peeling and chipping paint
So I took my car to the car wash this last weekend, and the paint on the plastic / rubber piece that goes horizontally inside the front grill area started peeling and cracking off. I took my car to the body shop that did the body work on it, and they mentioned that normally the front grill / inside area isnt painted because its flexible rubber. Is this true? When I bought my car used, that area was painted, and definitely wasn't just left matte black or unpainted. Just want to confirm, because they will be fixing it under its warranty, but they asked whether i wanted it repainted again, or if I want to have them just strip all the paint and leave it as black rubber...

pic attached

 

Your bumper has either been replaced due to an accident, or the front has been repainted some time in the past.

 

It's unpainted and black from the factory.

 

Bondo makes a "paint" for black plastic auto parts to restore the original look. I have some actually, used for my 2002 Tacoma bottom front bumper plastic lip and my 2004 MDX bottom rear bumper and hitch.

 

thanks for the info guys! I'll call into the body shop and tell them to keep it unpainted.