Different Shade Of Colour On Bumpers...

[Predikanten]

I have an A3 2004, brilliant red metallic i think the colour is called.

I have only had the car for a week and yesterday when i was sitting 30 meeters from the car i noticed that there are a different shade of the red on the bumpers than on the rest of the car. First i got affraid that my car had been in an accident and that the rear bumper had been re-painted but i can see the same phenomena on the front bumper as well.

Worried that this was limited to my car only i started to search the net for ads with pictures on similar cars. As i can see, the same difference is noticeable on several cars that i found pictures on. I have attached some pictures for you to see. Some might say that its the light playing a trick with us but on my car i can quite clearly see it in normal daylight. Its like the colour is more glowing on the metal parts of the car while its more dull on the bumpers that i guess are made in plastic?

Has anyone else noticed this on his/her car? Look closely on the pictures and i think you also will notice the difference. Its most visible where the bumper part of the body meets the side of the body, just infront and below the rear lights. ´

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[Stannary]

Get your polish out see if you can bring the colour to match.
I know red is a difficult colour to match when respraying perhaps it's the same when it's built in the factory.
Paint does look different when sprayed onto plastic i've noticed it but only on older cars i've had in the past.
It might of had stone chips or parking scrapes before you bought it.
The main dealer told me most of their cars 1or 2 years old have had some cosmetic work.
I'm going to have a good look at my car,it's black & shows every scratch but i've never noticed anything before & only polished it today as it was such a lovely day.

[pete-p]

It's probably because of the sun bleaching the paint. After time the paint will lose the pigment, happens most with red colours and white, and especially on plastics. if you have a sunroof you might notice it there as well.

My brothers car that is green has a different shade on the sunroof, and my sisters car has faded on the plastic parts, the bumpers and wing mirrors. polish should help slow it down, and a cutting compound could bring some colour back.

Pete.

[AllWheelGrip]

the angle of light and yea there is normal fading

[A3king]

Hello!,

I have a black one and its a duller sort of black on the plastic, i think its just that the two materials are very hard to match up. Polish could assist

[Predikanten]

Dont think i have seen this problem on other cars than A3:s but maybe thats cause i havent looked for it and noticed it. Guess its easier to notice stuff like that when its on your own car.

[T-sport]

you would be best to use a good resin polish that protects from the sun as it does cause fading on certain colours and red is a bad colour for sun bleaching as pete-p says.
Would recommend auto glym range of polishes to protect the paint.

[RickT]

All….

The reason why the paint is a different colour is due to one been on Metal and the other on Plastic..
This is because a special process has to be used when painting modern plastic components and this involves using a flexi-aid and additives in the paint to prevent it cracking when the part bends.
This results from the paint appearing a different shade.. This is like this on every audi… Silver / Blue / Red are the colours you can notice this the most on… on the back wings to the bumpers…
If you take a trip to your local audi garage and have a look you will see..

[RickT]

PS dont worry... it will be normal..

[woodhamd]

Could this be down to the lower oil based paints used nowadays due to EU directives?