Barked 'er up in front. Solutions?

OpenRoad

OpenRoad

New member
Like an idiot, Negotiating a bad gravel/rocky driveway in the outback, I scraped up the lower plastic trim piece on one side of my 2012 Caddy CTS-V. The front lower trim piece is very visibly scraped/"wounded". The leading edge of the trim is abraded/"lightly shredded". This is more than a few tiny scratches. Whine.

Outside of removing/replacing the trim piece ($$),..is there a way to restore the appearance of the trim section? Cut? Sand? Then, apply a "plastic trim restorer"?

Don't need any scoldings, about this loooow car, NOT being an SUV!

Help?
 

Without pictures I believe I understand what your saying. I am guessing the only way to fix it properly is to have the lip taken off and sanded / repaired and then refinished.
 
In most cases those lower plastic trim pieces are relatively inexpensive to replace. This is a pretty common situation (though usually from driveway scrapes). Sanding usually will change the textured look. Check the price of replacing it before spending a ton of time and energy getting less than satisfactory results.
 
Thanks, Y'all for your suggestions. I realize that it would certainly be most helpful to post a pic, showing the damage to the trim piece. But, I don't have a PhotoBucket, Flikr, etc, etc, online photo account, so I guess I can't upload a pic directly from my computer (?). Soooo, sorry, no pic.
I know I sound like an El Cheapo, but I would prefer to try a DIY approach first, as this only affects the "leading edge" of the unpainted, grey, "projecting" trim piece. Looks viable to try some form of "plastic surgery", as there is good distance from the trim, to the painted portion of the body. I pursued a couple Caddy forums, that make it sound like it would be easy to buy aftermarket trim sections, but I don't have access to a lift, so can't fathom unscrewing, or replacing the trim by myself. This puppy sits veeeery close to the ground. I also know that I may be scraping the beak of Darth Vader's helmet on another future excursion. The car is ridiculously low in front. Love the car, but GM didn't HAVE to put "feelers" out in front!

Can I sand the front of the projecting trim? With whattola (what)?

Blackfired the car during the last two days. The Black Diamond Tri-Coat paint of the car looks AMAZING with BF. Too bad, the front trim sucks.

Any more ideas, for El Cheapo DIY'ers?

Thanks......
 
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