First scrape - argh! Advice requested for hiding my shame!
Discussion
Hey all, first post - "pistonhead" is maybe not the best description of me but I'm sure there's no better place to go for advice. I hope you won't think too badly of me for what is likely a bit of a drive-by. (Does a car pun help???)
I've acquired a new, small but deep scrape in my car courtesy of a gatepost's hinge. Oh well, I'm sure it happens to everyone sooner or later. As a new member I can't post links, but pictures will probably be useful; I uploaded a few to imgur and they're accessible under `/a/PjyHWoH`. it's roughly 10-15cm long, so not huge. I think it'll be possible to touch it up so it's not too noticeable, though both the door and wheel arch are dented a bit.
I don't mind a DIY solution but wouldn't want to spend ages on it. If I get no advice I'd be buying a matched pot/pen of paint and following some youtube video. However, I don't know how far to take it: I've got no fine-grit sandpaper, polish and so on, and I know that the full method is fairly involved with several stages of preparation, layering, sanding and polishing - so really what I'm looking for is advice on the relationship between effort and reward here, i.e. is just filling a small scratch in with a couple of layers likely to hide it reasonably, or do I need to suck it up, get a few grades of sandpaper and dedicate an afternoon to it. Or alternatively, what kind of professional service might do this without charging an arm and a leg? I might get it fixed properly in the future, but not yet, because a new driver will soon be insured on the car and we both agree that it's at further risk
Finally, it's important that this doesn't get any worse. I can see that the paint has cracked in one spot and lifted in another, and with my inexperience I can't tell how many layers of paint this has gone through, so whether I need to take extra care in those spots and/or to seal against rust.
Thanks for your help!
I've acquired a new, small but deep scrape in my car courtesy of a gatepost's hinge. Oh well, I'm sure it happens to everyone sooner or later. As a new member I can't post links, but pictures will probably be useful; I uploaded a few to imgur and they're accessible under `/a/PjyHWoH`. it's roughly 10-15cm long, so not huge. I think it'll be possible to touch it up so it's not too noticeable, though both the door and wheel arch are dented a bit.
I don't mind a DIY solution but wouldn't want to spend ages on it. If I get no advice I'd be buying a matched pot/pen of paint and following some youtube video. However, I don't know how far to take it: I've got no fine-grit sandpaper, polish and so on, and I know that the full method is fairly involved with several stages of preparation, layering, sanding and polishing - so really what I'm looking for is advice on the relationship between effort and reward here, i.e. is just filling a small scratch in with a couple of layers likely to hide it reasonably, or do I need to suck it up, get a few grades of sandpaper and dedicate an afternoon to it. Or alternatively, what kind of professional service might do this without charging an arm and a leg? I might get it fixed properly in the future, but not yet, because a new driver will soon be insured on the car and we both agree that it's at further risk
Finally, it's important that this doesn't get any worse. I can see that the paint has cracked in one spot and lifted in another, and with my inexperience I can't tell how many layers of paint this has gone through, so whether I need to take extra care in those spots and/or to seal against rust.
Thanks for your help!
Fish-Face said:
Hey all, first post - "pistonhead" is maybe not the best description of me but I'm sure there's no better place to go for advice. I hope you won't think too badly of me for what is likely a bit of a drive-by. (Does a car pun help???)
I've acquired a new, small but deep scrape in my car courtesy of a gatepost's hinge. Oh well, I'm sure it happens to everyone sooner or later. As a new member I can't post links, but pictures will probably be useful; I uploaded a few to imgur and they're accessible under `/a/PjyHWoH`. it's roughly 10-15cm long, so not huge. I think it'll be possible to touch it up so it's not too noticeable, though both the door and wheel arch are dented a bit.
I don't mind a DIY solution but wouldn't want to spend ages on it. If I get no advice I'd be buying a matched pot/pen of paint and following some youtube video. However, I don't know how far to take it: I've got no fine-grit sandpaper, polish and so on, and I know that the full method is fairly involved with several stages of preparation, layering, sanding and polishing - so really what I'm looking for is advice on the relationship between effort and reward here, i.e. is just filling a small scratch in with a couple of layers likely to hide it reasonably, or do I need to suck it up, get a few grades of sandpaper and dedicate an afternoon to it. Or alternatively, what kind of professional service might do this without charging an arm and a leg? I might get it fixed properly in the future, but not yet, because a new driver will soon be insured on the car and we both agree that it's at further risk
Finally, it's important that this doesn't get any worse. I can see that the paint has cracked in one spot and lifted in another, and with my inexperience I can't tell how many layers of paint this has gone through, so whether I need to take extra care in those spots and/or to seal against rust.
Thanks for your help!
OP’s pictures below. I've acquired a new, small but deep scrape in my car courtesy of a gatepost's hinge. Oh well, I'm sure it happens to everyone sooner or later. As a new member I can't post links, but pictures will probably be useful; I uploaded a few to imgur and they're accessible under `/a/PjyHWoH`. it's roughly 10-15cm long, so not huge. I think it'll be possible to touch it up so it's not too noticeable, though both the door and wheel arch are dented a bit.
I don't mind a DIY solution but wouldn't want to spend ages on it. If I get no advice I'd be buying a matched pot/pen of paint and following some youtube video. However, I don't know how far to take it: I've got no fine-grit sandpaper, polish and so on, and I know that the full method is fairly involved with several stages of preparation, layering, sanding and polishing - so really what I'm looking for is advice on the relationship between effort and reward here, i.e. is just filling a small scratch in with a couple of layers likely to hide it reasonably, or do I need to suck it up, get a few grades of sandpaper and dedicate an afternoon to it. Or alternatively, what kind of professional service might do this without charging an arm and a leg? I might get it fixed properly in the future, but not yet, because a new driver will soon be insured on the car and we both agree that it's at further risk
Finally, it's important that this doesn't get any worse. I can see that the paint has cracked in one spot and lifted in another, and with my inexperience I can't tell how many layers of paint this has gone through, so whether I need to take extra care in those spots and/or to seal against rust.
Thanks for your help!
In my book that needs a professional fix; t-cut works miracles but not that much imo. A local body shop should be able to fix for not too much I would think, maybe mobile dent repair also.
ETA I had a similar scrape fixed on my 6 series under the body work protection plan I had when I bought the car; it was fixed by a man in a van who pulled out the dent, sanded, filled and painted. No idea of cost as it was done under my plan, but I think it wouldn’t be horrendous to do privately.
Edited by parabolica on Saturday 27th April 14:50
Welcome to this forum. As far as the incident is concerned, many of us have “ been there”, whether or not we confess. Unless you wish to involve insurance - usually a bad idea for scrapes/ scuffs, etc, because it is then on record and may come back to bite you. The best thing is to find a small local body shop , make it clear that you want a cash transaction to ( and I quote my chap) “ take the eye away from it.” I have part time involvement in the trade and have seen some poor repairs done by mobile men in vans because many of these outfits are franchises and the skill I.E. experience of the operatives varies a lot. Good luck.
Edited by Lester H on Saturday 27th April 16:30
Edited by Lester H on Saturday 27th April 16:31
I had a similar size and type of impact scratch on my bumper.
I got a smart repair done at the kerbside and was amazed at the quality of repair. Completely invisible and better than some of the bodyshop repairs I’ve had done in the past.
Mine was done on scratch and dent insurance, but they do one off quotes should you need to.
Like all of these types of repairs it will come down to the individual technician to what the quality of the repair is. Good luck.
I got a smart repair done at the kerbside and was amazed at the quality of repair. Completely invisible and better than some of the bodyshop repairs I’ve had done in the past.
Mine was done on scratch and dent insurance, but they do one off quotes should you need to.
Like all of these types of repairs it will come down to the individual technician to what the quality of the repair is. Good luck.
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