the nose of my 2009 CS has taken quite a beating here in the DC area. though the carfax was clean when i bought it, i am convinced it was repainted prior to my purchase which is why it is chipping so easily. can you buy a new nose? is this something that a semi-capable DIY can do or do i need a body shop? And do they come prepainted?

 

Yes. Yes, No and No. If you can find a part in good condition in your color, model, etc... you can save cost of paint job. R/R on the front bumper is not difficult nor does it require any special tools.

 

If it is just rock chipped take it to a reputable body shop and have it stripped and repainted and then clear bra it to protect it in the future. It seems a lot of dealers have the front bumpers of their used cars refinished due to rock chips. The key is the person doing the work can't cut corners on the prep work. Those idiots who run around in cars/trucks claiming to be able to refinish your bumper whir on the car and parked in the lot, are the equivalent of modern gypsies stealing from you.

 

Definitely have a clear bra installed after paint to keep from chipping.

 

FWIW I just had a Aerokit front bumper painted. $350 and it came out very close to factory quality. Changing the bumper is easy, although it does take a few minutes.

 

Whatever you do, have it done professionally. Having a nose repainted properly is cheap compared to the hit you would take doing it yourself and buggering it up.

 

Be careful in applying the clear bra after a fresh paint. My buddy's car paint peeled off after he removed the clear film. I would just leave it without a clear bra. Just respray when it gets bad, no big deal...

 

I disagree strongly -- I had some scrapes and scratches on the bumpers of my Mazda CX-9 (now sold), mostly from some idiot who parked me in at a downstairs garage whose walls were cinder block. A fellow named Gene came to my house and two hours & $400 later both front & back looked factory new. You could never tell there were any issues beforehand.

 

Strongly disagree with your advice also on just repainting and no clear bra?Your buddy obviously didn't wait the period of time for the paint to cure......oh and it is a big Deal!!!

 

Thanks to all for the good counsel. I will likely just get it repainted as we have several good places in my area that I would trust with my baby. Do like the thought of undating it with a new aero kit nose.... you buy the new nose then take it someplace to have paint match and install???
Cheers,
Ollie

 

Yes, although you can install it yourself as it is not difficult. The Aerokit bumper cover comes primed and ready to be painted. Suncoast have them for $1500 + shipping, which includes all the duct pieces etc that you will need.

 

you cant get a professional quality paint job without removing the bumpers and having it sprayed in a booth. too many contaminates (dust, dirt, pollen, etc) in the environment that can become embedded in wet paint. maybe that would be ok on my beater car, but never my 911.

 

all depend of the quality level you want.


if you want the repainted part to be as crystal clear mirror as the original paint, you definitely need a great body shop with highly skilled painter. they need a dust free paint room, they need to tune the paint gun pressure based on paint (ask for original Porsche paint) and based on clear coat needs... it's an art... clearly not something that can be done in your driveway.


but if you are fine with a fuggy/blurry paint, then yeah, get someone to do it in the parking lot for you... and hope wind won't send paint to other parts of the car...

 

To be fair it depends on what is being fixed. If it is light scratches and such in the clear coat, they can be polished out or even wet sanded out. A few little chips can be filled with paint and sanded/polished so they are pretty hard to see unless you know where to look. This is very true on dark colors were light clear coat scratches can look white and really stand out. Will it be as good as a high quality paint job? Obviously not, but sometimes a few hours work can restore a bumper pretty well.

 

We all have our personal standards.....