Can I fix this collision damage myself??

I

iyzmi

New member
So I recently got into a minor accident and the other guy's insurance will be paying to have my front bumper fixed. I was thinking maybe I can just buy the right tools and products and try to do it myself. I know it won't be perfect but it will be much cheaper and I will have money left over after I'm done. Here are some pics of the damage.

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So what I'm thinking is I should polish the damaged area to even it out, then fill in the chipped spots (areas 3,4, and some of 2) with some OEM touchup paint. Then I would follow that up with a few layers of clearcoat to try to level those areas to the existing paints as much as possible. I would then let it dry for a day or two and apply a bunch of other protection like multiple coats of sealant and wax.



I'm not sure if the white scuffs on the bottom (area 1) will buff out or not but that paint is even so I don't think using touchup paint would work there. If I can't fix that area it won't be such a big deal. It's the other areas where the paint is chipped and scratched up that bother me most.



Again, I'm not looking for a perfect result but I would like to clean it up so the damage is only visible under close inspection or to those that know it's there. So what do you guys think, would this damage be repairable with a PC, the right polish, and the right pads? Thanks in advance!



BTW, I can get more pics of any part if necessary so feel free to ask.
 
Well if you're paint is metallic you'll never get a perfect match, even with factory matched paint you cant get the mettalic element to sit and reflect correctly, it'll be close and in some angles look perfect and in others you'll see the repaint.



Go to your nearest hobby shop and get a beginners airbrush kit, it's only about 30 bucks or if you've got a harbor freight you can get nicer ones for less. I've got one of their cheapo interchangeable cup ones for $6.99 that I use for base coats, primers and large touchup like yours. For the chipped paint what you want to do is clean it well, with thinner then fill in the spots slightly higher than the surrounding area with glazing putty let it dry, and then with a small section of 1000 grit wet sand the glazing putty till it's smooth and you can't feel any edge. Then carefully primer the area and feather the edges smooth. Then paint, then clear. Let dry for at least a couple days and then wet sand with 2000 to get rid of any feathering and 1000 sand marks and polish as usual.



Done right you shouldn't be able to see it if it's non-metallic, metallics it'll be darn close. The technique is to get the appropriate thinner and thin to a consistency of about milk. Spray evenly but not too light that the paint doesn't gloss over and level and not too heavy so it doesn't drip. And practice painting on a surface like a soda can so you get used to making an even finish on awkward surfaces.



I personally have a full professional airbrush set and compressor that I use for painting remote controlled car bodies but the skill transfers well to touch ups. If you were in socal I'd even offer to do those touch ups for maybe only 150 bucks, trust me that price is low. Especially if you consider you have to buy all your touch up stuff.
 
Wow, that's a lot of info. I'll have to re-read that a few more times before I actually understand it. Do you think a noob such as myself would be able to do this?? I would REALLY appreciate it if you took all that and made it into steps so it would be easier to understand and ask questions. Thanks for the help!
 
If he is going through insurance you should get it fixed professionally. It looks to me like a newish car so don't hack it up early on.
 
If you don't replace it those steps are what professional touch up guys do. Mostly it's just skill. But insurance just replaces the part. I think he's trying to save the money and is willing to live with the knowledge that his car has been touched up. I know I have collision damage on my truck from an accident when someone crashed into me. All I had was a bent bumper that scratched and bent a small corner or the tailgate and rear quarter panel. I just bent the bumper back bent the corner of the tailgate back into place and touched up the area and unless you were specifically told to look for damage you wouldn't be able to tell if anything happened and I pocketed 1800 for it.
 
The insurance company is going to give me about $650 to have the bumper repaired by a body shop. The body shop won't be touching it up like what I want to do. They're just gonna sand down the whole thing and repaint it. A new painted bumper on ebay is $550 so I figure if I mess up, I can just go ahead and order a brand new one and install it myself. Either way it is less than what the bodyshop wants. Here are some pics of front of the car as a whole. You can see that the damage really isn't that bad and isn't that noticeable either. The front plate is really messed up but it took most of the damage.

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Let the shop do it or start over with a whole new bumber cover. Those scraps aren't a novice job by any means. You'll never get that looking right without doing a complete sand down and repaint. That would even be hard for a professional and time consuming. That is why they rather just sand the whole thing down and repaint, quicker and perfect in the end.
 
Call your local car dealerships and ask for the number of a bumper repair specialist.



They should be able to paint your bumper at your home for about $275. You'll pocket $650 - $275 and never lose your car to a body shop for three days.



You could try the repair yourself, but your cost on compressor, gun, filters, clearcoat, paint, supplies will be $500+...and you'll end up paying for a full repaint anyways.
 
Local dealership has their own body shop, they'll just suggest I come in for an estimate (which I already have). Any other way I can find a bumper repair specialist?
 
iyzmi said:
Local dealership has their own body shop, they'll just suggest I come in for an estimate (which I already have). Any other way I can find a bumper repair specialist?
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Call your local Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Mercedes, and Lexus dealerships. They all use bumper specialists.
 
iyzmi said:
The insurance company is going to give me about $650 to have the bumper repaired by a body shop. The body shop won't be touching it up like what I want to do. They're just gonna sand down the whole thing and repaint it. A new painted bumper on ebay is $550 so I figure if I mess up, I can just go ahead and order a brand new one and install it myself. Either way it is less than what the bodyshop wants. Here are some pics of front of the car as a whole. You can see that the damage really isn't that bad and isn't that noticeable either. The front plate is really messed up but it took most of the damage.

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Here's my thoughts:

A brand new OEM bumper cover is $260 and paint + installation is another $350 which is approximately what you are getting paid from your insurance company. So I don't think they are repairing your existing cover for the same cost, they are probably replacing it. Also, from this picture it appears that there is a really bad crease/crack on the top of the left side of the cover. I personally don't recommend attempting a repair on that extensive of damage. It can be done and shops could fix it (with alot of filler) but I'd be hard pressed if they would warranty their repair because it might not last. I've seen shops attempt bumper repairs and they usually fail after they get heated up in their paint booth and/or when they install it. 3M makes a great bumper repair kit and the repaired area is many times stronger than before, but due to how cheap a replacement cover is, it's not cost effective to attempt.

If you do decide to have the bumper repaired, make sure the shop paints the entire bumper.
 
The shop will repair the bumper (repaint) for $800. To replace it would cost about $900. There is another shop that will repair for $700. I've already gone and gotten estimates so I know the facts. There are no cracks or creases whatsoever and I'm not sure what area you are referring to. There is a tiny little dent on the bottom where the white spots are but it's really not a big deal. There's a dent behind the plate but that doesn't matter because a new front plate will hide it. My choices are to try to have it professionally touched up, to fix it myself, or to buy a new painted bumper and install it myself. All of these options will be cheaper than my least expensive body shop estimate of $700. I probably won't be able to do it myself so that leaves me with the remaining two options. In the end I will probably just order a new one though.
 
Looks like a diagonal crease at the center of the left headlight bottom that goes on an angle down and stops in the middle of the left grille. It looks like a crease by the way the reflection of the clouds stops right at the edge of the crease. The other side of the cover doesn't look like that? It must be the way the reflection looks.



If there isn't a crease (which I believe you), the cover is easily repairable.



Also, my estimating data base shows the bumper cover to be $260.40. The part # is 55504FE020. If you want to PM me your e-mail address, I'll send you a screen shot.
 
Nah, that's just the reflection of the house. And I don't need a screen shot, I believe you. I'm looking at the estimate to replace it right now and I see that the cover is $260.40. All type out the prices on that I see:



Final Calculations & Entries

Gross Parts - $260.40

Other Parts - $15.00

Paint Material - $154.00

Parts & Materials Total - $429.40

Tax on Parts & Materials @ 5.600% - $24.05



Labor

1-Sheet Metal- $181.50

4-Refinish - $242.00

Labor Total - $423.50

Tax on Labor @ 5.600% - $23.72

Sublet Repairs - $5.00

Tax on Sublet Repairs @ 5.600% - $.28



GROSS TOTAL - $905.95
 
AppliedColors said:
Call your local Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Mercedes, and Lexus dealerships. They all use bumper specialists.
Click to expand...

Some of them didn't know what I was talking about but 3 of them have a guy that comes in once a week. I only got 1 guy's number and he does not do house calls. I'll see if maybe I can meet one of them at a dealership...
 
Precise information very helpful for me and hope for others too. You can dainting the parts for bringing it back which was before accident. Of course it will not like new but almost better than general painting.
 
Do you guys think any body shop would paint an unpainted brand new bumper cover for around $240 or is this way too low? So far my best price is $500 for a new bumper on ebay and I'm just seeing if I have any alternatives.
 
I vote you practice on the bumper and see how good you can get it. If you go with the airbrush method you're looking at under $50 in parts/supplies it would seem. If you don't like the results, get it repaired professionally. The worst that happens is you get a $50 lesson on touching up paint. Best is that you get a great looking bumper that you fixed yourself.
 
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