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Please help! Yellowing rear bumper - PWP 2018 2.0 Touring

6K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  Dan Villa 
#1 ·
Has anyone ever experienced (and hopefully resolved?) or noticed a 'yellow tinge' on their rear bumper/trunk? I have been battling this since i got the car used in Oct 2019. I believe its from the exhaust but I'm not sure. I have seen similar posts about the issue i've been experiencing, but they are rare to find, and its just a couple people saying 'yeah me too'.

Basically, the entirety of the rear bumper and trunk turn yellow (even the top of the trunk lid), even with weekly/biweekly washes. The only conclusion I've come to so far is that its from the exhaust, as it does not wrap around to the panel gaps. It takes vigorous claybaring to get it off, but it will come off dang near entirely, its just very intensive and right now I'm claying it abput every 1½ or 2 months. I also coat it with jescar powerlock every 4-6 months.

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In the picture, I had already done the trunk (my license plate is yellow too, looks like it sat in a small room with a heavy smoker), but it was just as yellow as the bumper. The bumper came out looking fine after I clayed it too.

It looks significantly worse in person... like really bad. I feel like it sticks out worse than a master blaster fart can.

I'm going to be putting on some GTechniq CSL soon and I'm hoping that will help it come off easier.
 
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#4 ·
Running rich should leave a black residue if anything. The yellow is what throws me off. Old clear coat will sometimes look yellow on a white car but the fact that it can be removed and it comes back. I see why exhaust comes to mind but I can't see it turning yellow from that. weird...
 
#5 ·
It would be interesting to see a Gen X Accord in a wind tunnel as I've noticed that area of my bumper collects dust/dirt/debris after driving. My thought is this is a dead space area and the reason for this occurring and is more visible on a white car.
 
#7 ·
The yellowing looks like some sort of heat damage, as if a heat gun was used to dry the bumper. BTW, I only see the yellowing in the middle section of the bumper between the backup sensors.

Another possibility is that someone used a car wash, polish or treatment that leaves a residue on the paint/clear coat. Over time, the sun causes the coating to yellow.

It's also possible that the bumper has been replaced and/or repainted with a poorer quality than the OEM paint.
 
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#10 ·
Yeah i had already clayed the metal trunk lid where the plate is and a little bit of the plastic bumper when I took the pic.

Im stumped as to what could be causing this. Initially I thought as well it was replaced or something along those lines, but the body lines all match and are even, and i dont think the yellowing would come off if it was from some old residue but I could be wrong.

Also, it seems to find the 'valleys' or low spots in the orange peel and accumulate there first, which is whats pushed me to think it has something to do with the exhaust.

I appreciate your thoughts!!
 
#13 ·
Does that part of the car get more exposed to sun or do you park it somewhere where automatic sprinklers hit the rear or maybe you're driving through something on a regular basis?

Would it be possible to tell if the clear coat wasn't applied evenly back there? I don't know if UV damage would clay bar off.

Also, is it my bad eyes or an illusion that it looks like there are two column like areas on the rear bumper cover directly under the two inner parking sensors where it's less yellow - like the yellow was flowing down and got redirected by the sensors?
 
#16 ·
Yes exactly on the two columns! It looks like it drips around the sensors!

As far as sprinklers/driving through stuff goes, im sure its not that because it had this stuff on the bumper when i bought it. I bought it in the evening so the lighting wasnt the best and i didnt notice it, but it was yellow when i got the car.
 
#17 ·
Can it sitting too long cause this? The car is used and had this when i bought it, but didnt see the yellowing when i bought it because it was night, but it was already yellowed.

I would believe it sat a while before i bought it because it was dirty and the way the dirt sat on the paint and how dirty it was, i initially did think that it sat for a while when i first got the car.

Also, it looks like the yellowing clumps up in the valleys/low spots of the orange peel before it totally films over the clear coat.
 
#15 ·
Can we get more detailed pics? Looks like some type of liquid cascaded from top to bottom as i can see the streaks on the bumper. Maybe compound would help, but you're gonna be burning thru your clear coat. You did mention that it's used. Did you notice the discoloration on the bumper before purchasing?
 
#18 ·
Yeah it had the yellowing when i bought it but i didnt notice until the next day because i got the car at night.

I will get some better pics but unfortunately im going to have to wait for it to reaccumulate because i finished off the car after i took this pic.
 
#20 ·
Since you're not the original owner the next time this discoloring comes back you may want to seek professional (paint/auto body repair) help. With it keep coming back it may be the result of a repair/paint job that either wasn't done right or wasn't taken care of after the repair (not letting the paint cure/etc.) that is causing this issue.
 
#22 ·
This can happen from a botched repaint? I would have thought that then it would not be able to be removed with a clay bar, i figured it would be fused with or under the clear coat. I dont know anything about spraying cars though. I do know though, that when i bought the car there was absolutely nothing protecting the clear coat, but other than that I dont know the history.

Thanks a lot, i wouldnt have thought this could happen from a respray but im going to check that out too now.
 
#21 ·
I'm convinced that your rear was repaired and painted before you bought it. Other 10th Gen Accord owners have not had this issue with that color, and I haven't seen nor heard of this on any other Honda model.

Was a Carfax run on this car to see if any repair was done to it? If not, then it may be worth getting a report.

BTW, I assume that you have the Touring trim since the badges are gone, but the car has rear backup sensors and chrome exhaust tips.
 
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#23 ·
Do you know what can cause this from a repaint? I just figured if it was from that, it would be a part of the clear coat and not be able to be removed with a clay bar. Also no car fax, but i will probably get one here soon.

And yeah its a touring, i debadged because it was disgusting in and around the badges from all this yellow stuff, but they looked to be factory and all in normal symmetry.

I appreciate the help!
 
#28 ·
I have never heard of rail dust. But, after watching the suggested YouTube videos, it seems that rail dust may be causing @Xful's problem.

It also seems that rail dust is more obvious on white cars.
Interesting... had never heard of it. Makes sense though as I stated I've noticed dust accumulate on the rear of my car (which validates what was mentioned in a video I watched about this) in the same area as the OP. Also I don't think the OEM brake pads on our car are the best available. It has been posted in other threads that they don't last long which would lead me to believe they are breaking down (IE: creating more dust) rapidly.
 
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