Light scuffs on (unpainted) plastic. Best approach?

[SayNoToPistons]

Street parked my Mazda CX-5 at what was seemingly a safe spot. I was wrong. Came home to find some scuffing on the unpainted portion of my rear bumper. It must be the typical NYC a-hole bumper kissing technique someone used.

The scuffs are not deep enough to make any significant gouges. Though through close examination, there are some spots where the material was dug in and frayed (very very fine). I say 75% of it is not gouged. After cleaning the surface, I went at it with a Mr.Clean Magic Eraser (wet). That didn`t help much. Out of experiment`s sake, I used 303 to see if it improves blending of light marks. It didn`t make a significant different. Then finally Armor All thinking its heavy greasy finish will hide it. Wasn`t much of a difference either.

Any suggestions on how to approach this? (Apologies for the upload on Flickr instead of attachment here. It gave me an error for each file).


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7585/16882580262_a54cd1fb8a_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rHRCW3)20150321_104638 (https://flic.kr/p/rHRCW3) by SayNoToPistons (https://www.flickr.com/people/79575629@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7616/16676434467_1eb8957675_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rpD5Yc)20150321_113306 (https://flic.kr/p/rpD5Yc) by SayNoToPistons (https://www.flickr.com/people/79575629@N05/), on Flickr
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7647/16882578222_bf4d34e7ae_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/rHRCjS)20150321_113325 (https://flic.kr/p/rHRCjS) by SayNoToPistons (https://www.flickr.com/people/79575629@N05/), on Flickr



The feeling of disappointment of successfully avoiding any eyesore on the car for 2 years (and 3 months) in NYC has possibly come to an end.

[bswombaugh]

I am thinking that you may want to try something like Solution Finish Trim Restorer to darken those scratches and make all the bumper a uniform color. The scratches will still be there, but its likely they won`t "stick out" near as bad. I don`t have a real good answer for repairing the scratches. Maybe some of the other members can chime in and give their thoughts.

[Accumulator]

I`d probably end up replacing the bumper cover over that. Wonder how the cost would compare to your insurance deductible...

[ShawnF350]

Im not sure how to hide scratches but I have tried many different products on a 02 Ford Explorers faded out gray plastic bumpers and flares. After trying so many that didn`t work, even a $40 bottle of Wolfgang. I found Poorboy`s Trim Restore to work wonders. It darkens everything to an even color. Usually I do one to two applications but after one the results are phenomenal. It doesn`t run after it rains either.
Maybe after a wash later today I`ll take some before and after photos. I haven`t applied it since late fall.

[SayNoToPistons]

I`d probably end up replacing the bumper cover over that. Wonder how the cost would compare to your insurance deductible...

It won`t be justified, unfortunately :( . They would have to repaint the top Black Mica section of the bumper, then blend/paint match the quarter panels. It is not noticeable unless in direct lighting.

If push comes to shove, I may PlastiDip the lower portion of the bumper. As much as I would hate to do that, I find PlastDip to be a perfect match to my car`s exterior plastics when I did an experiment with the rear wiper cover.

I`ll look into both Trim Restorers for now. Keep the suggestion coming! Much appreciated.

[Accumulator]

SayNoToPistons- Nah, no need to blend into the quarters. Remember that the bumpercovers are originally painted at a different facility from where they paint the bodies (which is why many/most don`t match perfectly when new) with a different paint, then they`re shipped to the assembly plant for installation (the MIA Ron Ketcham did a lot of plant tours at Mazda during his time at AutoInt and filled us in on how this goes).

They`d just take off the cover, paint the upper portionof the new one, and install it. Heh heh, easy for me to spend *your* money, isn`t it ;)

Doing a trim restoration process might satisfy you, but remember that it won`t fix the "texture" issues. I`d go that route rather than the PlastDip, but that`s just me.

[SayNoToPistons]

Thanks. I may put the bumper replacement aside for now since I don`t notice the damage at all in low light conditions. Just pains me to know that it`s there.

Disappointed that so many manufacturers are going the route of bare plastic for external trim and bumpers. It`s on so many Audi, MB, and BMW`s. It serves no function other than cost cutting. It`s more fragile than paint.

[Accumulator]

Disappointed that so many manufacturers are going the route of bare plastic for external trim and bumpers. It`s on so many Audi, MB, and BMW`s. It serves no function other than cost cutting. It`s more fragile than paint.

Oddly enough, the stuff that *looks* unpainted on my Audis actually *is* painted. Only found out after some serious damage...