[Ph4zed]

Scraped the bottom corner of my bumper exiting a narrow parking garage. Am I able to repair this myself? I would mask off everything but that corner, sand it down, apply body filler, prime and then add the paint. Or is this something I should take to a shop? Guessing this will be like a 6-$700 repair. It’s not that noticeable unless you get pretty close. The other alternative would be touching it up but these are deeper body scratches so I imagine I would need body filler and primer in addition to the basecoat and clear coat.

[overcoil]

have a pro do it.
I think the proper way to get a repair is take the bumper off the car, they may sand down the whole bumper.

Can you see it when standing near the car ?

[Ph4zed]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

have a pro do it.
I think the proper way to get a repair is take the bumper off the car, they may sand down the whole bumper.

Can you see it when standing near the car ?

You can see it from distance if you have good eyes, once you get up real close you almost have to bend down to the floor to see it. If it were higher up on the body and more visible, I’d be more inclined to pay a pro. But since it’s so far down I was trying to find a way to at least hide the white scratches, if not completely repair it.

[CDNick]

Originally Posted by Ph4zed

You can see it from distance if you have good eyes, once you get up real close you almost have to bend down to the floor to see it. If it were higher up on the body and more visible, I’d be more inclined to pay a pro. But since it’s so far down I was trying to find a way to at least hide the white scratches, if not completely repair it.

Depending on how deep the scratches are and how much paint is left I’ve had pretty decent luck touching up this kind of thing on previous cars by doing the following:
1. Mr. Clean magic eraser to rub off any dirt (this works best for paint transfer, might not help here)
2. Wet sand with very fine wet sand paper (start with 2000 and go up to 1500 or 1000/600 depending on result.
3. Polish with something like meguiar’s ultimate compound to hide the finer scratches
4. Wax area
5. See if improved enough that you don’t need to get it painted.

No guarantees it will work in your case, but I was surprised how much I’ve been able to clean by doing this in the past.

[Maynard]

They also make dark colored wax that helps hide the scratches.

[cooolone2]

Ouch!!!

Being that it's on the underside, DIY is ok as even if you have to spray some touch up and blend it, you really won't notice any amature mistakes but you'll get rid of the rash!

Taking down the scratches is what's needed to be done, working the bumper while in car is going to be a PITA unless you have a lift. As noted, if deep (past paint) then you'll need to sand it down till it's clean. Fill any gouges with filler, sand down again, repeat if necessary until smooth as glass. Then prime, paint, sand, polish, seal, then wax and done! Lol... A lot of work for sure!

A shop won't give it the TLC you will, but they'll do the same, albiet a lot quicker! Some time vs cost is the real consideration.

Good luck!

[Ph4zed]

Hey guys,

I gave it a shot last weekend, and here is the result:



It’s not great by any means, but does the job of hiding the scratches. Here is how I did it:

1) Washed/cleaned surface with goof off to remove any paint transfer
2) Washed surface with soap and water
3) Sanded entire scratch region
4) Used rustoleum 2 in 1 touch up paint + primer, applied a few coats.
5) Let the rustoleum paint + primer dry, then applied a few coats of BMW Sapphire black base coat.
6) Let the base coat dry, applied a few layers of clear coat.
7) Finished off with some turtle wax rubbing compound once the clear coat dried overnight, then polished.

We’ll see how it lasts, but hopefully it’s fine. If I could do it, literally anyone can. Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone!

[pmcmtnbkr]

i hope t holds up for you. when spraying bumpers or an plastic parts the paint should have an additive added to it to allow it to flex and not crack when bumper moves or at the very least an adhesion additive

[XutvJet]

Looks great and should be fine. That's pretty much how I would have done it given the scratch location. No one will notice it unless you point it out.

There is no need for a "flex agent" in this case. The key to painting plastic is extreme cleaning, light scuffing, and the use of an adhesion promotor for plastics like Bully Dog Promotor or similar. Since the panel was already painted and scuffed, the lack of using an adhesion promotor should likely be fine in this instance.

[B58togo]

Originally Posted by pmcmtnbkr

i hope t holds up for you. when spraying bumpers or an plastic parts the paint should have an additive added to it to allow it to flex and not crack when bumper moves or at the very least an adhesion additive

Flex additive is what allows someone to tap your bumper at less than 5 mph and not cause any issues. It's not needed for a 5" repair on the bottom of the bumper.