mikeho

After I complained to the dealership, they won't fix the bumper, but they'll buff out the scuffs for me for free.

AznJason

iTrader: (5)

Did you decide to do it yet? For $100, I might think about doing it. (A nice vanity plate and frame is already halfway there... :-P)

mikeho

Thinking, but haven't done it yet. Girlfriend doesn't want me to do it cuz it's $100 that is more for vanity reasons and isn't really necessary. I agree with her. Of course, it'd be nice, but necessary? Not really.

Also, since I've taken off the plate, I haven't had the chance to wash my car to see how it looks. With all the dirt, it's not that noticeable, but with the car clean, I'm sure it'll be more obvious.

If you want, I can refer you to the guy. I can't guarantee that it'll be $100 for you since he gave me a price based on the fact that I've had work done by him before, but I will say that he's cheap and does superb work. If I would guess, I don't think he would charge you over $200. Best thing is to get a quote from him directly.

Audiofan2

I used: http://www.langka.com/complete-paint...81f6ecafc382c7

Also used the Langka system for my rock chips, works well IMO.

twitte

Here is another source for getting rid of paint chips:

Dr. Color Chip
http://drcolorchip.com/touchup-paint.html

xerxes717

What a great idea! I actually called a Napa store a couple days ago, had them order the part and went and picked it up today. Unfortunately, the clips are way too big for the holes in my bumper My bumper has 4 holes, not 2 like most others here, and they're all too small for these clips to fit. Does anyone know if they make these in a smaller size? I imagine they do, but the store is closed for now.

Thanks.

twitte

Sorry to hear they didn't fit. The hole in my bumper was about 3/16" and they fit perfectly. Balkamp has LOTS of sizes. The best thing to do is measure the hole size and also the diameter of the area you are trying to cover. Then take a ruler with you to the auto parts store and start going through all the various sizes they have until you find the one that is best for your car. NAPA had a display rack with the bags hanging on the rack and it was very easy to find the right match. There are other plugs available at other auto stores that will work as well. NAPA will probably give your money back or maybe someone on the Forum might want to buy them from you? Good luck. Keep plugging!

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

i picked up a bag of those clips from napa... i just gave them the part number. at first i thought they were too big to fit in the hole too. but i took a file to the inside of the hole to file it down a little. after that the clips fit in perfectly. it took a little pushing but it fits.

xerxes717

I will definitely go back and try and find one that fits what I measure on my bumper. They didn't have any of these in stock at my store so I might have to ask them etc but I'm sure that can get figured out.

Thanks twitte, you're the man

twitte

If you give me the measurements you need, I'll be glad to get the Balkamp part number from the NAPA store near me. They had a lot of these plugs in stock.

xerxes717

Like I said before, you're the man!

However, when I measured the clips, they seemed like they would work perfectly for holes that were a hair smaller than 3/8th inches, not 3/16th like you originally mentioned The top of the clip is in fact about 1/2 inch like you said. Each of my 4 holes are right around 1/4th (or 2/8thth) of an inch, and therefore too small for the clips to go in.

Ugh, maybe that was all too confusing.. my holes are 2/8th, the clips are 3/8th ie too big.

If you could get me a part number for something that might work with 1/4th inch holes, I'm sure my store will be happy to order them. Cheers mate!

twitte

I'll see what I can find at NAPA tomorrow. Meanwhile, here is a photo of the plug showing the 3/16" measurement for the rigid part of the plug (the part that doesn't compress when you push it into the hole):



The other part of the plug is larger but it is flexible and compresses when pushed inside the hole. This measurement for this part of the plug shouldn't matter that much since it compresses to fit the hole and hold the plug in place.



I'm a little confused at the measurements you gave me but I'll check and see the different sizes available so you can pick the one that you think will fit the best. Good luck.

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

how come those clips above don't look like the ones you posted in the 2nd post of this thread?

twitte

I messed up and took a photo of a plug I got at Kragen or PepBoys (it wasn't the one from NAPA). This plug is the one I'm using in the Porsche. I painted it and tried to use it in the Lexus but the cap wasn't large enough to cover the "volcano" hole. Both plugs fit the same hole size, it's just the cap on this one is slightly smaller and didn't look as good as the NAPA plugs. Sorry about that. I've been through a few plugs looking for the right one. Here is a photo showing 3 samples. The one on the left from NAPA is the one you want.

twitte

There are a lot of different sizes and types of bumper plugs available. Here is the catalog from NAPA Balkamp showing the plugs they sell. Some dimensions are in milimeters rather than inches and also the "C" dimension includes the part that actually compresses when inserted into the hole. You should get a size with a "C" dimension larger than your hole so it will hold in place (unless you are getting the ribbed type and I don't know how they fit). The plug that fit my Lexus holes the best was the 665-2436 (I marked it on the first page).

Here is a link to a PDF of all the plug pages that you can print:
http://www.mastersdiving.org/lexus/NAPAbalkamp.pdf
If it doesn't print correctly, download it to your computer first, then print.