Front bumper skin repair
 

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a4...D720/ry%3D480/

I unfortunately misjudged a curb today. I was focusing on the car behind me while backing up and I failed to realize how far out the curb was hanging in front of me. Now I have this to deal with. I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of what I should be expecting to have to pay for this to get it done right, matching quality and color. Will the body shop be able to just paint over the scratch and still get the paint to match or am I looking at having to paint the entire front bumper skin? It isn't a deep scratch, it isn't dented or cracked fortunately, I just managed to grate off the paint. Any advice or knowledge shared is appreciated. Thank you :(

figure 300-350 range. the bumper will be removed, the damage repaired and that area primed. then the color will be blended out down low over the repair, then whole bumper cleared. unless you have a bunch of rock chips you need repaired then the whole bumper will be base/mid-coat/clear, not just the repaired section

Ouch :cry: okay thank you for the info. Time to start putting together some cash

buy a ebay lip to cover for way less?

I do have plans to get the HT lip kit but the problem is that it doesn't cover quite high enough.

http://koruworks.com/media/images/pr...50_enlarge.jpg

I could go with a bit of a bigger lip but I dunno, I'm not super into them.

Touch up paint it...It's in a low area and it's where most people scuff their car anyways.

If anyone asks, just say the car is too low and you scraped on a dip ;) We won't tell :)

That's my plan! Thanks for the reassurance :)

At least you did it yourself. I have a very similar set of scratches, although mine are on the very bottom part toward the engine. This new feature was added by a Technician at the dealership (North Hills Toyota in Pittsburgh) hitting the car on their washing machine, after I left explicit instructions not to wash my car. I was in there to get the fuel pump replaced due to crickets. Sadly I didn't notice until a few days later and the dealership told me to piss off. Add insult to injury, crickets came back so I should have never taken it to the dealership in the first place.

Aw that's too bad man. Stuff like that scares me. One day the car is scratch free, next day you're looking at repairing imperfections you didn't even cause. That's the worst feeling

Got estimated at 450, he said there's a good chance it could be less, no chance it'll be more. Said labor will likely be 350, supplies will be 100. My wallet hurts :(

go buy cleaner wax or buffing compound aand buff the heck of it. you might found repaint might not be necesary

http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotiv...er-wax-liquid/
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-...pound/16550255

no they don't need to repaint the whole bumper. they will need to do blend job however.

Obligatory "that'll buff right out" post... but he's serious!

yes i am serious. a lot of time those scratch looks big and horrible at first place, but after you buff out you will able to see real damage (missing paint) and you go from there. i always advised people to buff it out before body shop estimate so shop can do better evaluation too. otherwise they will just assuming worst and give you a higher price.

I'd hope he wasn't trying to rip me off. It's a really good shop. They do work on a lot of classic race cars and restoration projects. I hope he understands that as well as you guys do because I already gave him the bumper. I will definitely try and buff it out next time though. I'm new to a lot of these aspects of owning a car and seem to be learning from my mistakes unfortunately

I have brought my f-rs to the dealership 3 times during ownership. I print full page signs and leave one on the dash and one on windshield under one of the wipers.

DO NOT WASH

From what I could tell my message was received and they didn't touch my car's paint. My car has never seen car wash. I went through a touch less last winter, but even during cold weather I wash it myself. In the dead dead of winter I use ONR rinse less wash method as long as the grime and salt are not too severe and heavy.

Dealerships are experts in inducing swirl marks on the paint. Crazy. It's simply a product of the fact that a majority of car owners are not anal about their car's finish. I have become increasingly obsessive over the condition of my car's paint. l love it. The wife, however, cannot stand my new found hobby.

Bro, this is why you gotta back that B up in there when parking :(

Joking aside, for the future if you do ever forward-park your car, know that our cars are very short. You go into the spot a little bit and you're in! If you look over your shoulder at your blind spot and towards your rear windshield, the end of the car is right there.

It is hard to convince yourself the first few times, but doing that helped my brain figure out that the end of the car is almost right there behind me. I still have all of my passengers tell me I need to pull forward more when I park with my rear next to a parking sign, and they're always surprised at the car's dimensions when I tell them we're good and they check after getting out.

Sorry that you hurt your baby - thankfully it looks like nothing was deformed in the process and it just needs to be re-painted or have a lip slapped on to help cover it up!

Thanks man, yeah I've been a lot more cautious lately. Split second mistake and there goes 400 bucks. That's just how some people learn though :(