Scratch!! =(

spinteews · 09-05-01, 08:07 PM

OMG i'm going to cry... THIS SUCKS, my sister drove my car and parked it, then she came back and there was this FAT bumper scratch... sigh, i'm so mad, what should i do guys?? my babys only 3weeks old about, and i get a fatty scratch like this??? WHY ME!!! sigh, well guys what would be best? paint or replace bumper? or what? i called my insurance and i have a 500 deductable thingy so not sure what i can do about it, but here are the horrible pictures....

spinteews · 09-05-01, 08:09 PM

... more terrifying pictures

i'm so damn

jlrogers · 09-05-01, 09:48 PM

Have you tired to buff it out yet? I think a rag and some basic wax will do wonders from the looks of the pictures.

jlr

satxrx · 09-06-01, 12:06 AM

I recently discovered a freakin' door ding from an inconsiderate door flinging moron...

But in your case, I would try what was suggested and try buffing out some of the scratch and see how that looks. Worst case would probably be just having it repainted but replacing the bumper is not practical, IMHO. Sorry again. Good luck.

Gerald Novarro · 09-06-01, 05:50 AM

Sorry to see what happened, not many people have enough integrity to pay for their mistake and you are left with the $ problem. My wife and I always park our new cars as far away as possible from parking lot active areas to avoid damage.

Did your flexible bumper retain its rounded shape in that area?

You can try a body shop to see how much the repair would cost, find out if they recommend replacing the bumper (if it didn't retain its shape they might recommend filling it or replacing it), a trained eye and a sharp pen might get the estimate past the deductible. Please note that flexible bumpers require paint with a flex additive and clear etc.....

If you decide to live with it some cleaner wax will get the other vehicles paint out of the abrasion area, however from the looks of the picture there are some dark areas that require touch up with a fine paint brush.

malhokc · 09-06-01, 07:50 AM

I'm sorry to hear about the damage to the RX. It really sucks, especially when it's a new vehicle.

Anyway, if the plastic is not cracked or bent, it can be smoothened out and painted. Alot of the bodyshop can paint the damaged portion and blend it in with the rest of bumper, without having to paint the entire bumper. Buffing will not do anything if the scrathes are deep. You are looking at about $250 to repaint the entire bumper (Chgoland price).

Swing913 · 09-06-01, 09:37 AM

Buffing the bumper won't help at all, all u have to do is bring it into a shop and tell them to paint the entire bumper again. Make sure that the shop is a pro since there is no color code for the bumper color. They have to be very good with paint to match it perfectly. Moreover, they need to remove the entire bumper to paint it so it will probably take a day or so but definetly no need to replace the whole bumper.

mooretorque · 09-06-01, 10:02 AM

Have it painted. Most of that scuff won't come out (personal experience), and the paint will be crazed (multitude of spiderweb-like cracks)where the bumper deformed and then popped back into shape.

No need to replace bumper tho. (I always wish I could find the individual involved and use their head as a bumper basher.........)

spinteews · 09-06-01, 11:06 AM

thanks for all the helpful info and help, i'm going to try and clean it and buffer it first and see the results with that first... thanks again

salimshah · 09-06-01, 07:32 PM

Had similar [in fact little worse] thing happen at Chuy's [same place where the Bush twins got into trouble

].
Strange but it was the same side and the offender did not leave a note.

I had more black showing through, so obviously buffing was not a solution. I taped around the area and used 200 grit wet sanding paper. After washing and drying I did the following.

Bought a cheap air brush [canister and wand] from Michael's $20.
Bought touch-up bumper paint from Lexus $5~7
Shook the touchup paint well and poured it in a little bottle.
Used the airbrush to spray the paint on.
Layered the paint extremely thin.

Results are acceptable but not perfect. Professional repaint is the only proper fix once the scrape goes past the paint.

Why pay for a new bumper which also has to be painted.

Salim

LexRX · 09-06-01, 07:53 PM

woah spinteews

I know how you feel. There is nothign worse than coming to your car and seeing it damaged. Rage!!! I wouldn't have thought your scratch was that bad, but the pictures show it all. Sorry that happened to you. It lookes like some parts on the very top and bottom of the scratch are all the way down to the black plastic of the bumper.

How did this scratch happen, did you sister back into something?

spinteews · 09-06-01, 10:03 PM

update:

I came home from work and washed my car, haha it was dark but i had to see how bad it was after i wash my car, but its better then before.... still got the black scratches but its still noticable a bit...

uagh, damn idiot drivers, my sis parked the car, came back and the scratch was there!!! most likly that moron driver thought he could get out but ended up scractching my car... uagh

kuch123 · 09-07-01, 11:18 PM

Get some #M Rubbing compound from the local auto parts store, rub like hell (by hand) and you'll get everything off except the black areas where the scratch it through the paint. If ya don't want to drop the $500, id try the airbrush technique suggested above on the black areas, which from what I can see, seem kinda small. Good luck..