[Bugs Meany]

Hey. Longtime driver but new to trying to keep a car looking cherry. Bought a Griot polisher, waxes, etc.

Knock on wood, I've had few occasions to bring in professionals. Just one accident; drove it to the nearest garage. The one time I caused a deep scratch—to my mom's new X4 —I knew I had to take it to a body shop.

After 20 years of driving various SUVs, I went with a sedan. Too many years of being high off the ground → scraping the bottom edge of the bumper against a parking block or something (not sure). It looks like that paint is gone, not just underneath some other paint. This may be a silly question, but I'm a newbie and this is a friendly forum: Is there any hope for a low(ish)-cost DIY fix, or am I delusional?

If the answer is "Take it to a body shop," that's fine. I'm just scarred by how much that X4 scratch cost me—and that shop came with a "Tell 'em I sent ya" referral.

(Click on photos to see larger versions. Thanks in advance.)

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[grannyknot]

Not sure I would call that a scratch, looks like it went right into the fibreglass or composite below the paint, I guess that could also be filler but the repair is still the same.

It will need to be lightly sanded about 4-6" all around the gouge then filled, sanded, primed then blow in colour then clear the entire area or maybe the whole bumper.

It can be done at home if you have the equipment but you're not going to fix that with rattle products and have a good looking long lasting repair.

[mthused]

Yep, paint and some plastic underneath it is completely scraped away.

There's not really any DIY fix for this- will need body filler & paint work from a quality body shop, unfortunately, and depending on how bad the plastic damage is it may actually require a new plastic bumper cover.

Sorry- sucks to get your car damaged, but at least a body shop should be able to make it look new again (at a cost, of course).

[Bugs Meany]

Thanks very much for those answers! Like I said, what a friendly forum.

As I suspected, looks like any kind of "beginner-level fix" was a delusion. I'll take it to a shop, but I appreciate the detail on what damage was done and what exactly the repair will involve. Cheers.

[tracer bullet]

You are a bit lucky it's in a spot not so easy to see. You could try to DIY it, it'd get filled in, sanded down, and painted. However... you'd need at least some experience first. It wouldn't be a DIY project if you've never done that sort of thing. On the other hand... the worst thing that happens is you still take it in, so there's not a huge loss in trying.

[VipinLJ]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

You are a bit lucky it's in a spot not so easy to see. You could try to DIY it, it'd get filled in, sanded down, and painted. However... you'd need at least some experience first. It wouldn't be a DIY project if you've never done that sort of thing. On the other hand... the worst thing that happens is you still take it in, so there's not a huge loss in trying.

Exactly my thought. If you end up having to take it in for a pro job, might as well try a DIY first. Only thing is make sure you get color matched red paint. That will help reduce the eyesore to a minimum. If you're still not happy, get it done professionally.