Last week's bumper job taught me a harsh lesson about promoters

I put a common adhesive promoter on a poly bumper before painting. The paint began lifting at the edges just one day later. My shop was too cold, and I didn't know that hurts how well it sticks. Always check the temperature and warm the surface first to avoid this.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ray6d ago

At 50 degrees, promoters can take days to cure properly, so @elizabeth97 has a point about the quick failure. Might be the promoter was outdated or the bumper had mold release still on it. Cold just makes every little flaw worse.

elizabeth976d ago

Hmm, I mean, is temperature really that big a deal for adhesive promoters? Idk, I've done similar jobs in my garage when it was pretty cold and never had paint lift that fast. Maybe it's just me, but one day seems super quick for failure, like maybe there was another issue? Cold can slow drying, but lifting edges so soon makes me wonder if the promoter was even needed.

angela432d ago

Yeah, when you say you've done jobs in a cold garage without that fast lift, it makes me wonder about surface prep. Like, was the bumper cleaned with the right solvent? Even a little bit of wax or silicone from a previous detailer could cause that quick edge lift, and cold temps would just stop the promoter from grabbing hold at all.