I've scratched the nose!! ARGH!!

B

bras0782

Member
So the first time I get lazy and park the car front first in my drive, I go and park too close! :headbang:

I now have a few scratches either side of the BMW emblem on the nose where it got caught just under the house window sill. :x Some are very shallow (white colour), others are a bit deeper (black/grey colour). :headbang:

What's the quickest fix? I don't mind if it's not perfect, so long as it doesn't stand out. My car colour is Sterlin Grey.

Car and windows sill:


Nose scratches:


Zoomed in:


Thanks :cry: :(

[Edit: pics added]
 
"Standing out" is all relative.

The easiest fix would be to apply some touch-up paint, but to me, that would still stand out like a sore thumb.

The next possibility would be to bring it to a body shop or a good detailer to see what their opinion is regarding being able to buff it out with a wet-sander. I think those results would depend on how good the person doing it is. I'm not sure how well it would work either given the fact that the bumper is plastic.

But in the end, I think the only solution to make it right again is to repaint the bumper. It's a bit pricey, but worth it to me. Otherwise, I'd see it every time I walked to and from my car and it would drive me nuts!
 
I actually bought BMW's touch-up paint for Sterlin Grey, the color came out several tones darker, I ended up panicing and removing it with nail polish remover... I was very confused..

I thought it was me, but I had someone who was familiar with paint and brsuh to do a 1" patch to compare and the touch up paint color vs. paint on my car was WAY off...
 
OUCH!

In a spot like this, I am afraid that there is nothing short of a repaint that will fix it. IMHO, touch up paint will still stand out - in fact it may even make it stand out worse than just the scratches. The best solution is to remove the bumper cover and repaint the whole nose. But a good body shop should be able to do a spot repair for significantly less (time and money). I have found silver to be a surprisingly hard hard color to match perfectly. It seems to be very sensative to the how the light hits it.

Don't feel bad though ... we've all done something like this at least once though.
 
Ouch!

Your local dealer will usually have a smart repair chap that they use, it might be worth letting them take a quick look at it, looks like something that can be sorted for under £100 anyway.

Is the window OK :P
 
I remember when I had a scratch on my trunk and was pissed and I posted up at the old forum..someone from the UK responded, and he was an old Z4um mod/admin and said what the big deal was, it's just a scratch.. :roll: wish I could remember who that bloke was, had a new red Z4M..

Sucks plain and simple bro..
 
I could show you my side skirt and you would have a heart attack. I really need to get the aero side skirt so I can quit looking at the durn thing.
 
Given where it is and the apparent depth of scratches, then no way will any sort of touch up or polishing out be a solution. It's highly visible so I suspect anything less than perfect and you'll see it everytime you approach the car.

I'd start with the local 'chips away' franchise that should be in the £100 region to fix it. If they can't then a bumper cover off and around £200 respray at a local paint shop is the next step.
 
Thanks for the responses guys.

Chips Away quotedapprox. £120 + VAT over the phone, but it might change after the guy looks at the damage. I know these things are expensive, but I think that's quite steep.

Do you think I can fix this myself? What would I need?

Thanks
 
There are plenty of good posts on the web.

http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/70028-small-how-chip-repair-wetsanding-spring-cleaning-black-g35-56k-owie.html

I plan to tackle my stone chips later in the year.
 
Personally I would not waste my time trying a DIY on such an obvious place and for that price would not use/employ chips away either

My gut feeling based upon how much I paid for a new front end respray is that £200 would have the whole front bumper resprayed if you took it into a local paint shop, rather than just a chips away 'fix'

Pays your money and takes your choice
 
cj10jeeper said:
Personally I would not waste my time trying a DIY on such an obvious place and for that price would not use/employ chips away either

My gut feeling based upon how much I paid for a new front end respray is that £200 would have the whole front bumper resprayed if you took it into a local paint shop, rather than just a chips away 'fix'

Pays your money and takes your choice
Click to expand...
+1

I had a similar scratch on mine and tried every DIY possible, paste, wax, buffing smart pen etc etc... I have ended spending more than a bumper respray. Well lessons learned from the work was that Memo is not a talented guy and he should let the pros do such jobs. :poke:
 
srhutch said:
There are plenty of good posts on the web.

http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/70028-small-how-chip-repair-wetsanding-spring-cleaning-black-g35-56k-owie.html

I plan to tackle my stone chips later in the year.
Click to expand...

Thanks. After reading through that and some of the comments here I've decided against the DIY job. I lack the skills and it seems like a lengthy process.

I'll get a quote or two from local garages and weigh up the costs. Thanks guys.
 
I feel your pain!! I just did the same garage mishap last week. Here are my pics. Was talkling to a friend in my garage and hit my storage cabinet :o But consdering where it is and that it'll be under the clear bra...I'll just have a pro fix it but not paint the whole front end. Estimate was about $350.

IMG_4756.jpg

IMG_4768.jpg
 
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