I hope I post this in the correct thread.

Let's keep this short. Yesterday, I went into a grocery store to pick up some items. When I walked out, some jerk did a hit and run on me (did not see who did it) and left a big scratch on my quarter panel on the rear bumper. Therefore, I asked the grocery store if they have any surveillance camera. But no luck. In addition, some of the scratches I'm able to buff out as they're only surface scratches. However, some of the scratches in the pictures below the thread, I can see the black plastic.

I went to a few body shops, and they all quoted me $700. If I go through insurance I would have to pay a $500 deductible. The TL currently has 135,000 km on it. I'm asking fellow Acuraziner's if this is a possible DIY?

 

Looks like the right front corner of the bumper on my SILVER RDX, which has been hit at least 3-times, in the same place. The DW swears she does not park inappropriately or know how this happens - I think it was probably at her work.

Anyway, qualified YES to your question - but it will not look like what a body shop can do.

First I buffed out as much of the scratches as possible, using Meguiar's ScratchX, followed by #26 wax/polish.

Then I washed entire area with car soap, rinsed with water, wiped w/ denatured alchohol, wiped gently with clean water (sponge), wiped dry with cotton cloth, allowed to air dry for 15 minutes.

Used a small artist brush and the small touchup bottle of paint from the Acura dealer. Note: the paint is lacquer, and will dry in the bottle, before you finsh your repair, unless you hold a finger over the bottle opening any time you are not dipping your artist brush into the bottle. Wear a latex or nitrile glove, unless you like paint on your finger.

And the paint will also dry almost immediately on the car, so you cannot make a second pass over the paint with the brush, in an attempt to 'smooth' it.

Brush as smoothly as possible, very thin, one pass with the brush, no 'working' the paint - let it level on its own. Again, thin coats. Shake the bottle between each time you use the brush. Esp. metallic paints (silver) need constant agitation during use.

Repeat the above process 3-5 times, but not the ScratchX, until the paint is not quite level with the existing surrounding paint. You *must* wait 24 hours between each coat of new paint.

Then smooth, carefully, any blobs or non-smooth areas with 1000 or 1500 grit 3M black sandpaper. But keep in mind that metal-flake paints do *not* like sandpaper, as it just dulls the paint.

Then one overcoat of clear - or a couple if you intend to smooth/ sand the clear coat. Use 1000 and 1500 grit. You *must* wait 24 hours before sanding.

Final - ScratchX followed by your favorite wax/ paint sealant. I would call this a 5-foot repair, meaning it is not obvious from 5-feet.

Hey, its a daily driver. To fix a minor rear bumper scratch, from a rear-end accident, cost $900 on the RDX, but the other driver paid. And within 6-months, the rear hatch was slightly damaged by the garage door (by my sister-in-law).

Good luck.

 

I would honestly leave it be for now. Wait untill the rear bumper is all messed up then get a new one.

edit: sorry about what happened >.<

 

I would try to get the insurance to waive your deductible. If it's not your fault,you can argue enough.

 

Im not sure there are any insurance companies out there that would ever waive your deductible.

But if you have never painted a car I would leave this to the professionals. Its not as easy as TV says it is and if you do it wrong it will just look way worse.

 

Definitely. And unless you have some knowledge about body work,leave it alone. Uughh, I just thought of these a**hole scammers that drive around boston and offer to "fix your dents/scratches". I'm going to take a picture of a car down the road from the shop, RUINED! Bondo,all over the place. Then they tell you to just take it to a painter,and it will be way cheaper. I've seen some horrific "repairs".

Comptech, I see insurance companies waive deductibles all the time around here. IF you're not at fault of course. Crazy how different it is depending on where you live huh? I had a guy come in that backed up into his own son's car,and they basically told us to forget about the deductible. Some companies still care about customer happiness/loyalty. I have Liberty Mutual,and despite them taking forever to come out for estimates, they're pretty good,and waived my deductible when my car was keyed at $500 comprehensive.

 

That is awesome. All of the companies I have worked for wouldnt even dream of doing that, and if you hit your own car they will charge you a deductible on both!

 

LOL.Wow,that's kind of messed up when you think about it. I mean, for drivers that never have gotten into accidents, they've basically paid thousands of dollars and won't even get a pardon for a first time accident. Meh. No bueno.And you know what they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So,who knows,maybe i just deal with annoying customers all the time.lol

 

I fully agree, its worth complaining about to see where you get. But personally if you call me complaining off the bat I will do nothing to help you. So if you do file a claim just try to be as nice as possible. What insurance company do you have? I worked/work for three major ones and I can let you know if its worth a shot.

 

$700 sounds pretty high to me. I'd look for better estimates.

 

Project_Clean, you have CCC One, Write up a quick estimate with 2.5 hrs repair (I know a bit high) and full refinish with R&I of the cover and exhaust finishers. I am guessing 550-700 is right on depending on labor rates.

 

If it just touched the rear bumper, I think you could find a used bumper in a yard that was silver if you were patient.

Shoot for 700 you probably could buy a brand new one already painted from Acura.

 

^^actually a new OEM bumper DOES NOT come prepainted from Acura.

 

Here it is,2.5 hours along with procedures that I personally would add in. This is at $40/hour .

 

$700 would sound right if they paid for a NEW aftermarket bumper.

Done!

A used bumper wouldn't match. Ever. lol. Silver is probably one of the hardest colors to match.

Right. I don't think any bumpers do come painted. Maybe volvo still does it..?

 

OP-$700 is about right. i've had the rear bumper of my TL replaced (thru no fault of my own), and the going rate with an OEM bumper cover (plus paint) is around $700. a repair will only be maybe $100-150 less than replacing.

we are currently trying to get the rear bumper cover for our accord redone (for the same type of damage that was done to yours), and have two prices (replace/paint or repair). surprisingly, the bumper cover for an Accord cost more at wholesale than one for a TL, by about $30-40. we have opted to purchase the OEM bumper ourselves and have the shop paint it which ends up being about the same price as a repair in the end.

 

Dang! You pay color sand and buff? That wouldnt fly around here.

Anyway I stand corrected. I guess we need to know from the OP if they wrote to replace the bumper or repair. I would say 500.00 seems fair.

 

Well,
I'm an in-house appraiser, so technically;that's a legitimately FAIR estimate. Not what you insurance appraisers write. LOL. . J/K I've seen some ugly estimates though!

 

You shouldn't need a new bumper for that damage - why pay for one?

 

Finally came to see the pictures from my home computer.

I wonder if OP is even coming back..lol

Anyways,that looks like it can be repaired. Doesn't look like any part of the bumper is sticking out,so no broken tabs. This is a great time to add an A-Spec kit!

 

In house appraiser huh... so your the guy I fight with every day! :-)

But yeah its an easy 2.5 hr repair.