Grille mesh fitted,but...

[Roy2593]

Hi,

A friend of mine kindly fitted the new mesh grille for me today, managed to do it without taking the bumper off, but when i took the car home and gave it a wash he had scratched the top of the plastic bumper whilst trying to get the grille in, i'm gutted!

Is there any way of getting scratches out of plastic bumpers?? As they are not painted or textured is it possible to rub it down with fine wet'n'dry?? or any other ideas please?

Thanks,

Roy

[NewX5]

I would love to see how that mesh looks never seen before.

[Roy2593]

Its only the standard original bmw titanium mesh, i replaced it because a bird flew into mine! I havent modded it!

Roy.

[AW8]

I cant advise on the scratch without seeing the car or at least a pic.

Basically if its gone through the base colour and down to plastic nothing will rectify in abcence of fresh paint..

If a thin width line scratch as above you can fill the scratch a little higher than the undamaged paint then with paint then wet/dry to level but I warn you this can easily go wrong and you may have mismatch......................Less stress to get it done by means of a local repair at a user friendly bodyshop.

A shallow scratch with paint remining should polish out - try Autoglym Super Resin Polish for hand correction of an isiolated scratch not through the entirety of the paint.

[Roy2593]

Thanks for your reply AW8, but the scratch is on the unpainted black plastic not on the painted part! Theres 2 surface scratches on it ,not very deep but its noticable! Do you reckon something can be done?

Cheers,
Roy.

[AW8]

Without any doubt this can be dealt with.

If you were closer I would sort this for you.

1. Buy a spray tin of satin black paint and fine tipped small brush, maybe also have small piece of sponge or cotton bud to hand.

2. If scratch has left proud edges raised above adjacent undamaged trim carefuly remove same with razor or similar.

3. Clean area with a little diluted white spirit or degreaser & mask tape around the scratch so you work on the scratch alone.

4. Over 2 or 3 hours, (depending on depth of scratch), build up thin layers of satin paint in the scratch & using paint sprayed into the lid & applied with the brush. If scratches deep a plastic filler could be the way forward but I would avoid this as it is so easy to turn a small niggle into a bigger mess !

5. Keep going until paint in the scratch is level with or slightly higher than undamaged trim adjacent.

6. Wet dry rub the paint carefully to ideally make paint level with adjacent undamaged trim, ( you may have to remove mask tape & reapply same to evaluate)

7. Once paint & surrounded undamaged area level maybe lightly polish the paint with something like Autoglym Super resin polish then buff/blend.

8. It may be beneficial to lightly dab scratch & surrounding undamaged trim with sponge lightly coated in satin paint so as to blend & not make repair area prominent. Bear in mind any plastic rubbed with wet and dry may look light grey if you dont dab same with a little paint on sponge or cotton bud.

9. Once totally dry then treat entire bumper with a suitable black trim dressing.

10. If you end up with a mess simply scratch/rub away applied product with something like back of a knife, edge of the plastic paint lid &/or white spirit to simply cause it to go back to similar as to how it was before you started.

Hard to give specific advice as each car & local repiair need will vary & some steps may not be required - but you should get the general idea.If doing this at this time of year do it in a warm garage as cold will be likely to frutrate your efforts.

If scared of messing simply pay a smart repairer to do this. Most smart repairers deal in the main with the trade & you would be suprised how may forecourt cars that look good retailed would have had similar work done between sourcing and forecourting. Maybe try yellow pages, "chips away" or ask local car dealers who they use. It shouldnt cost more than £30 cash or thereabouts...........Maybe get a quote first, (be very weary of anyone saying you need a whole bumper or total spray treatment of same).

Good Luck

[x555]

I read that title and thought ohh no he's gone and snapped the grill with it being so cold sorry to hear of the scratch mate but it sounds like it's fixable
On a plus note ... so you managed to do the grilles without taking off the bumper thats handy to know

[Roy2593]

AW8,

Many thanks for the 'How to' I will get a tin of satin int and give it a go. The scratch isnt deepthank godits just on the surface, so might just get away with spraying it! I take it it will match ok? I have phoned chipsaway , but they dont have a repairer in my area!!

x555,

Yeh managed to do it ok, but if there will be a next time(but i hope not) i would mask the bumper first!!

Cheers guys,

Roy.

[AW8]

Roy,

If you spray it the result is likely to stand out like hanging bits on a bulldog - it is unlikely to bond if spayed on poor prep material absent of special primer & will be likely to mismatch over a significant area.

if doing a d.i.y. fix you may get away with satin for minor touching in by hand using the non spray application methods I suggested. If the hue not to your liking you could maybe try mixing in a little silver or maybe grey primer though you need to see what it loks like after done & when whole bumper later treated with suitable plastic trim dressing................I have used satin before to hide a very minor door trim scuff & with very good results.

Please read my advice again. before doing this and maybe practice on a scrtach on the undertray first.

I have seenfolk make a total mess of minor paint work. If not confident or just unsure I suggest you pay someone to sort this for you. I appreciate no joy from chipsaway but I guarantee someone will provide such a service who isn't a million miles away - you just need to do the legwork. click here for a head start. You may have to send photos to service providers or take car to for them to see same.

[thedweeb]

U-POL do a range of paints that will match the original colour as best you can with paint. To repair the scratch you need to fill/flat then paint putting texture in as you go if need be. I ran my own bussines for a while doing smart repair and a job like this ie very easy with the correct products. I'm very supprised there isnt a smart repairer near you, there are lots of others other than chips away.
dweeb

[thedweeb]

http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz36 ... 0_0114.jpg

This stuff

[Roy2593]

Hi,

Many thanks for all your replies.

I wasnt going to just spray the paint on , i was going to prep first! But i have gone against trying to do it myself, I have seen a repairer about 30 miles away from me in the link and will give them a ring in the morning, its worth paying to get it done right!

Thanks again,I will let you know how I get on!

Roy.

[thedweeb]

Yes it is worth paying to get it right,if you make a mess of it you will be forever looking at it. Also by the time you've purchased all the kit to do it correctly yourself it would probably cost you alot more than paying a smart repairer to do it. As I haven't seen any photo's I cannot be really accurate in giving you a price but buy the sounds of things it should be no more than £40.
Let us know how you got on

Cheers
Dweeb

[Roy2593]

Hi,

Here are some pics of the scratch, its only a light surface scratch, and its not noticeable fron 12" away! But its annoying as it wasnt there before the mesh was fitted!!





Thanks,
Roy.

[thedweeb]

Yea should be no more than £40. It isnt a case of filling /flating and painting because it is slightly textured. Before paint he/she will Spray on a texture coat to match the rest of the bumper.
Easy repair if done correctly you would never know.
Dweeb