C5 Corvette front bumper wanted

[Danvette]

Some absolute tool decided to reverse into me with his pickup, the tow bar ripping up the front bumper good.

I'm desperately trying to find a replacement as I have no idea how to remedy this. Any insurance company is sure to try and write it off. And American sourced ones, if available, aren't shipping to the UK.

Absolutely gutted, especially after only just having it PPF wrapped. It didn't stand a chance protecting against this much idiocy.

 

[teamzr1]

That is the front bumper cover as metal bumper is behind that
I see one for $400 at

Buy 1997-2004 C5 Corvette Front Bumper Cover OEM in Hagerstown, Maryland, US, for US $400.00

Buy 1997-2004 C5 Corvette Front Bumper Cover OEM in Hagerstown, Maryland, US, for US $400.00

www.2040-parts.com

You need to find out what the GM paint code is for that
Normally that paint for the cover is a bit different paint code than the body is

See some on Ebay

C5 Corvette Front Bumper for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for C5 Corvette Front Bumper at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

 

[Danvette]

I had no idea the bumper cover would be a different paint code. I understand a colour code is included on the spec sticker, but assume the bumper and body codes aren't listed separately?

Thanks for the links. It looks like I'll have to see if anyone is willing to ship a bumper, and hope to find a shop that can paint match

 

[Llewelyn]

@Danvette a good bodyshop should be able to sort that - they can reshape it using heat and a little flexible filler then repaint it. I would avoid going through insurance because they will probably write the car off purely on the basis of parts availability and you don't want that... !

 

[teamzr1]

I found out when installing a custom hood to my 1999 C5
The paint shop mixed the colors for the GM color of car
When they were done with the painting, I stopped over and asked them to move the C5 out in the sunlight
I was wearing sunglasses that were polarized and saw the hood color to the fenders were different shades

Turns out due to the body and like front/rear fascia (covers) are different materials and that shop happened to
use the code for the covers, thus the new hood was not matching the paint of the body but the covers
so paint shop had to redo painting the hood after they did some checking and found out about the color codes
and how to mix to get the right one for body

As you see as example for a 2002 C5 there is 2 to 3 different paint codes for some colors
and paint shop needs to understand using the right GM code when mixing to make the paint color

So whoever you use to do the painting must understand how to mix the proper tints/colors that match what
the front bumper cover requires
As you see here, for the same color there are multi codes needed depending on part of C5 being painted
Also requires the correct primer /base coat and clear coats

Notice in the paint chips shown the slight shade differences

 

[teamzr1]

@Danvette a good bodyshop should be able to sort that - they can reshape it using heat and a little flexible filler then repaint it. I would avoid going through insurance because they will probably write the car off purely on the basis of parts availability and you don't want that... !

Considering that cover makeup, some of it bounced back out, so total damage behind the cover is not known
as to what brackets, or whatever mounts behind the cover got bent that the cover have to come off to look for, further
internal damage

Being the cover is contoured, not sure how patching that would hold up over time and holding the same shape ?

 

[Llewelyn]

Considering that cover makeup, some of it bounced back out, so total damage behind the cover is not known
as to what brackets, or whatever mounts behind the cover got bent that the cover have to come off to look for, further
internal damage

I can tell you what is behind that part of the bumper - Fresh air! Worse case it will have compressed some of the polystyrene type stuff behind it but I doubt anything will be bent...

 

[Custom exotics]

Just had a look at ur pics there and recon we could repair that not sure what area your in ? But if we can sure another bodyshop could as well .please don't take any notice of team zr1 nonsense of different paint codes for fascias from car it's a load of rubbish and sounds to me like he needs to find a better body shop. There is only 1 paint code per gm colour but this is just the generic code ie it will be same code with ppg glasirit max mayer etc but each manufactures colour will be a little different and each manufacturer may have several variations of that colour ,could be redder or bluer or dirtier . To be honest even if you painted panels with same paint in same gun at same time they might not match due to different material ie metal panels to plastic bumpers etc . From the looks of the pic we think yours is the tri colour paint meaning it's got a tinted clear so you can only paint the panel edge to edge for colour . If it was a normal colour you would blend joining panels. Hope this helps if you need any proper advice on this then please call us on 0780150162

 

[teamzr1]

I suggest you stick with the exotics

For my 1999 C5 has not one but listed 5 paint codes for Navy Blue Metallic



There is a reason the paint code chips show 3 shades
Materials and Construction

The front bumper assembly of the C5 Corvette is primarily constructed using a combination of materials, with the most prominent being plastic composites
. Specifically, it utilizes a blend of polyurethane (PU) / Urethane

1. Polyurethane (PU): PU is a versatile polymer known for its high strength-to-weight ratio, flexibility, and resilience. In automotive applications, particularly bumpers, it offers excellent shock absorption capabilities, which means it can deform and then return to its original shape after low-speed impacts, reducing repair costs.
The C5’s front bumper cover, the outermost visible part, is made from this special material, providing both a sleek look and functional protection.

Both front and rear bumpers are made of the same material. GM calls Reinforced Reaction Injection Molded (RRIM)
modern plastic bumper covers-such as those used on C5 Corvettes-require an entirely different arsenal of products and paints

The body is made of SMC (Sheet Molded Compound): Today's Corvette body panels are made from this material.

Fact is the paint shop I used after talking to GM had them change the ratio of paint makeup to match correctly and 15 years later still color matches

Far easier to use one color when being it having no metal flakes, but when it does, like Corvette paints there is a damn good reason to use the right shade of 1 paint, or it will turn out like this by a lazy cheap paint shop and would look worse in sunlight
as even with the clear coat, the rear cover color looks flat
.

After 14 years SMC and polyurethane panels slight shade paint still all matches

 

[Custom exotics]

Team zr1 quit with the stick to your exotics statement ,you are an engine tunner we are a specialist bodyshop who have paint prob in excess of 70 corvettes you have taken your corvette to a bodyshop who have clearly not checked the variants of your vettes colour and painted it with standard shade then given you some bull reason on why the colour doesn't match

 

[Danvette]

@Danvette a good bodyshop should be able to sort that - they can reshape it using heat and a little flexible filler then repaint it. I would avoid going through insurance because they will probably write the car off purely on the basis of parts availability and you don't want that... !

This is my big fear, I'm seeing alif any body shops can take on the repair. Or maybe help source some parts. Insurance I've always found useless.

 

[Danvette]

Just had a look at ur pics there and recon we could repair that not sure what area your in ? But if we can sure another bodyshop could as well .please don't take any notice of team zr1 nonsense of different paint codes for fascias from car it's a load of rubbish and sounds to me like he needs to find a better body shop. There is only 1 paint code per gm colour but this is just the generic code ie it will be same code with ppg glasirit max mayer etc but each manufactures colour will be a little different and each manufacturer may have several variations of that colour ,could be redder or bluer or dirtier . To be honest even if you painted panels with same paint in same gun at same time they might not match due to different material ie metal panels to plastic bumpers etc . From the looks of the pic we think yours is the tri colour paint meaning it's got a tinted clear so you can only paint the panel edge to edge for colour . If it was a normal colour you would blend joining panels. Hope this helps if you need any proper advice on this then please call us on 0780150162

That's reassuring to hear you say it's likely repairable. And that there aren't weird paint code variants. I'm based near Bristol, where are you (about to Google search anyway)?

 

[Custom exotics]

We are Harlow Essex area still !! But just nor at old unit

 

[Custom exotics]

Paint code will be in your glove box and there will prob be variants but the code is the code variants of that colour only come if people have had issues matching a colour so a new variant is created it's still the code in glove box but a paint manufacturer might give you options like cleaner shade redder shade courser shade etc we did a Ford ka many yrs ago that had 27 variants under its colour code ! None matched so we had to custom tint it to get it right .but if it is the colour we think it is we got a good match on that with last one we did for a local customer to us

 

[Danvette]

We are Harlow Essex area still !! But just nor at old unit

So far away. If I was closer I would definitely drop in

 

[Custom exotics]

as said you need any advice just call