Long story short, the RL was scraped when trying to get into the garage..lame huh? I know..
Anyway...below are pics of the damage. I tried hand polishing the bruised up parts, and could only get so far. The door seems to just have some of the paint from the garage door frame stuck on it, that I can't get off. The rear quarter panel right above the wheels doesn't seem to be the paint from the garage door frame, seems like the paint itself was damaged.






And there's some black paint that was left on the door frame..just wondering, does that mean on those areas of the RL that got scraped, that there's no clear coat on it anymore??



Wondering what is the best fix for this? Polishing? I'm guessing a very aggressive polish will be used..

 

I don't have any great advice for you.

Just OUCH! So sorry. I feel your pain. I got my black '06 just a couple weeks ago, and I know I'd be fit to be tied if that happened to me -- even (especially?) if I did the happening.

 

get some meguiers scratch remover, or nu-finish makes a good one too. apply LOTs of elbow grease and hope for the best. i know you did some polishing, but some of those do look like they can come off if they aren't too deep. it takes a while, but i'm certain some of those will come off. the ones over the wheel arch are the ones i'm looking at. it all really depends on how deep the scuff is.

 

As long as you haven't scratched through the paint, you should be OK with some rubbing compound (start off gently) followed by polishing compound then a good cleaning and wax. If you're through the paint, you'll need touchup or a repaint.

LL

 

It seems to me that there isn't any indication of paint loss, as far as I can tell because those areas are raised, so it is probably a paint transfer issue. As for the wheel arch area, it doesn't seem to be raised or have any indentations, it is pretty much flush with the parts that aren't damaged. But the fact that the door molding seems to also have the NBP paint on (or is it dirt from the car?) it kind of makes me wonder.

I'm thinking of just taking it to a body shop to have them buff it out, I don't know how much elbow grease is going to help, I've already done the best (it was much worse before).

 

It is difficult to diagnose by pictures. But if more than the clearcoat is abraded, then it will need paintwork.

A product I have used for scratches in my clearcoat that polish alone would not work, nor Scratch X was Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. It cuts better than polish and can be used with an orbital. I had very good success with it and was fearful of using polish compound or rubbing compound on the delicate finish of the RL.

Bottom line, if it requires more than that, I would get it done by a professional. The finish of this car is amazing and the depth is great on darker colors. Unfortunately, they will show blemishes in the finish more than lighter colors.

 

As already noted, it is difficult to see if the paint is "hurt" down to the metal. I would start with some rubbing compound to get off the white paint. Then finish with a few layers of wax and buff to a finish.

 

So after some(alot actually) elbow grease, and Meguiar's ScratchX, I managed to get 99% of the white paint transfer off. But there's some areas where the NBP paint is a bit bumpy due to the scrape. Now, I don't know if that's some clear residue left from the white paint, or the NBP paint itself is damaged. But lets just say the NBP paint itself got damaged, would wetsanding be needed? Or is polishing good enough?
But it is MUCH better now. A passerby cannot tell anything happened there. I'm going to polish the whole car sometime in the future, and hopefully that'll restore it back to 100%.

In the mean time, I need to fix the dents caused by this...6 dings in total :/, and get that black part of the molding that was damaged repainted.

 

Dude how'd you manage to scrape your RL driving into the gararge?? On the phone or what?

I would absolutely fly off the handle and punish myself.

 

LOL, I didn't say I did it. Lets just say that some people have no concept as to how to park...

 

I recommend posting this question in our Wash and Wax--click section. They'll have great advice for you.

Honestly, that looks like a job for a professional.

 

I feel your pain. My MIL and wife have each hit the edge of the door jamb on multiple occasions. They always deny it but the proof is in the paint transfer.

My MIL had a 95 Camry that was dark green. She hit the edge of the garage so hard she broke the wooden molding and transferred a lot of tan house paint onto her front bumper/fender. I always start off with an old sock and paint thinner. That will remove 80-90% of the transferred paint. I have performed this "miracle" for at least a dozen people who thought their cars were ruined or needed a new paint job. Paint thinner will normally remove the extra paint. Great for parking lot snafus. The Camry was a little more serious so I had to pull out the 000 steel wool to help. Removed it all. A little ScratchX and a few coats of wax and you would never know it happened.

So hard to keep a car nice!

 

Finished result, all was used as a microfiber towel and Meg's ScratchX:






and the dents...:


One thing that bothers me is the microscarring from ScratchX, it is pretty noticeable under light:



any idea how many microns of clear coat I lost?

My poor baby..

 

Didn't think of using paint thinner because I figured it'll take off the car's paint as well. Yes, it is so hard to keep a car nice, sometimes crap finds its way to your car and you have no idea where it came from..

 

ScratchX did a good job...nice .....

 

looks like it did a good job im sure after a nice polish and wax it will keep fading

 

I would second neuronbob's recommendation of posting on the Wash&Wax board. They can give you detailed advice on more recovery options.