capn_krotch

So my dad took the car out the other day and brought it back with this...



Its about the size of a quarter and its right under the foglamp. I took it to one body shop and the guy said 300 to take off the whole thing, sand it down and repaint it.....no thanks.

I dont wanna use touch up paint on it cuz i know it wont come out good. Any other ideas or experience w/ such scratches? should i talk to another body or detailing shop?

thanks
-alex

ZiO

you COULD try it yourself... since I think you will get a high price no matter where you go... unless you take your buymper off your self and ask them to do it, then put the bumper back on your self.

Just sand it down smooth and try your best... if not, just leave it. Its plastic anyways so you wont have any rust problems...

sand lightly and spray touch up... i bet it will come out alot better than you would think...

capn_krotch

what can i use to spray touch up paint? Would i need to get more paint than what comes in the little jar they mailed me? would i sand w/ a fine grit sandpaper?

thanks

ZiO

Use the finest sand paper possible... as for touch up... you could try the pen,,, or maybe see if you can find the color matched with some spray paint... someone on this board ordered a spray that matched their color... soory i dont remember, just trya asearch for spray paint or something..... or it might have been the other board

(http://www.protegemp3.com)

hihoslva

I think you should try buffing that out.

The primer on our cars is black, so you may not have even really scratched it down past the paint - I don't see any black in your pic.

Try using some ordinary car wax to buff it, and use a power buffer if you have one. If not, elbow grease will do the trick.

I'd bet you can get it down to where it's still there, but much less noticeable and more liveable.

Definitely try this before spending money at a body shop or trying to paint it yourself.

Good luck!

~HH

sisbliss

3M makes this kickass Plastic Polish that removes hairline scratches. I used it to remove some scratches on the exterior of my Pro and the results were amazing. I know your scratches look worse but I think it's worth a try with the polish since all you have to do is dab some of the stuff on and wipe off.

capn_krotch

I dont know if this changes anything, but even though there isn't any black showing, the scratch feels deep. its a really coarse texture, the grooves are pretty deep.

also, this might sound like a stupid question but: what do people mean by buffing something on a car? i know the term has many uses, how do i buff a car and w/ what?

i'll take a look at the 3m plastic polish.

thanks for the tips guys.

-alex

Bluethumb

Looks too deep for just buffing.

I'd sand it a little & put on some spot putty (It's kind of a filler for very small imperfections - used between body filler & painting - you don't need body filler). Then sand again (with very fine grit), repeat untill perfectly smooth.
Spray on some color match (Make sure it matches before starting all this.). Tape off area much larger than you want. Don't spray right up to the tape (you'll get a ridge). Next, buff the area (when dry). Use a polishing compound if the paint sets up rough. Repeat if required. Maybe even top with a clear coat & buff one more time.

With something that small, even if you get it looking just decent, you'll be the only one that knows.

If you can borrow a power buffer, the rest should only cost you $20.00 or so.

-Bt

b_real45

How are you guys seeing this? I can't see the picture. It cannot find the server.

toucci

I think most of it will buff out. it will at least look a LOT better once you're done.

capn_krotch

Thanks guys. I'm gonna try to buff it out and if i'm not happy with it, i'll try the thing Bluethumb suggested.

Just a couple more questions, Bluethumb. Do i wet sand or dry sand? Also, u said i should spray on some color match, where can i get paint to match mine? i have touch up paint but i cant spray that...

thanks again
-alex

speedbump

I too have scraped my front air dam, and I simply got some "cleaner wax", which means it got some grit, and rubbed it over the damaged area...... I had to do this a few times, and it came out looking like NEW!. I must admit your's, looks like a bit more damage has been done, but try it.

If that doesn't work, go to a "detail shop" and ask the guy to buff out the area with some "compound". He will use his buffer machine and it should remove your Dad's damage. It shouldn't cost you more than a few bucks for this..... it takes about 3 minutes!

Speedbump

speedbump

.......I forgot, when my mom scraped our Chrysler against the garage door posts, it looked like about $3,000 in damage.... anyway, my dad used the handcleaner "GOJO" and it removed ALL the white markings. It looks 99% better!

I used the same stuff on my brothers in laws FORD van that had a ding from a parking lot incedent. It cleaned it up, sano!

Speedbump

PS. I used to sell detail (waxes & cleaners) for over 6 years, so I kind of know what I'm talking about.......

You can purchase "GOJO" hand cleaner at any auto parts store.

nomahh

You may be able to buff/compound it out. I found out the hard way on the 3rd day of owning my 03.5 MS Protege:

Since the car is so much bigger than my previous car, and I have an apt. garage, I clipped the right side of my garage and thought I had wiped out the entire right section of the airdam in front.

As it turned out, after I finished panicking, I grabbed my clay bar and some 3M rubbing compound and got 99% of the paint & scratches out! There was only a tiny section (about 1/2 inch) of true paint peel (can see the black primer) at the VERY bottom of the right side - it's not even visible.

When it first happened to me, I had visions of a $300-$500 bill....glad I used elbow grease first.