My 2010 XFR's front bumper is starting to look more like a very experienced MMA fighter's face than the sleek cat she was when she came out of the factory. I have some places where the clear is lifting and generally the bumper cover is showing its age.

So, I'm thinking about repainting or buying a new one and having it painted. I don't think the existing one can be repainted...perhaps reusing the trim is all that it really has to offer.

Can anyone advise on OEM vs aftermarket for a new bumper cover? Also, I've not been really happy with 'patch' jobs I've had done by body shops and any advice on how to evaluate a shop and their plan to match the paint would be appreciated. I presume a shop that uses the same paint as the Jag factory would have the best chance of getting as close as possible to a match.

 

OEM will always fit better than aftermarket. You'd be better off getting a good condition OEM bumper from a salvage yard than a new aftermarket.

I don't know why these people that make "pattern" parts can't test fit their stuff before they sell them to see if they fit, but they seem proud of their reputation for poor fit.

 

So, based on the comment, it seems its viable to sand down the current cover...is that the best route?

 

That's the way I would go.
The front bumper is just plastic, and not at all hard for a good repair shop to sand, fill, sand and paint to get it looking good as new.
And these days any good repair/paint shop is able to mix paint to exactly match the OEM paint.
Hell, even a mobile repair man can do it, I had 50% of the rear bumper of my old XFS repaired and repainted this way, all done in my own garage in half a day, and I couldn't tell where the repair finished and the original paint started!

 

The plastic front bumpers on all modern Jaguar models are susceptible to stone chips. There's a modified paint formulation used to withstand the bumper flexing but the downside is this can be less robust in the clearcoat than on the metal panels.

As others have said, a replacement bumper is an expensive solution to an issue which will occur again if you use the vehicle regularly and unneccesary if there is no structural damage. A good bodyshop can produce a refinish which is undetectable from the original.

Graham

 

yes, totally buy a brand new front.. and sell me your old one..

in truth, any half decent shop should be able to fill, sand, and paint your bumper to factory fresh status.

 

Had it done to mine last year and it looks great. Just refinish the original.

 

If the original paint is still adhering well to the plastic substrate then just use a scotch brite pad or 600 grit sandpaper to scuff the old paint/clear coat prior to repainting it. Attempting to sand all of the old paint off a plastic bumper cover is dangerous and unnecessary. If you need to do some fills use a two part high quality glazing compound much like bondo. Once the original primer seal to the raw plastic is pierced you must use special plastic bonding enhancers prior to repriming before paint. The use of flex additives in the new paint will give it some ductility and resistance to stone chips and the cracking that goes along with them. Decent bumper cover repair is done all the time. Just check out some of the 3M repair videos on You Tube for further info.