Bottom of Front Lip Scuffed -- What to do?

[encoder]

Hey guys,

I didn't even get mad when the wife told me that she scuffed the bottom of the front bumper cover against a parking-stop. Apparently the spot had an upward incline.

When I go outside.. you can't see anything without getting on the ground, then you can see the bottom of the front lip is scraped. White lines cut thru the black paint. And the surface is grooved now.

I bought this car slightly used and the front bumper cover has all the obligatory chips and road rash you'd expect of a 2 year old black car. So what I was thinking is, maybe in about a year, I'd have it removed and refinished and protected with a clear-bra. That's almost certainly what I'll do now that there's this damage.

Is there anything I can/should do until then? Obviously this is plastic so it's not going to rust. I guess my biggest fear is, now that the clear and paint are compromised, could it spider-web/crack/chip/peel etc ??

I'll try to get some pics on here later if that would help.

The car is 08 MB C350.

[Y2KSVT]

I really doubt it's going to start peeling away any time in the remotely near future. I'm been around lowered vehicles for quite a while, and with all of the scraping I've seen on the lower portions of plastic bumper covers, I've never seen it start peeling or cracking down the road. If the clear coat/paint was going to crack, it would have done so on impact with the curb. Plastic tends to flex under these conditions, and no amount of flex agent can be added to paint to allow for that much stress. If it didn't crack the paint, then it won't start cracking later on. This is very common on newer cars where people don't pay close enough attention when parking. Unfortunately, some cars are much more noticeable than others, so you may be lucky that it's hidden.

Mark

[loudog2]

You can polish or even wet sand the area. The minor marks will go away, but the deep ones will stay. That's what I did. Other thatn that, there is really nothing you can do. My wife did the same thing, but under the back. You can't see it by looking. I really only notice it when I'm detailing the car(I shake my head every time I see it).

A clear bra will help with the chips when driving. It will do nothing when it comes to a curb! LOL

[encoder]

You can polish or even wet sand the area. The minor marks will go away, but the deep ones will stay. That's what I did. Other thatn that, there is really nothing you can do. My wife did the same thing, but under the back. You can't see it by looking. I really only notice it when I'm detailing the car(I shake my head every time I see it).

A clear bra will help with the chips when driving. It will do nothing when it comes to a curb! LOL

Oh gosh the "shake your head" comment really hit home. EXACTLY right :)

And yeah I know the clear-bra won't fix such things. I'm just saying, when I got the car, there's a normal amount of road rash for the mileage (17k miles): minor but it's there, and on black, it's noticeable. No sense installing clear bra now with so many existing chips.

So I figure, refinish the thing, get rid of the chips, etc. THEN install clear bra.

Two separate issues. I'm just happy i can kill both birds with one stone.

Thanks for your tips man. Appreciated.

Shane

[WestEnd]

I had the same problem with my MB. But talk about shaking your head... I SCRAPED IT. Grrrrr.

I used Dr. ColorChip Dr. ColorChip Paint Chip Repair, repair paint chips, touch-up paint, Doctor Color-Chip Paint Chip Repair (http://www.autogeek.net/dr-colorchip-paint-chip-repair.html) and it did a really good job. Of course if I get on me knees and look under I can see where the scrapes are but at least the white undercoating doesn't show through. With black it stood out like crazy. Of course my friends laughed because I did the bobbing walk towards the car to see it, but I saw it. :D

These aren't perfect like a new paint job but they definitely improve it until then.

I also did a couple chips on the hood. I am really impressed with this product. After curing for 30 days, polishing worked great if you're careful. I did pull out one deep chip but I easily filled it again.

BTW I also redid the graying vents... so don't give me crap! hahaha

Drivers side scrapes and chips.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=126&pictureid=721

Here you can see blotches on passenger side applying the paint and the scraped drivers side again.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=126&pictureid=720

Then the two sides finished
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=126&pictureid=722

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=126&pictureid=719