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Hey guys - I recently noticed a scratch mark that ended up getting dragged deeper into the paint of my car on the Left side front quarter panel. Fortunately, my car came with the hood protection film so some of the scratch on the hood and left side quarter panel should be okay because of the film. Unfortunately, there is no film on my bumper so the deepest part of the paint was scraped off on the left side of the bumper (literally on the fender part of the bumper). This is a 2015 CPO'd car that is out of warranty, and I'm not quite sure where or when this happened. I just noticed the scratches this morning and I'm thinking it happened within the last two days max (I commute quite a lot for work with tons of stops throughout my day). I've attached a couple of pictures and would really appreciate any of your advice. Do you think I should take it to my Lexus dealer to see what kind of quote they'd give me? (I hope its not a grand for something like this). Should I clean up the white marks/scratches so only the bare part with the missing paint is exposed? Thanks
If you want it to be perfect, you're going to have to paint the entire front bumper and quarter panel (perhaps even have blend a bit to the door). Most likely it will be more than the grand you don't want to pay. Alternatively, take the PPF off and touch up the chips.
Don't take it to a Lexus dealer, they outsource bodywork anyways. So bring it to a reputable shop if you are going to paint larger areas.
The ppf is only on the quarter panel. I'm more worried about the touch up on the bumper. I thought going to Lexus would be better since they will have/know someone who has the perfect paint coat to touch this up. Can't believe this will cost more than a grand (if painted back to normal). Thanks
Yeah any collision center or paint shop is going to paint the whole bumper. They usually won't "touch up" just the dings. You could always try yourself with a touch up pen?
I think you can get it looking pretty good yourself, not 100% but perhaps enough to pass.
I've done one similar on an older car I had.
Some auto detailers may be willing to take on the job for a fraction of the cost (and quality) of a body shop. But again, my bet is it will look pretty good. May have to repeat in a year as they seem to wash away with time.
I think you can get it looking pretty good yourself, not 100% but perhaps enough to pass.
I've done one similar on an older car I had.
Some auto detailers may be willing to take on the job for a fraction of the cost (and quality) of a body shop. But again, my bet is it will look pretty good. May have to repeat in a year as they seem to wash away with time.
Thanks for the info. Do you have any suggestions as to what company lexus paint touch up pens you've used? I've heard that paint touch up pens will only blend in correctly if they are clear coated on top of the touch up. Hope that makes sense. Would like to hear more about how you did yours. Thanks!
Yeah any collision center or paint shop is going to paint the whole bumper. They usually won't "touch up" just the dings. You could always try yourself with a touch up pen?
Yeah, I've been looking into them and a lot of the pens that work well with touching up don't have clear coat on them, so you can actually tell the different once I clay scrub all the white scratches and mark. If you recommend any specific touch up pen company, that'd be really helpful! Thanks
That's more than I would want to touch up but that's just me. Try it out and see how it looks. If you can't live with it, go to a proper shop.
I'm just afraid if I touch it up and ruin it even further, the body shop would price it even higher now since they will have to scrub off the touch up layer to re-paint. If you have any suggestions on specific touch up pens that'd be really helpful. Thanks!
I'm just afraid if I touch it up and ruin it even further, the body shop would price it even higher now since they will have to scrub off the touch up layer to re-paint. If you have any suggestions on specific touch up pens that'd be really helpful. Thanks!
Use these guys or buy a paint pen from your dealership. It's not going to cost anymore at the body shop because of you adding touch up paint.
I'm not good or patient enough to offer much for suggestions on painting. I watched you tube and read some others experience and have seen really good results (my results were...decent enough).
I've only done rock chips on my IS but here is the paint I used. You can buy clear separately (I used the clear that came in a pen I have for my other car).
Choose your color code of course. I cant even find the chips I painted over when walking by my car cause it matched so well.
Even if you go another route, it's good to have one of these around.
if you want to go a step above touch up AND you are crafty, check out dr colorchip
the alternative is a bumper respray. should be about 500-600 in most places. $250 -300 if you're savvy and approach it smart. (read forums, see where enthusiasts go etc)
if you want to go a step above touch up AND you are crafty, check out dr colorchip
the alternative is a bumper respray. should be about 500-600 in most places. $250 -300 if you're savvy and approach it smart. (read forums, see where enthusiasts go etc)
What do you mean to refilm the metal? Do you mean clear coat it?
Don't you use Dr colorchip to touch it up? Or is there a separate touch up paint that's used, followed by doctor chip to add in additional coatings on top? Sorry for the questions but I've never been in this situation before and I'm a bit nervous since I was just about to sell/trade this car in (Don't want to get hit with dealerships low ball on the car just cause of this situation). Thanks for the help!
My car got dinged by someone while parked
