softer paint on urethane bumbers and skirts?

Guys and girls... do u think it is possible for the paint on the urethane pieces on my new car (i.e. bumpers and side skirts) to be a good bit softer than the remainder of the car?

has anyone else noticed this on any of their cars or customer's cars?

i am trying to convince myself that only those pieces are so delicate, looking @ them creates spiderwebbing.

 

The substrate(plastic) is softer than a metal part. They will tend it imprint more from rock chips and such. If the paint is cracking(spiderwebbing) it's from a repaint where they didn't use a flex additive or it has been hit. A bumper should tolerate a 5 mph collision without damage as long as it's not against a sharp object or such.

 

Did an STi recently. Clear on the bumpers was harder than the rest of the body.

Worked on a Honda with SS stage paint recently, bumpers were also harder.

So, yes, I would agree that paint 'softness' can vary between a metal body panel and a plastic one.

 

My car had 2 miles when i bought it and all of the bumpers and skirts front and rear share the same characteristic. Im referring more to the ability to mar the paint by touch, but thank you.

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i'm happy to say the majority of my paint is the opposite of your experience...i.e. hard(er) on the body etc. soft on the bumpers.

thanks for the input.

 

Sorry I thought you meant that the paint was cracking when you called it spiderwebbing. oops!

All of the plastic parts on your car are not painted with the same kind of paint as the car so there can be differences. Most of the time they are subleted out to another company besides the manufactuer.

 

agree and confirm. STI bumper paint is a lot harder then body panels.
i noticed that plastic panels on cars have harder paint.
maybe if its softer it means it was repainted with paint without flex agent?

 

Flex additive - plastics bumper covers, spoilers, etc contain plasticizers (flex additive) to help them maintain flexibility so that they can respond to temperature changes. Most paint system manufacturers recommend flex additives in some part of the polyurethane re-finish process.

So this type of paint surface tends to be 'soft'

 

then maybe its soft but fact that its soft takes easier to damage so it takes more to fix, maybe thats why it seems harder?