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White Paint Bumper mismatch

Discussion in 'Model 3: Interior & Exterior' started by pipplo, Apr 30, 2018.

  1. Need

    Need Active Member

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    Hmmm no. It seems fine with it on, not going to mess with it. My coworker saw it and think it could be a vinyl wrap that matched the paint to cover up the not matching paint below. But it seems too thin to be vinyl wrap. It looks very much like 3m clear bra to me. My vin is 967XX. Aug 2018 build. AWD.
     
  2. rodrego

    rodrego Member

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    That’s cool. I paid $$$ to get my xpel clear bra.
     
  3. CuriousM3

    CuriousM3 Member

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    Cool , as long as it matches, just enjoy it.
     
  4. 03DSG

    03DSG Active Member

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    I’ve never seen any white car with a perfect paint match between the metal and the plastic flexible bumper cap. The paint used is slightly different. The paint that’s used on the flexible bumper cap surface contains an elastomeric flex additive. This prevent the paint from cracking under minor bumper flex.
    I have both a pearl white Model 3 and a pearl white Ford Escape. Both bumpers are every so slightly different from the metal body panels. This changes in different light conditions as well as the viewing angle. From some angles it looks better than from other angles. Same with different lighting. It actually reflects differently.
    Personally for me it would have to be pretty bad (like when my Model 3 got rear ended at 9 days old) to even think about repainting the bumpers. Repaints just don’t last as well, weather quicker and chip easier than the factory paint.
     
  5. CuriousM3

    CuriousM3 Member

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    I agree with repaints, rather have factory paint, bonds best and has the best longevity.

    I am in LA, white is pretty popular, most I see matches.

    Even in my model 3 the front is slightly off but just casually looking it doesn’t really jump out as much as the rear. I was really hoping they got this down by now, but I knew when I ordered it that there was a very high chance it may not. I was hoping the extra layer of paint meant stricter QC. For now I will live with it as is.
     
  6. VT_EE

    VT_EE Active Member

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    I have no idea if it’s a film or another layer of paint. There is a noticeable line at the edges of the bumper cover though. My VIN is 319xx
     
  7. phtp

    phtp Member

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    Is it a straight line across the whole bumper? The picture Need posted looks like a run in the clearcoat (too much clearcoat was sprayed). Not sure about when it comes from the factory, but this is common when painting from body shops. Detailers are supposed to fix this afterwards.
     
  8. Need

    Need Active Member

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    It is not straight everywhere. At the corners it is easier to see that it looks like film. I took a few more pics this morning with a real camera not my phone.

    carfilm1.JPG carfilm2.JPG carfilm3.JPG
     
  9. phtp

    phtp Member

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    Best guess at this point because it's still hard to see in pictures. To me, it looks like a combination of painting tape edge or defect in the bumper and clear coat runs in some sections. Have you brought it to the SC and have them look at it?
     
  10. CuriousM3

    CuriousM3 Member

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    I do see that clear film your talking about, my silver one had lines on the edge too, but no film though, i will check my white one when i get it back from service
     
  11. Need

    Need Active Member

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    Not going to bring it in for that. Honestly I can't see it unless I am like 6 inches from the bumper. I am going to put 30,000 miles a year on it and by the 3rd year there will be chips and dings all over it anyway.
     
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  12. rainforest

    rainforest Active Member

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    Is it even possible to get a factory painted bumper shipped to the service Centre? I took delivery of my AWD two days ago, and it came with 3 paint defects. I really want to have factory paint rather than a repaint.
     
  13. Trevor B

    Trevor B Active Member

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    Makes no sense ... but, hey, it's your car
     
  14. phtp

    phtp Member

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    I got my car last week and I have the exact lines you were talking about in picture number 2. That's part of the bumper and not much could be done about it, unless they sand it down and smooth out the plastic, then repaint.
     
  15. rainforest

    rainforest Active Member

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    When they repaint the bumper, do they have to blend into the quarter panels and trunk lid? Would be a shame to paint over the factory paint on undamaged panels.
     
  16. skrtskrt

    skrtskrt Member

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    Has this issue been resolved yet? Owners with the latest VIN can you chime in to see if Tesla has corrected this?
     
  17. rainforest

    rainforest Active Member

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    My VIN is 108XXX. My bumper is not perfect, but very close in colour. Good enough for me.
     
  18. skrtskrt

    skrtskrt Member

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    You got any pics?
     
  19. rainforest

    rainforest Active Member

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    My bumper has been painted 3 times in the past 3 weeks, and they are trying for a 4th time. Each time they said it was so mismatched they didn't even need me to check. Two different autobody shops have already tried to match the colour.

    If I had known it was rocket science to match the colour on a pearl white car, I would have bought a different colour. If I ever get into an accident, colour matching will be a disaster. Really regretting this choice.
     
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  20. Amateurguru

    Amateurguru New Member

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    Adding a data point here. This one was built on 12/18. Delivered today and returned to delivery center. They will replace the bumper. The supervisor told me that she “can’t guarantee replacing the bumper will make it look any better.”
     

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