Alfa Red Peeling/Cracking to Black on Bumper

[jamezm]

Alfa Red Peeling/Cracking to Black on Bumper

My 2002 Alfa Red 147 has growing peeling sections on the front bumper about 2cm * 30cm on passenger side right near the bottom and about 2cm * 8cm on the pointy bit right in the middle. It's literally cracking/peeling away from the part that's already gone so it's getting worse and worse month by month. Is the bumper plastic? Where the paint has gone it is black and feels more like plastic than metal.

The workshop where I got serviced said it looked like a dodgy replacement bumper must have been fitted in the past and the paint they had used had not had some necessary additive, so it was left brittle. Does this sound right to you guys?

Given the extent of the problem, but given its location on the bumper, do you suggest a repair or a complete replacement bumper?

Whichever you suggest, what kind of cost would I be looking at and does anybody here want to quote for it...? I'm in Brighton but I could drive a reasonable distance if required.

Thanks in advance.

[springbok]

It would help if you could post a pic of the offending area.

[10,500RPM]

It sounds like the garage owner is trying to say they (the bodyshop) did not use flex agents or plastic primer. It is a plastic bumper so a respray is the only option, I would be happy with either stripping it back to bare plastic and spraying it correctly or buying a secondhand bumper in good condition.