[charpour]

Hi all,

Some idiot must have moved some stuff around my car and scratched my bumper on the right side (which, by the way, has been repaired and repainted few weeks back) in the garage.

Some of the scratches seem to be relatively deep (I can feel them with my fingernail) but most are not too deep. Do you think this can be repaired without too much hassle (e.g. without having to repaint the bumper again) without leaving any visible spots?

Also does it help that it has been repainted very recently? For example it could be easier to paint only part of the bumper?

Drives me crazy every time this happens, especially during these days..

[John in VA]

Some of those scratches may "disappear" with proper polishing, but the deeper ones will need to be touched up with a paint stick or airbrush.

[charpour]

Originally Posted by John in VA

Some of those scratches may "disappear" with proper polishing, but the deeper ones will need to be touched up with a paint stick or airbrush.

Thanks for your reply. Do you think that touch up paint would be sufficient to cover them up without requiring a repaint? Also, it possible for only parts for the bumper to be repainted instead of the whole bumper if touch up doesn't give satisfactory results?

[donkey]

Originally Posted by charpour

Thanks for your reply. Do you think that touch up paint would be sufficient to cover them up without requiring a repaint? Also, it possible for only parts for the bumper to be repainted instead of the whole bumper if touch up doesn't give satisfactory results?

Try it and let us know

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by charpour

Also, it possible for only parts for the bumper to be repainted instead of the whole bumper if touch up doesn't give satisfactory results?

A good detailer will be the best place to start if you don't think you have the skills or tools. Body shops can air brush or spot paint a portion of the bumper cover & blend the repair into the uninvolved portion, depending on their abilities.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by John in VA

Some of those scratches may "disappear" with proper polishing, but the deeper ones will need to be touched up with a paint stick or airbrush.

If they disappear when you wet the bumper then they can be fixed by filling them with clear coat.

[Slickz]

As long as it's only a scratch in the clear coat and not down through too much paint they can likely be polished/buffed out with the right product. If your paint is scratched down to exposing metal or plastic then it would require refinishing and the part to be repainted.

[Livetodrive]

I got a scratches from a shopping cart. My dealer brought in a guy specializing in small repairs like yours, and fixed it. It's not noticeable, and only the affected area of the bumper was repainted.

[natesi]

I'm guessing a clear bra could have avoided damage. You might want to check into that. I think they are cheap insurance and am very grateful I got mine installed now that winter is here and they are graveling the roads.

[arminvb]

Can look into cleaning the area, then applying touch up paint, then wet sanding with a very high count grit (I think I used 2000-3000 or something from Home Depot, then reassessing the area, then clear coat, then wet sand, then polish with a cream like Swirl and Scratch from Chemical Guys. That's what's I did when someone carved gashes into my hood. I got the touch up and clear from dealer for free, but otherwise it's about $30 iirc.

When you wet sand it will look worse at first but after polishing you'll see that the haziness goes away and it will look great.

[charpour]

Thanks all for your replies. I've contacted my insurer who told me that I have to take it to the dealer for a whole bumper repaint, which I think is too much for that damage. Does that make any sense?

[Slickz]

Originally Posted by charpour

Thanks all for your replies. I've contacted my insurer who told me that I have to take it to the dealer for a whole bumper repaint, which I think is too much for that damage. Does that make any sense?

No that does not make sense. Refinishing and repainting a whole part is typically only needed when there is deep scratches down to the bare metal/plastic. Just a small scuff or scratches in the clear coat (looks to be based on your pictures) should not require refinishing.

[tlippold]

I would not go through insurance for something so small as your premiums may go up or your car may be flagged as having damage via carfax. This looks pretty minor and easy to fix yourself or via a bumper repair service.

[lo_xyooj]

Like Billfitz said...if you spray some lubricant and it disappears you can probably buff it out with some compound and a DA. The deeper ones you'll probably have to get some form of putty/filler, light wet sand and touch it up.
My car has been through some rough patches as well but nothing you can do about it...Mine are worse than yours unfortunately

[charpour]

Originally Posted by lo_xyooj

Like Billfitz said...if you spray some lubricant and it disappears you can probably buff it out with some compound and a DA. The deeper ones you'll probably have to get some form of putty/filler, light wet sand and touch it up.
My car has been through some rough patches as well but nothing you can do about it...Mine are worse than yours unfortunately

Sorry to hear that, I hope you get it sorted it out without too much hassle.

Sometimes I feel like the harder you try to protect your car (always parking in a garage, always leaving a lot of space between the surrounding cars) the easier it is for such things to happen. I know people parking their cars literally anywhere and they don't have a single scratch, and I've had at least two incidents while the car was parked in quite isolated private parking spots. Unbelievable.