I finally get my IS350 back from the body shop after 2.5 weeks (I rear-ended an SUV and went under it -- everything up front is new now). Not even a week goes by, I see this big chip in the bumper. I don't remember hitting anything so I think someone in my neighborhood did it.

I would appreciate any advice on repairing this properly. The scratch goes kinda deep and the plastic has peeled back and hanging now. I've read on here that the dealer sells touch-up paint that will match it, but are there other materials I need to fix this right? Or should I just go back to the body shop to get it fixed and what would something like this cost?

 

You have to be good at touch up body work to repair that properly. You would have to mask a square about 4" total diameter.....then lightly sand the clear off....spray your body color then clear again ...then the tricky part....wet sanding with 1500-3000 grit EXTREMELY careful then hit the whole bumper with a finishing compound... i.e. Meguiers Diamond Cut is awesome...and SHAZAM! FIXED!! But like I said...you have to know what your doing if you want a perfect repair.

 

^ What he said. You can't just throw touch up paint on that, it will look like hell. I would suggest comparison shopping. Check out some PDR places too, I've seen a few that do paint work too at cheaper prices than a regular body shop.

 

Yea I'm sure you can find a good shop to do it for a fair price.

 

Or you could get Dr Colorchip. It's probably the easiest way of doing it. Just make sure to do multiple coats to get it to fill in nice.

 

Was your front bumper repaired after the accident or replaced with a new one? If it was just repaired the paint is going to chip easier then the factory paint job. Its all about the prep work the body shop did before they repainted the bumper. Applying more product on top of an already painted bumper will chip easier because the paint has nothing to adhere to. The old paint must be sanded off down to the bumper plastic then repainted. But that is a ton of work so alot of shops take the short cut.

 

^^^ Yup, thats for sure.

 

I'd just touch it up like everyone said. Its not worth getting the whole bumper repainted for just a nick. Or you can look for a used replacement OEM bumper on ebay thats the same color.

 

Thanks for the advice so far.

Yeah the bumper is entirely new. (so are the headlights, grill, hood, front fenders....you get the picture, i f#cked my car up pretty badly).

I was really happy with the work the body shop did and it looked better than before the wreck. I'm just mad that something like this happens very soon right after the major repairs. You might be able to see some paint damage around the parking sensor too, but I can live with that. I may get a quote from the body shop since I know nothing about body work.