Scratched rear bumper

[goodnightnyc]

Somehow my rear bumper got a deep scratch. I’m pretty sure one of the valets in the parking garage did it where I park in NYC. The manager is refusing to pay for it and I can’t prove they did it, so I won’t fight that battle. The joys of living in the city.

It’s a ‘21 HE with less than 8k miles and otherwise the paint is in excellent condition. A couple of body shops quoted me around $700 to do a full respray. I’d rather not remove and spray the entire bumper though for a relatively small scratch. And I don’t want to spend that kind of money anyway.

What would you guys do? Touch it up myself and call it a day?

 

[BigBlueTLC]

Time for a dissent rear bumper! Or just touch up paint

 

[lx200inAR]

It’s a piece of plastic. Order the Toyota scratch paint pen and fill it in. It most likely won’t match, but only you and your detailer will ever know.

 

[lx200inAR]

Time for a dissent rear bumper! Or just touch up paint

Nevermind.. I change my vote to this.

 

[RobW0]

Somehow my rear bumper got a deep scratch. I’m pretty sure one of the valets in the parking garage did it where I park in NYC. The manager is refusing to pay for it and I can’t prove they did it, so I won’t fight that battle. The joys of living in the city.

It’s a ‘21 HE with less than 8k miles and otherwise the paint is in excellent condition. A couple of body shops quoted me around $700 to do a full respray. I’d rather not remove and spray the entire bumper though for a relatively small scratch. And I don’t want to spend that kind of money anyway.

What would you guys do? Touch it up myself and call it a day?

View attachment 2904520

I would call it a day. Looks better than my rear bumper.

 

[goodnightnyc]

Ha, I also thought about using this as an excuse to add an aftermarket bumper. Not ready to start modding this cruiser yet as it’s still being used for family hauling.

 

[FerrisBueller]

Like you said, that's the nature of living in NYC. Get a touch-up pen, and you'll be able to use it for inevitable future scratches. Eventually the bumper will be entirely touch-up paint, then go get it resprayed after that

 

[jivewalker]

Bummer. On the bright side touch it up and you've got $700 that you were willing to spend toward a mod!

 

[goodnightnyc]

Bummer. On the bright side touch it up and you've got $700 that you were willing to spend toward a mod!

Yeah there’s no way I’d spend $700 to fix this scratch. Touch up sounds like the way to go.

 

[CharlieS]

Ignore it and drive it.

 

[bloc]

OEM toyota touch up paint is about $15. Definitely what I'd do.

 

[JASATX]

Touch it up and go for a badass dinner instead

 

[Angelo1]

I just biding my time for someone to rear end me just enough to replace my bumper for a dissent or Slee. The way people drive, it’s just a matter of time.

 

[Supra Turbo]

Everyone saying touch it up, doesn't know what they are talking about. That bumper is toast and is unfixable and the vehicle is undrivable. The only way to properly fix it is by ordering a dissent rear bumper and while at it, you might as well do the front for symmetry (with some sliders to tie it all in of course).

 

[Tex68w]

Amazon product ASIN B003D7K8E0

 

[goodnightnyc]

Thanks for all the advice. You guys made me feel better. I was literally fuming the other day since I tend to be OCD about my vehicles.

Maybe the universe is telling me to get a Dissent or Slee bumper. I’ll just explain to my wife that this vehicle has now been rendered unusable, and the only way to make it drive safely again is to put on new bumpers, sliders and a lift kit.

 

[yonah]

@goodnightnyc Frustrating for sure, but it’s life. I’ve dealt with similar scratches over the years and this has worked for me:

As others have said, find an OEM touch up paint pen. Clean out the scratch and carefully sand (1,5k-2k high grit sand paper) any plastic “spurs” in the scratch. With some patience, you can fill in the scratch with a 3-5 coats from the pen. The gently sand / wet sand with high grit sand paper. Clean the area. And then lay a thin top layer with an OEM clear coat pen. Lightly sand, then buff to a polish. Make sure you polish the entire bumper and adjacent quarter panel, not just the scratched area. OEM paint pens are not perfect, but with enough patience and elbow grease, you can make that scratch all but disappear. Unless your garage is heated, recommend waiting for spring. The paint will take awhile to cure due to the winter temps.

I went down the YouTube professional detailer rabbit hole regarding this subject years ago and got pretty good at filling in rock chips. I was putting about 5k miles a month on I-95, in my commuter car (Prius V) and got plenty of practice

 

[goodnightnyc]

@goodnightnyc Frustrating for sure, but it’s life. I’ve dealt with similar scratches over the years and this has worked for me:

As others have said, find an OEM touch up paint pen. Clean out the scratch and carefully sand (1,5k-2k high grit sand paper) any plastic “spurs” in the scratch. With some patience, you can fill in the scratch with a 3-5 coats from the pen. The gently sand / wet sand with high grit sand paper. Clean the area. And then lay a thin top layer with an OEM clear coat pen. Lightly sand, then buff to a polish. Make sure you polish the entire bumper and adjacent quarter panel, not just the scratched area. OEM paint pens are not perfect, but with enough patience and elbow grease, you can make that scratch all but disappear. Unless your garage is heated, recommend waiting for spring. The paint will take awhile to cure due to the winter temps.

I went down the YouTube professional detailer rabbit hole regarding this subject years ago and got pretty good at filling in rock chips. I was putting about 5k miles a month on I-95, in my commuter car (Prius V) and got plenty of practice

Great advice. Thank you for the detailed explanation. I was actually just watching some YouTube videos that show this technique and the results look great. I might give this a try in the spring.

I wonder why auto body shops don’t offer this type of repair and just insist on respraying the entire bumper?

 

[Tex68w]

I wonder why auto body shops don’t offer this type of repair and just insist on respraying the entire bumper?

Because time is money. Anyone with the patience and time to sit there and fill in every rock chip would be much better served doing more important work and it would likely cost as much if not more than a respray in the end due to the labor/time involved. These Toyota paint jobs don't hold up well to rock chips, it's very disappointing.

 

[bloc]

I wonder why auto body shops don’t offer this type of repair and just insist on respraying the entire bumper?

@Tex86w is correct.

Alternately, a good detail shop can do what @yonah described above and have it look really, really good.