I have a 2005 DG 5AT.

I had a little incident with a shopping cart (jagged screw underneath the basket and it rolled up over my bumper) the other day at the grocery store. The scratch is probably 1.5" long and it can be felt running my hand over it (it's also visible). It's pretty much right in the center, on the top surface of the bumper. I can see black where the paint was gouged away. It's partially covered when the trunk is closed (it happened when the trunk was open).

I e-mailed my guy at my dealer and asked him for an estimate on a repair. He said they could probably repair it for $250-$350. When I asked him if they'd be repainting the bumper, he replied, "We would be doing a bumper blend. We would basically sand and paint the affected area and blend it into the rest of the bumper. This is less invasive than having to strip and repaint the entire bumper."

So, here are my questions to the forum: Does anyone have any experience with this kind of repair? Will this repair make the bumper "good as new"? Would it be cheaper to go to a body shop?

Also, if you have any other input, please feel free to share.

Thanks everyone!

JoshNjuice

 

omg..seriously..

it will only work with a black car, since the match is closer..

I would tell him to do a bumper reface...or it might be better just to be a brand new bumper..

 

wow.. re paint the whole bumper for a 1.5" scratch? I would just do some good re-touch jobs on it.

 

Yea.. It makes sense..

If they know what they are doing, it will be fine.

 

i have performed that procedure as well on my black G35.
All i needed was paint touch up (10 bucks) 1000 grit sand paper, soap, polish compound and a tooth pick (7 bucks).


it should be fine

 

o..hahah..i didn't read how long the scratch is..hahah..

yea i would have them do a bumper blend..my bad...

 

The "blend" they are referring to is an actual refinish opperation. The time paid to blend a panel gives aprx 1/2 the time & materials to paint the cover + full clear coat. * Make sure they are clearing the entire cover * You can "melt" the clear, but is not a good idea. Also, they should be removing the cover to properly clear the entire cover. If they dont, you could see residual effects down the line. Any quality shop should put a lifetime guarentee on their work.


Normal scenerio for this type of dmg
Overhaul the cover: 2.4 hrs (removing the cover from the car + removing items from the cover it self)
repair: .5 to 1.0
blend: 1.1 (normally 2.2 to paint the whole thing)
clear: .9
materials: TBD usually 1/2 of the paint time x the going paint labor rate.
total in my town: $278.55
note: in some places there will be additional nickle & dime fees (cover car + flex additive & so on)

Hope this helps!!!

 

^ in addition. Your price seems in line w/ my quick little write up. Just be sure they're not charging you for tint. #1 your car is new, so the rest of the paint should match #2 Your plastic bumper does not take the paint the same as metal. Tint will not help. Even from the factory, a trained eye can tell the difference.

 

listen, the blend they are talking about is a blend technique used to keep you from noticing where the repair and repaint is.

in a proper repair, they will fill the scratch with urethane, sand and primer. what you will have is a gray spot in the middle of your bumper where the repair is done. the whole bumper cover should then be wet sanded before a color basecoat is applied. they will basecoat only where the primer is, and feather out the color spray using the paint gun to make a color blend. this way you will not notice where the new paint ends and the factory paint begins. what should follow (and you should definitely ask your dealer to make sure this is the repaint procedure) is a clearcoat of the entire bumper. since cleat technically does not have color (though most have a very slight yellow) the repair should not be detectable.

most reputable bodyshops will blend into adjacent panels when the damaged area is too close to the edge to feather the basecoat on one panel. a quarter panel repair done very close to a door will usually require a feather of the color onto the door, and a clearcoat of both panels.

the only thing you should beware of are those guys in vans that come to dealership to do spot repair. those guys are good for chips or nics only. they do not have the equipment necessary to do the proper job.

hope this wasn't too long or complicated...and hope it helps

 

^ yup (sounds like he's worked in a shop before) Just to follow up on his post: If you have a fender replaced, they'll blend into the door to feather the paint over a larger area (18 inches as opposed to the break at the fender/door gap) Also, they'll blend in to the adjacent panel if there is damage near the edge of a panel.

If your are repairing just one panel, shops usually will charge you full refinish time on the first panel, no matter how minor. Soooo in your case, they are just giving you a break.

Sum it up: Sounds like they're doing you right...

 

Glad speedracer explained this so well. I had someone hit my G about a couple months ago and the liscence plate left two small chips in the paint on the rear bumper. One of the "van" guys fixed it (recommended by Infiniti) and did a great job except there were some fine lines from the wet sand. I buffed them out and now it looks new....total cost was $125.

 

I had the same repair performed on my 2005 DG 5AT this week. My affected area was a little larger (someone clipped me in a parking garage) but I was impressed with the results. Other shops in town offered to paint the entire bumper for $500.

I used a body shop recommended by my local dealer in Houston. They charged me $125 and finished in a day (also fixed a rattle in my driver door for free).

 

yup...owned and operated A.C.E.S body and paint works in baltimore md...did a lot of custom work along with all of Carmax of Whitemarsh's stuff (their inhouse paintshop was very limited). we actually got the cover of superstreet in 1999 for a red and yellow sunrise honda civic custom. the place is still around doing a lot of north baltimore custom work...old partner still running it.

 

^ I knew it. A good shop w/ a clean booth is hard to find.

 

hey. I apply touch up (wait two weeks) apply another layer (wait another) than wet sand, polish, and wax


is there anything wroung with this (for rock chips)?