Scratched? MORE LIKE SCRAPED!!!

[ChinoCharles]

Dude, are you really Buckethead? Can I have your autograph?

For the short term, just by looking at that I can tell you that some of it will buff out.

Once you buff out what you can, you'll need to reasses it. It looks like the scratches are pretty deep. Also, it appears that the plastic isn't damaged. Is this correct?

FWIW, I had a very similar scratch on my car. I asked for a cash quote as I too was trying to avoid dealing with an insurance claim, and I got quoted $1500. Ouch. Needless to say I buffed the crap out and had a friend spray the car in his shop just so it was less noticable. It cost a few hundred out the door. Isn't perfect, but it is fine for now. I don't plan on selling it anytime soon and I've already braced myself for the fact that this paint job is done for. Its a good excuse to get it resprayed one day.

One more thing to consider... the metallic paints on our cars are EXTREMELY hard to match. Trust me on this... I had a can of what was supposed to be meteorite metallic paint sent to me from a "reputable" online source, and it wasn't even remotely close. Even the second try at getting a paint match yielded something that was just a hair off. In short, it'll take a miracle for you to get out of this with a perfect looking car while cutting corners. Body shops do good work and charge good money accordingly.

If I were you, I'd buff it out, grab a couple touch-up pens and go to town. Don't worry about your car being less-than-perfect. The paint jobs coming with these cars... they're shit. We know this now. The stock paint is extremely thin and scratches like nothing. You will scratch your car again, so why go crazy trying to fix this one? Do the best you can for the least amount of money you can and start saving for a decent paint job down the road.

[Buckethead]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

Dude, are you really Buckethead? Can I have your autograph?

For the short term, just by looking at that I can tell you that some of it will buff out.

Once you buff out what you can, you'll need to reasses it. It looks like the scratches are pretty deep. Also, it appears that the plastic isn't damaged. Is this correct?

FWIW, I had a very similar scratch on my car. I asked for a cash quote as I too was trying to avoid dealing with an insurance claim, and I got quoted $1500. Ouch. Needless to say I buffed the crap out and had a friend spray the car in his shop just so it was less noticable. It cost a few hundred out the door. Isn't perfect, but it is fine for now. I don't plan on selling it anytime soon and I've already braced myself for the fact that this paint job is done for. Its a good excuse to get it resprayed one day.

One more thing to consider... the metallic paints on our cars are EXTREMELY hard to match. Trust me on this... I had a can of what was supposed to be meteorite metallic paint sent to me from a "reputable" online source, and it wasn't even remotely close. Even the second try at getting a paint match yielded something that was just a hair off. In short, it'll take a miracle for you to get out of this with a perfect looking car while cutting corners. Body shops do good work and charge good money accordingly.

If I were you, I'd buff it out, grab a couple touch-up pens and go to town. Don't worry about your car being less-than-perfect. The paint jobs coming with these cars... they're shit. We know this now. The stock paint is extremely thin and scratches like nothing. You will scratch your car again, so why go crazy trying to fix this one? Do the best you can for the least amount of money you can and start saving for a decent paint job down the road.

No damage to the plastic... just a couple of areas with DEEP scratches.

Thanks bro! I needed to hear that. Now if I can find someone with a buffer!

The pens I can get from the dealership, no problem.


I didn't know the paint jobs were shit. I haven't logged on for a few months.




As for me being Buckethead..........

[hystria]

Originally Posted by ChinoCharles

If I were you, I'd buff it out, grab a couple touch-up pens and go to town. Don't worry about your car being less-than-perfect. The paint jobs coming with these cars... they're shit. We know this now. The stock paint is extremely thin and scratches like nothing. You will scratch your car again, so why go crazy trying to fix this one? Do the best you can for the least amount of money you can and start saving for a decent paint job down the road.

100% agree
one or two touch-up pens on sunday morning and it's gonna be good till the next time (hopefully not). don't waist your money with painted bumpers, those will scratch anyway again