About Us

The Idea

After purchasing his Porsche 911 in 1998, Eric Sklut, owner and creator of BumperPlugs.com, searched for a solution to plug his car’s front license plate holes. He couldn’t find it, so he decided to develop it himself. After six prototypes and over five months of trials, the right product was finally developed, and BumperPlugs™ were brought to life. Other enthusiasts began to notice Eric’s special plugs, and a business was born. New colors, shapes, and makes were added to the BumperPlugs™ line of products. As the proprietary finish process was proven long-term, BumperPlugs™ began to expand the product line to include various painted trim items (plastic and rubber) and enhancements for audio, lighting and performance.

"Small, yet mighty"

We are a family-owned and operated business out of Charlotte, North Carolina. There is no 'hold music' or long phone trees when you call our office — one of us (yes, a real human) will answer the phone. When you see an email reply it will come from the Chief Plug Guy (Eric) or Mason. We take pride in having a personal, yet professional approach and will make sure you have a smooth experience with us.

Eric, Chief Plug Guy

Mason, IT/Web Manager

"Quality is never an accident"

We’re as particular as anyone about our cars. Our products are tested and retested under extreme conditions to assure the highest level of quality. The professionals at BumperPlugs™ know exactly how to handle the painting of various plastic and rubber materials. Most of our products utilize a proprietary 19-stage finish process that results in an exact factory match every time. It’s taken us hundreds of hours to get each and every one of our products to the level we know our customers deserve. Today, BumperPlugs™ products are sold in over twenty countries. With thousands of customers worldwide, BumperPlugs™ is known for outstanding quality and an unparalleled level of customer service.

The Paint Process

"Fast, Cheap, and Good... pick two. If it’s fast and cheap it won’t be good. If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast. If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap" (Credit - Jim Jarmusch). We take the same philosophy with everything we do... Quality takes time and it is not cheap... To produce factory-quality finishes on our parts, we developed a proven 19-stage proprietary process built on preparation, color matching, and painting. We paint with Glasurit^®, a top-class, premium quality paint line used by over 50 car manufacturers worldwide including: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and many others. Trust us, we are perfectionists when it comes to automotive paint finishes.

Preparation

The most important step in the paint process involves removing all imperfections and creating a surface that the paint finish will bond to. Depending on the complexity and shape of the part, sanding can only be done by hand. Then the parts go through several rounds of priming to ensure proper paint adhesion.

Color Matching

With over 2500 colors available, getting a perfect color match is no easy task. Our paint systems allow us to see all possible variations of a color and then we determine the perfect match using custom mixes and adjustments.

Painting

After preping the materials and adjusting the paint formulation for a perfect match, we begin apply many layers of paint followed by clear coat in our downdraft spray booth. The finishes are then 'baked' to perfection and polished.