What Was I Thinking?

[WSiebert]

So my wife and I drove out to a local warehouse to buy a new Kohler executive chef sink for a remodeled kitchen. Upon delivery, the warehouse employee was enamored by the size of the trunk in my 2004 ES330. He warned me how heavy the boxed sink was and told me to be careful removing it from the trunk. And be sure to have a friend help me!

Well, I THOUGHT I was very careful, when I removed the boxed sink solo.

Last night I spot that I have a deep swirl scratch the size of a nickel and a 1/4" worn black spot where the paint is now GONE. These 2 spots are down to the black bumper, under the paint. I had to have done it "carefully" removing the boxed sink.

I almost passed out. I have searched the Internet for a solution and found nothing yet. :cries:

There are only 3,300 miles on this new car and I have actually thought about replacing the bumper.

Is there anyone that can suggest any thing? There is NO missing these 2 spots on the top of the rear Silver bumper, when you look at the back of my beautiful car.

[SW03ES]

Only thing to do if its that bad is have the bumper repainted.

Don't feel bad the rear bumper of the ES is way too easy to scratch, I can't seem to ever load/unload something without scratching it somewhere.

[adam1991]

You almost passed out????

Jesus, man, take a deep breath and calm down. It's only a CAR, fer Chrissakes.

Bumper covers are the easiest thing to repair. It costs very little and takes very little time. You'd be amazed if you knew.

Just go get it fixed. It's just a plastic bumper cover.

If things like this are going to make you pass out, maybe you shouldn't be buying new cars, especially expensive ones. Or at least, don't take them out of the garage. These things happen, and a car is just an inanimate object made of metal and plastic and rubber--all of which is easily fixed.

[steviej]

WSiebert, I know the pain you feel. The first scratch or scuff hurts the most.....especially when it is self inflicted. I remember when I found my first rock chip. :(

Oh well, it is only paint and plastic. That is why there are body shops.

Don't use one of those touch up brushes, it won't look right and you will know it is there and your eyes will be drawn to it each time. Those are good for tiny chips and scratches.

If you are sure the paint is down to the black plastic (and it is not just scuff) then the best thing is to have a body shop remove the cover and paint the whole thing.

It is plastic and flexes so an additive has to be added to the paint to make the paint "flexible". This way it won't crack and flake when the bumper is put back on the car. Runs a couple of bills. My has been repainted twice.

It is a hard fact, but new cars are that until they roll off the lot.

good luck.

steviej

[poppabear]

There are companies that specialize in bumper repair. I had my car fixed at my house. The repair guy had a complete paint mixing setup for matching the paint. I had a couple of deep gouges, but he was able to fix them perfectly. It cost $200 to fix the front and rear bumpers and took 2 hrs.

[juan01]

Well I got my paint less than a month ago and I already have some scars on it.... First was a dent on my roof from a golf ball... I discovered another "chip" no more paint... on the driver side door this morning. I wonder where the hell that came from??