i have the factory aero kit painted in indiblue. front bumper has a stress crack
in the paint (almost a crack in star pattern) about a size of a dime in
the clearcoat. its perfectly smooth to the touch. i didnt even notice it until i
put a 500w halogen lamp to it while I was running some swirl removal
tonight...

from what i can see, im probably gonna leave it as is for now unless the
paint starts to peel. is there anything i can do in the meantime to help protect it?

i highly doubt another coat of clear is going to help. perhaps invisible bra might
be best... ?

wat to do?

 

Sounds like it could be a stone impact?

The 'plastic' parts of the car are sprayed with a flexible version of the std paint, sort of like adding a rubberiser to the original paint mix. (Clear coat too)

This allows considerable flexing without the paint peeling off, you'd be amazed as to how flexible it is!

I suspect your damage will not get any worse, as the natural flex of the paint will assist in containing the cracking you see now.

Use some swirl minimising glaze to mask the visual effect, and leave the respray until something more significant happens to the front bumper, like a major impact or a collection of stone chip craters.

Chris.

 

cooperb- thanks for the info. yah, i believe the dealer/body shop used flex agent
in the clear so i *think* im okay for now. im going to give it some more
waxing next time and just leave it as is for now until as you said, a bigger impact
(hope not!).

its on the top part of the front bumper so not sure if its a stone impact...
it almost looks like it was impacted from the inside out during installation...???
its just above the marker lens on the passenger side about 1in from
the edge. i didn't even notice this when i picked up the car...and im a pretty
picky guy when it comes to body panels...so...