Car Dings...

[A1FlyBoy]

So I was in the city over the weekend, meeting up with some friends for cocktails and dinner. Street parking was nil and I had to park in a valet lot. I didn't do a walk around when I picked the car up and the next morning I find the driver side rear bumper scuffed/gouged. I washed off much of the marks, but the plastic bumper is gouged in a spot.

I'm sure many of you have had this happen, short of getting some touch up paint, is there a wax or product I can use to restore this damaged area to at least blend in with the rest of the bumper?

 

[Corona]

So I was in the city over the weekend, meeting up with some friends for cocktails and dinner. Street parking was nil and I had to park in a valet lot. I didn't do a walk around when I picked the car up and the next morning I find the driver side rear bumper scuffed/gouged. I washed off much of the marks, but the plastic bumper is gouged in a spot.

I'm sure many of you have had this happen, short of getting some touch up paint, is there a wax or product I can use to restore this damaged area to at least blend in with the rest of the bumper?

Yeah, it sux when you have a decent car and have to park it among morons who don't know how to drive. I always park in the back of the lot, away from the door-dingers.

I've used Meguiar's products. They have a 3(or more?)-step process that will make your paint look almost new. (Carwash, additional clearcoat cleaner, polish, then wax.) I couldn't believe how good my 6 YO pickup looked the first time I used it. It took out small scratches and scuffs; also removed all the crap that gets flung onto your paint over the seasons. It even improved a repainted area, done after the rig was dinged.

I don't know how it will work on plastic, though. Might work OK if the plastic is painted. You have to buy several products to do it, though, and touch-up paint is cheaper. On the plus side, though, you can use it on the whole car.

I'd call the valet service and complain, too. I've known a few valets who were pretty irresponsible with cars.

C

 

[MarineGrunt]

Corona - Which products? I need to get some scratches out of my Impala that my lovely wife was so kind to put there for me!

 

[FN FAL]

Back when I had this primo Gold Wing, I was sitting in a sub shop and watched this fat chick try nail it with her car door on purpose. Evidently, she didn't see me sitting there watching her...she pulls into the space, she looks at the bike...then just swings her car door open as hard as she could while she looked at the bike. I think there was about four inches difference between the edge of her door and the side of the bike. I can't prove that she did it on purpose, but you could tell she was gunning for dinging the bike.

I wanted to say something, but I took one look at her...finished my sub and left. I'm sure she still has her crappy life and she probably still has that attitude that people don't deserve nice things.

I got a co-worker like that...he out right told me that people with nice cars deserve to have them keyed. Of course his beater car radio is tuned to all the christian radio stations, not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[Corona]

Corona - Which products? I need to get some scratches out of my Impala that my lovely wife was so kind to put there for me!

Here's what I've got in the garage:

Meguiar's:
Car Wash
Paint Cleaner (Deep Crystal System)...Step 1
Polish (Deep Crystal System)...Step 2
Paste Wax...Step 3

The Meguiar's products are labeled with steps in the order in which you use them, so that makes it easier. The stuff I have is a couple years old, so the names may have changed.

The polish is what you want to use most on scratches.

Also, I heard Meguiar's has a new high-tech wax that can cover up small scratches in the clear coat.

There are other high-quality products out there, like Zymol, which have similar systems for paint care. I went with Meguiar's because they were readily available.

C

PS: It takes a few hours to do a car by yourself (or, herself! ), but you'll be pleased with the results & it's good exercise. (Wax on, wax off...remember?)

 

[Corona]

...and she probably still has that attitude that people don't deserve nice things.

I got a co-worker like that...he out right told me that people with nice cars deserve to have them keyed. Of course his beater car radio is tuned to all the christian radio stations, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yeah, there are those types out there.

I actually miss having a beater to commute in. I used to have to get in the center lane on a five-lane highway, then try to merge into the left lane, which was clogged by morons who left the right lane completely clear. This is against the law in my state, so my increasingly preferred method of merging was to give a handful of morons the chance to move over, and when they didn't, I'd just ease into the left lane anyway. Since almost all the cars were nicer than mine, they always gave way. Of course, that occasionally inspired some splendid examples of "aggressive" driving. Hey, it was a beater...what were they gonna do? Wreck it?

C

 

[Thedude]

So I was in the city over the weekend, meeting up with some friends for cocktails and dinner. Street parking was nil and I had to park in a valet lot. I didn't do a walk around when I picked the car up and the next morning I find the driver side rear bumper scuffed/gouged. I washed off much of the marks, but the plastic bumper is gouged in a spot.

I'm sure many of you have had this happen, short of getting some touch up paint, is there a wax or product I can use to restore this damaged area to at least blend in with the rest of the bumper?

Did you go back and see the manager of the parking service? They have insurance that covers mishaps in the valet lot.

 

[FN FAL]

Did you go back and see the manager of the parking service? They have insurance that covers mishaps in the valet lot.

if he didn't catch the damage untill after he left the lot, he's screwed.

My brother noticed something damaged on his vette after he left a service lot...they pretty much told him that he was on his own.