Carpokes Porsche Forum

I was involved in a minor collision (not my fault thankfully) requiring a new bumper cover. My car has ceramic coating on all painted surfaces. I asked the Porsche approved body shop how long I should wait before ceramic coating the newly painted bumper. They answered “no waiting required, you can ceramic coat right away, it’s fully cured once you pick up the car.” Online sources typically mention anywhere from 30-90 days. I called my detailer as well as a shop that specializes in PPF and ceramic coating. Both said to go by whatever the body shop recommends because they best know their paint and curing process.

I’m interested in what everyone’s thoughts are.
Thx
Larry

Larry C wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 3:05 pm I was involved in a minor collision (not my fault thankfully) requiring a new bumper cover. My car has ceramic coating on all painted surfaces. I asked the Porsche approved body shop how long I should wait before ceramic coating the newly painted bumper. They answered “no waiting required, you can ceramic coat right away, it’s fully cured once you pick up the car.” Online sources typically mention anywhere from 30-90 days. I called my detailer as well as a shop that specializes in PPF and ceramic coating. Both said to go by whatever the body shop recommends because they best know their paint and curing process.

I’m interested in what everyone’s thoughts are.
Thx
Larry

First of all, sorry to hear about the mishap. Glad it was minor - rear bumper covers are a snap.

What I've been told from those I consider to know what they're talking about is that ceramic is usually fine but to never PPF fresh paint until fully cured - two or three months is preferred if possible, depending on temps and the like.

And as far as ceramic, if it was me, I'd wait at least a week or so before ceramic, but that's just me. If your body shop says it's good, then they should know a lot better than me.

Am I correct in assuming you're not going to PPF the cover?

blueline wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 3:20 pm

Larry C wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 3:05 pm I was involved in a minor collision (not my fault thankfully) requiring a new bumper cover. My car has ceramic coating on all painted surfaces. I asked the Porsche approved body shop how long I should wait before ceramic coating the newly painted bumper. They answered “no waiting required, you can ceramic coat right away, it’s fully cured once you pick up the car.” Online sources typically mention anywhere from 30-90 days. I called my detailer as well as a shop that specializes in PPF and ceramic coating. Both said to go by whatever the body shop recommends because they best know their paint and curing process.

I’m interested in what everyone’s thoughts are.
Thx
Larry

First of all, sorry to hear about the mishap. Glad it was minor - rear bumper covers are a snap.

What I've been told from those I consider to know what they're talking about is that ceramic is usually fine but to never PPF fresh paint until fully cured - two or three months is preferred if possible, depending on temps and the like.

And as far as ceramic, if it was me, I'd wait at least a week or so before ceramic, but that's just me. If your body shop says it's good, then they should know a lot better than me.

Am I correct in assuming you're not going to PPF the cover?

Not sure yet regarding the PPF. I’ve been going to the same detailer for 45 years. He did the ceramic coating. If I do the PPF, I’ll wait 2-3 months.
Thanks Tim

Sorry to hear that about your car Larry. If it was just the bumper cover that is good and no respray of metal parts. You can't paint meter plastic! Although if going through insurance there is a good chance it will land on the CarFax so you should pursue a diminished value claim.

When I had the same scenario happen to my RS3, both my shop and my detailer told me to wait at least 30 days before applying the new coating. Maybe they were just playing it safe but applying the coating right away feels a little wrong to me.

signde wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 4:54 pm Sorry to hear that about your car Larry. If it was just the bumper cover that is good and no respray of metal parts. You can't paint meter plastic! Although if going through insurance there is a good chance it will land on the CarFax so you should pursue a diminished value claim.

When I had the same scenario happen to my RS3, both my shop and my detailer told me to wait at least 30 days before applying the new coating. Maybe they were just playing it safe but applying the coating right away feels a little wrong to me.

@signde
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your response. I’m not sure what you mean by “meter plastic.” As far as I know, only the new bumper cover had to be painted.

How do you submit a diminished value claim? I’ve had several cars with more damage and the issue of diminished value never was mentioned by Carmax, private party, or at trade in. The reason I’m asking is, unless the diminished value is high, I’m not sure it’s worth the aggravation of dealing with an insurance company, especially the other party’s company.

@Larry C sorry to hear about the damages, good luck getting it sorted.

Larry C wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 6:29 pm

signde wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 4:54 pm Sorry to hear that about your car Larry. If it was just the bumper cover that is good and no respray of metal parts. You can't paint meter plastic! Although if going through insurance there is a good chance it will land on the CarFax so you should pursue a diminished value claim.

When I had the same scenario happen to my RS3, both my shop and my detailer told me to wait at least 30 days before applying the new coating. Maybe they were just playing it safe but applying the coating right away feels a little wrong to me.

@signde
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your response. I’m not sure what you mean by “meter plastic.” As far as I know, only the new bumper cover had to be painted.

How do you submit a diminished value claim? I’ve had several cars with more damage and the issue of diminished value never was mentioned by Carmax, private party, or at trade in. The reason I’m asking is, unless the diminished value is high, I’m not sure it’s worth the aggravation of dealing with an insurance company, especially the other party’s company.

Hey Larry, Ryan is referring to a device used to measure paint thickness using a magnet. It's another tool sometimes used to try and determine if a car has had paintwork. Won't work on plastic!

Regarding Carfax and any other potential insurance industry damage reports, assuming one shows up for something as minor as a bumper cover, an explanation will suffice. Could also keep or scan a copy of the body shop repair ticket.

(Btw, I repaired a text parameter in your quote so that your quoted reply is formatted as intended.)

Hi Tim,
Thanks for your response. I’m familiar with paint meters - I see paint thickness measured on many BAT cars to determine if sections have been repainted. Good to know that it doesn’t work on plastic parts.
Larry

Larry C wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 6:29 pm

signde wrote: Fri May 19, 2023 4:54 pm Sorry to hear that about your car Larry. If it was just the bumper cover that is good and no respray of metal parts. You can't paint meter plastic! Although if going through insurance there is a good chance it will land on the CarFax so you should pursue a diminished value claim.

When I had the same scenario happen to my RS3, both my shop and my detailer told me to wait at least 30 days before applying the new coating. Maybe they were just playing it safe but applying the coating right away feels a little wrong to me.

@signde
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your response. I’m not sure what you mean by “meter plastic.” As far as I know, only the new bumper cover had to be painted.

How do you submit a diminished value claim? I’ve had several cars with more damage and the issue of diminished value never was mentioned by Carmax, private party, or at trade in. The reason I’m asking is, unless the diminished value is high, I’m not sure it’s worth the aggravation of dealing with an insurance company, especially the other party’s company.

blueline covered it on the paint meter. exotic car people are very funny about original paint but plastic bumpers are fair game.

as for diminished value - if the repairs go through insurance the incident will very likely end up on the carfax. any reported incident, even if you have documented proof that it was as minor as a bumper cover will diminish the value of the vehicle. if you auction the vehicle, you'll get less, and if you trade it in to a dealer, they will offer you less. is that justified even if you have it repaired at a reputable repair shop such as one approved by porsche and the car is good as new? not really, but this is the system we are in unfortunately.

if you were not at fault in the accident and the responsible party's insurance is covering the repairs, you should tell them you would like to be compensated for the diminished value of vehicle. anyone that works in insurance will know what this means. laws around that vary by state to state, but given you are in california, i assume your consumer protection laws are pretty strong.

here in tennessee, we don't really have good consumer protection laws. i tried to do this on my RS3 incident. the responsible insurance company told me tennessee law does not require them to compensate for diminished value so they would not. yay big business, i guess?