dbett

So my not quite 3 week old TL (6MT, Navi, Anthracite) is now officially no longer a new car.

On Wednesday, I had to take my sick 15 month old with me to pick up his sister at school. About 100 feet from the school, he started vomitting all over. The smell is mostly gone, but still noticable.

And then yesterday, I noticed this:





It looks like a rock or something came up and cracked the plastic in the intake, and then scratched the bumper (or a couple of pieces did it).

Anyway...I looked around in the 3G Garage and couldn't find any good bumper scrape repair tips. Anyone think I can fix the scratch myself? Suggestions?

HEK

well about the vomit smell try a little Febreeze and get a box of baking soda nd leave it a few days inside the car, and the scratch looks repairable, a little wet sanding and or buffing will take care of it, find someone with an orbital buffer (Porter Cable buffer) most autobody shops / detailers have them .....good luck and hope your 15 month old is doing better...

Jesstzn

That looks a little deep .. if you can catch your fingernail in it your not going to buff it out with a PC.

If the white is paint transfer then it will come off.

There is a link in my web page about fixing sratches.

Mike_TX

I'd say the white vehicle that scraped you also broke the plastic in the intake. The bumper cover must have flexed enough to pop the plastic liner.

A little polishing compound (get the finest grade) applied on a damp soft cloth might get the white paint off. Just don't rub hard - go at it slowly. Then apply a heavy coat of wax when you're through, since you may take off a little of the clearcoat with it.

dbett

Thanks guys.

I think the white is actually the plastic itself (in person it's more of a light grey/silver). Looks like the anthracite paint/coating was scraped away. And there are some ridges to the plastic.

I think I'm going to try a little Goof Off to see if that can clean it up a bit. I have some good wet/dry sandpaper (very fine grit that came with a scratch and paint touch up kit I bought for my wife's minivan a while back). So maybe I can use that and just order some anthracite paint to fill in the scrape.

I'll take a closer look later to verify whether it is white paint from another car (in which case I may have to track down the offending vehicle in my garage ).

Thanks all.

DEG

Had similar scrape on rear bumber of my Ridgeline, cost $450 to fix. In/Out of the body shop same day!

AcurasGhost

If all fails, try some paint thinner with mineral abstracts from Home Depot.

Adamo0926

I'm sorry....but since I have no children I just had to chuckle at the vomiting episode....lol.

I think because when I was a toddler, I puked all over some guy's car when I was being taken to nursery school for the first time....

datmrman

dbett, I would try non abrasive methods first before resorting to sanding and touch up paint, especially on a 3 week old car! Sorry to hear about the news.

Have you considered something like Meguiler's Scratch-X?

dbett

I think the first step will be a little bit of Goof Off to see if the whitish color is transferred paint.

Hadn't heard of it before. I'll take a look though. Anyone here have any experience with it?

dbett

Man. That's harsh. Laughing at a sick baby.

subinf

I had something like that on my bumper. I was using wax to get rid of the other paint and try to clean up the scratch area a little bit. I guess I was pressing down too hard because although the color is gone the area is now rather dull. That normally would bother me but since my bumper is so fucked up anyway thats the least of my problems.

dbett

I think that's pretty much what the Goof Off is...

We'll see how it goes a little later today. Maybe some 'after' pictures later...

A_UFO

I have used the Meguair's Scratch-X with great success. I bought Scratch-X at Target. Here is a helpful link:

Meguair's How-To Articles

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

I wouldnt go with the wetsanding route if you dont have any experience. Try milder methods such as scratch removers and maybe even a clay bar.

As far as the vomitting issue, use baking soda. Sprinkle it all on the carpet, floormat, into the seat cracks, wherever it might have been. Leave it for a day, or two and vacuum it out.

BG74

Get the A-spec front...it will cover that scratch.

dbett

Thanks again guys. I pulled the car outside to get a better view. Some good news.

First, the intake is NOT cracked. The prior picture was just at a bad angle. The part that looks broken is actually just part of a clip. Here's a better angle:



Second, the Goof Off, an old t-shirt and a soft plastic brush, worked pretty well.



Not perfect, but from standing level...



...you can barely notice it.

So, I can live with it now. I may pull out some buffing compound that came with the touch up kit I bought a while back. Maybe when both (my 4 1/2 year old daughter is sick now too) kids are better...

EternaLlx

Good thing you got most of it out man, I felt your pain; at around 500miles on my car a big rock hit the same spot and left that white mark you had but bigger PLUS it CRACKED my bumper a bit

Here it is today

Tonywp75

Oh man, I hit something a few days ago on I-95...when i was driving to philly It was something that came off a trailer a few cars ahead. Not sure what it was...looked like insulation with some metal on it..was light enough to fly. It hit this thing at 60mph and i heard it smack against my passenger side bumper.

After i got home I looked at it and...i was pissed. After i cleaned it up with turtle wax polishing compund and did hours of touch up paint on it..it came out good. I used the Langka..blog stuff to get rid of the excess paint.

I dont have before pics, but i will try to get some after pics. There are still a few deep scratches on it.

bluenoise

Sorry to hear about your new ride, dbett! It looks like you've taken care of the scratch pretty well. I hope the vomit episode doesn't leave any lasting memories!

dbett

Well, in the last day and a half, the predominant smell returned to the "new car" smell. So, even though you can still smell an interesting undertone...it ain't that bad.

brianp6621

Hey dbett and bluenoise, good to see you guys over here. I've seen you in a few threads but hadn't said hi yet.

dbett

It's like a TCF reunion.

brianp6621

Yep!

Flash80

Dont know about that Goof Off stuff, but skip on the Meguire's Scratch X. I have a very minor scratch on my trunk lid and the Scratch X didn't do a thing. You may need to take it to a professional.

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

:ibgetaspeckit: getting the aspec kit will make your car look better and will cost about the same to have that thing dismounted/repaired/painted

bluenoise

Hey, Brian! I thought I saw a post at the other place about you having a TL, but I didn't know you were here!

brianp6621

Yep, now it is time to take over.