Big friggin scratch on my bumper. How to fix??

[PPI]

I'll post a picture, but i wanted to check here on how to repair a scratch. I guess it could be worse, on the body of the car, but it really stinks. The rear bumper doesn't look damaged at all, just a 2 inch wide scrape that took the paint right off.

So, what is the best way to fix it? How does touch-up paint work? Does the entire bumper need to be repainted?

To make things worse, my car color is Cool Vanilla. So there is this really beautiful white paint with a black scratch.

Please help!!

[PPI]

Ok, here are the pic's. I took them with my cell phone, but they actually came out nice.

I'm trying to do some self education on the web on how to fix this. It is probable a good time to learn because i have to park my car on the street and I live in a beach community where parking is scarce. That is why i bough a CV 300 because you can get away with parking it on the street an not have to wash it as often.

Maybe someone can point me in the right direction to self fix the scratch.

[C-Man]

Touch up paint will make it less noticable, but it is more difficult to use touch up paint on a long scratch as opposed to a rock chip. The langka system that was mentioned in another post may help. Go over to autopia.org and do some searches on the forum there. There is a ton of great info on scratch repair.

[jhelmuth]

Other than a re-paint, here is what I'd do...

Get the dealer color-match paint in the bottle (usually includes a brush - but don't use it!) and some clear coat finish. Purchase a couple of fine, and very fine sable hair brushes + a small container of an appropriate "thinner" for the paint (ask the dealer what they'd recommend - but I'll take a guess that they'll recommend denatured alcohol or std. paint thinner). You'll also need some very fine wet-n-dry sandpaper (600,1000,1200) and a magnifying glass.

1. Take the paint and brushes and make a small quantity of thinned paint (make sure the paint has been thoroughly mixed before thinning it). I'd try 10 drops of paint to 2 drops of the thinner.
2. Using the magnifier pick an appropriate brush and apply the paint completely inside the scratch (filling it). THe magnifier is so you can see it up close - the bush is for applying the paint . Let dry completely and repeat until you've filled the scratch. Do not go outside the scratch (at least as much as you can possibly avoid it).
3. taking as small a piece of sandpaper as possible, glue it to the top of a pencil eraser and use it to carefully sand down the excess paint from the build up. this shouldn't be much - and use 600, followed by 800 or 1000, and finally using the 1200.
4. apply a light clear coat liberally around and beyond the paint fill. not too much and keep it thin without creating a build up.
5. finish with a good polish to smooth out the edges of the clear coat and finally with a wax.

I think this is do-able and have seen it done, but I'm not an expert. Proceed if you feel you have some skill, but realize that this probably a technique that is best applied with practice.

Good luck and best wishes...

[marlinspike]

I bet for real cheap (like 40 bucks) you could have a body shop touch it up for you without repainting. It won't look as good as a repaint, but it will look better than any normal human could touch it up.

[turbomangt]

The way I would fix that (and I don't recommend anyone doing this by the way) I would first clean the area well. Buff with a high speed and Med compound to actually see what I have to work with after the first buff stage is complete. Then I would wet sand the scratch, and level the paint surrounding the cavity. Probably would use a 2,000 or 1500 grit. After that the area will be dull due to the wet sanding. I would use a light cut compound followed by a cutting glaze to bring back the shine (with a High speed) . I would then use an artist brush with the factory paint and "fill in" the cavity. allow to dry for an hour. Come back with a dapc and a polishing pad and hit the area with a pure polish (with no abrasives) finish with a wax or sealant and you will never it was there unless you are on your knees 2 inchs from the car and are looking for it. The casual observer won't ever see it. Gary

[dynodon]

One point is that repair, filling in with touch-up paint, is what I would recommend.

A total repaint is not only expensive but I have almost never seen any repaint that won't chip a lOT worse than factory paint, even if they use the right flex agent and are a good shop. Factory paint is just more durable.

I would be sure to clean the area well, try to rough up the bottom of the scratch and use a good wax remover. I offer products by Wurth, and Wurth Clean Solve is used by many shops for paint prep. Most paint supply stores will also sell you a quart of wax remover/paint prep.

The touch up won't be as durable as original paint, but at least on the bumper you don't have to worry about rust.

The way I work on these is to lightly rough up the bottom of the scratch with 1000 grit wet sandpaper. Also try to smooth any edges on the scratch and remove any loose paint.

Clean and dry.

Start with the color paint, and lay it inside the chip by thin layers. You will have to buy some thinner to go with the paint as almost all touch-up paint is way too thick.

Have patience and work in thin layers, giving them plenty of time to dry between coats. As you get to almost level with the original paint, start in with clearcoat. Put this in till it is higher than the surrounding paint.

Then lightly sand (let the paint cure for a couple of days at least) with some 1500 to 2000 grit staying as close to ON the new paint as possible.

it is really tough to get shine back once you take it off, so I would not sand the surrounding area at all other than what just is necessary to level the paint.

Finish with a good glaze and wax.