should i attempt fixing new bmw 535i bumper?
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Hi all! I’m new to this website and found it by watching some amazing youtube videos. I’ve been researching how to get my bumper fixed and this seems like the best place to learn!
Here is what happened…Someone ran into my back bumper and dented it a little bit (penny size dent) and scratched it pretty badly, down to the primer. There are two other tiny scratches as well. Please see the pic attached.
I’ve taken it to the auto shops and every shop wants to take off the whole bumper (citing that parking sensors are a problem) and sand the whole thing down and then fix it and repaint it. They all want around $500 for this. I don’t like anyone taking off the bumper because the car is brand new, less than 30 days old 🙁 …I’m just not confident they’ll take it off nicely and put it back just the way it was.
Anyway…I started thinking that maybe I can fix this myself. In my head, it doesn’t seem all that complicated (I know it is, though). I’d sand it down to the primer, clean it, put some 3M plastic filler, sand it so it blends in nicely and there is no dent…then clean it again….put on new primer, paint, clear coat. Polish it. And it should look nice 🙂 In theory, all that sounds nice and easy.
Should I even attempt this? I’m ready to buy all the necessary tools and do this right. If I mess up so badly, then I’ll take it to an auto shop and have them fix it. But I feel like I should be able to get this little part of the bumper back to near perfect. And I am not looking for perfect results. I’d be happy with anything that’ll look better than just simple touch up paint.
Please let me know, guys! Thanks in advance!
I should point out a few things…The car/paint is brand new. It is Jet Black color (pitch black, no metallic). I’m fairly good with tools as I’ve been fixing cars/trucks my entire life. Sanding, etc isn’t a problem. I’m just a little worried about the painting part as I’ve never used a professional HVLP gun before.
Or…I also though about sanding, filling, priming and then taking it to a pro shop for them to just paint it for me and blend it in. They shouldn’t take more than $100 for that from me.
Let me know.
Welcome to the site.
Honestly, I wouldn’t suggest this to a beginner. Blending clear takes a lot of practice to do well, especially on black. There is also the risk that the clear could peel back later on (which is not fun to fix). Being a new car, I really would hate to see the clear blended out back there.
The best fix is to remove the bumper and clear the whole thing. Any professional will not have issues removing the bumper and putting it back on. As far as what we do every day, that is a very basic job.
If you have no tools or equipment, the $500 for a shop to do it properly is likely the cheaper/better way to go.
Thanks for replying! So you are saying they’ll take it off, fix the scratch and then paint it and clear coat the whole bumper?
Will they sand down the whole bumper and repaint the whole thing? Or just the area around the bumper?
It was my understanding they’ll sand down the whole bumper and repaint the whole bumper. I just don’t see why that is necessary.
Can I at least just do the sanding and filling it in with bondo and then take it to a pro to paint/clear it for me? Would that yield better results? As this will result in my saving at least $300-400.
I just know it’ll happen again, probably relatively soon ha…so I would hate to get it fixed and spend $500 only to see this happen again a month after. Then I would really feel like an idiot.
Don’t take this the wrong way but most shops will not paint over body work that wasn’t done by them.
[quote=”losmi8″ post=27408]I just know it’ll happen again, probably relatively soon ha…so I would hate to get it fixed and spend $500 only to see this happen again a month after. Then I would really feel like an idiot.[/quote]
If that is the case, you may just want to brush on some touch up paint for now
I gonna have to agree with Ben use some touch up paint and forget about it
A. The first scratch is the hardest to deal with but now that it has happened (because there is always a first scratch) you don’t have to let it bother you.
B. If it happens again are you really going to take it in and have it fixed for every scratch you get?
C. To buy all the tools to do this job yourself would cost $1000 plus (depending on the quality of the tools you buy) and if you take it to a shop most good shops have top of the line tools already,and have fixed more bumper covers than you or I will know.
also yes you would have to sand the whole bumper to blend / reclear it. that is the proper way.
oh and welcome to the site! we are glad to have ya!
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