitely last much longer to begin with. My climate eats up everything....

my 2007 I bought new in 06 with a chrome bumper has over 200k and still looks great. But in the South we don't have the Salt and Snow either....so a 1x fix for my area (I consider lasting at least 8 years a 1x fix). And front chrome bumpers are also cheap and easy to change if one ever needs to.

jamin87ss · December 29, 2014

I will say my 05 had the painted bumper and at 100k it was holding up just fine

tanner709 · December 29, 2014

It's all in the prep work. Paint off an assembly line is less than ideal...

Rewillia · December 30, 2014

No automotive finish is impervious to road rash and that's the reason companies such as 3M and Xpel design, manufacture, market and sell "clear bra" for all makes and models of automobiles (and not just GMC or Chevrolet pickup trucks!!!).

If you want to complain about rock chips on the front of your vehicle try calling your state, county or local municipal dept. of highways and see where that gets you.

Albeit I too replied to this thread and am guilty- the topic here IMO is not worthy of further discussion. Like others, some things complained about here are self-self-explanitory in terms of the cause and deserve no response. This is one of them and stands now with 9k views and 112 responses.

OK, I guess its a freedom of speech thing.

Isriam · December 30, 2014

when you've owned 10-20 vehicles in the location you drive often, i think that gives you an idea of how bumpers and hoods should hold up to road debris. i dont think we're talking about small chips and one or two. I counted 13 chips on my lower right denali bumper. at 5,000 miles that is terrible. i have an extended warranty that will cover it with 0 deductible, but believe some of us when we say it is not due to normal wear and tear, but to a paint flaw.

after counting 13 around my left fog light, i gave up and figured it was probably 25-50 total between the whole bumper and hood.

tanner709 · December 30, 2014

I had hundreds on my onyx black bumper and I made an effort to avoid following any vehicles. Large flakes almost, not "knicks". GM did cover the bill of repainting the bumper and the area around the cargo light... so they are recognizing that it is a common issue across the board.

pm26 · January 1, 2015

my 2007 I bought new in 06 with a chrome bumper has over 200k and still looks great. But in the South we don't have the Salt and Snow either....so a 1x fix for my area (I consider lasting at least 8 years a 1x fix). And front chrome bumpers are also cheap and easy to change if one ever needs to.

Yes we do, here in coastal East Central Florida, the whole place is covered with salt spray from the ocean at least 1mile inland. The US Army uses the Cape Canaveral beach as their research facility for automotive protective coatings, because it is the most corrosive environment they could find.

Pinnacle · January 1, 2015

My coworker has a Ford F150, I think 2010 model year with a painted steel front bumper. He has over 70k miles on the truck with no chips on the front bumper. It looks like Ford has used some kind of chip protection vinyl coating under that paint to prevent chipping. Why isn't GM doing the same thing? There is a way to or greatly reduce chipping on such bumpers, but it should not be at customer's expense, especially on a $ 50k vehicle.

No its not some kind of chip protection vinyl.

This is how the paint process works, bare metal, primer, sealer, basecoat(paint) and clearcoat. Its the CLEARCOAT thats causing the problems. GM is using a diffrent CHEAPER supplier. Clearcoat is the most expensive process in painting and results in the most savings for any auto manufacturer. GM is using "shitty" clear as well as "shitty" frame coating on these new trucks resulting in a benefit to their bottom line.

I said this before in theis thread, but nobody bothers to read anything.

EXSlider400 · January 1, 2015

Yes we do, here in coastal East Central Florida, the whole place is covered with salt spray from the ocean at least 1mile inland. The US Army uses the Cape Canaveral beach as their research facility for automotive protective coatings, because it is the most corrosive environment they could find.

You are right. When I referred to the South I didn't include the Coast. I frequent business facilities on the coast from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida but we refer to them as the Gulf Coast and Coastal regions not the South... Just habit I guess. I am from Ponchatoula/Hammond area Louisiana which is getting into the Bayou (between the South and the Gulf Coast). People can be very particular where they are from since the culture varies so much so quickly in so little distance...so sorry if I offended anyone.