AP2 bumper, black area
 

So the PO of my car had the front bumper resprayed due to road debris damage, the issue is the little indented area which is normally black has been painted over. Pic here, with arrow pointing to area of concern. Sorry best pic I had available for the moment.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...36c32e4a29.jpg


As a winter project I plan on correcting this. Can someone post an up close version of an OEM paint job and describe is the paint more flat black, glossy, etc.. ? I know this may seem silly but every time I see a normal/stock paint job on a bumper it drives me nuts.

Think oem is bbs plastic finish<no paint>,I would flat black it :thumbup:

I think the black bits are actually inserts that can be pulled out as well?

On an OE bumper, those bits are normally left unpainted, as the bumper comes from factory with a matte black finish on the bumper. Recently I was involved in an accident and I had to let the body shop know that I specifically didn't want those spots painted. Since yours are painted as it is, you can definitely recreate the matte finish by masking off the section, sanding it down, and going over with with some black trim paint. I think SEM makes some that holds up well. Since its so low on the bumper, even if you screw it up a little it will be really hard to tell, but the job seems relatively straight forward.

I got a new bumper once due to fender bender. I specifically pointed out to body shop on old bumper those inserts are supposed to be unpainted. Yeah, yeah, we got this. We're professionals. Go to pickup car and...yup. They painted them. Arrrgh.

Same story with my car. Some lady wasnt paying attention and backed into my car causing a tiny crack in the paint. I got it fixed through insurance and sure enough I asked them not to paint the inserts and of course they did. I had them repaint over it in black but the paint is chipping off and you can see the silver. Its annoying but I will eventually get to it

Thanks all for the tips and support, I guess I'm not alone on this one. Going to grab the car from storage once my replacement grill comes in and make this a mini winter pat myself on the back project. Will post pics with results and experiences.

1. these are not inserts that pop out, they are integrated into the front bumper.
2. yes, they are originally unpainted, so as to which they are left the matte black you often see.
3. in this case your painters painted over it, which sucks but an easy "fix" other than said above is go to a local Home Depot, buy a can of the black plastidip, and mask off the area around that area, give it a few light coats over that "cutout" and you'll be good to go. May not be as feasible as the sanding down method, but it's just another quick option.

Never used the stuff, but I assume plasti dipping that area would be an inexpensive suggestion to start.

There are LED fog lights available that fit over this area that look pretty good.