Remember These Tips for Repairing Bumper Scratches

Car bumpers protect your vehicle, but often at their own expense.Whether it's an unusually high curb or a parking lot sideswipe, bumper scratches are as ugly as they are annoyingly easy to get. While some people may just slap a bumper sticker over the damage, there are better solutions available. Some shallow scratches can be repaired yourself, or, depending on the extent of the damage, you can go to an auto body repair shop.

To start off, you need to know what kind of bumper your vehicle has.Most cars these days have plastic bumpers - technically, steel bumpers protected under a tough plastic cover, sometimes with foam packed between to increase protection.Older and classic cars more likely have old-fashioned steel and chrome bumpers.

Lightly scratched chrome bumpers are the easiest to fix.Surface marks often can just be wiped away using a piece of aluminum foil sprinkled with a little water. The foil is softer than the chrome so won't scratch it more, and the aluminum oxides created by rubbing will polish the chrome to a shine, dissolving away rust and clearing shallow marks. If the scratches are deeper, however, you'll need a repair kit to fill them in.

Otherwise, if your car is a standard modern model, it probably has a plastic bumper.The advantage of these bumpers is that since the plastic is semi-flexible, it can often bounce back undamaged from minor impacts.It still can be abraded or gouged, however, and fixing scratches on these bumpers can be a difficult process. Before you start, you can try cleaning the bumper by scrubbing it with a non-abrasive sponge; occasionally bumpers can pick up paint off the objects that scraped them, and may be undamaged beneath.

If the scratches remain after cleaning, they will need to be repaired.First, sand down the scratches to smooth them out, and then clean the area with a grease remover. If there are any scratches deep enough to remain, they'll have to be filled in with a scratch-filling putty, which must be sanded down again after it hardens.Once the bumper is evenly sanded, scuff it with a pad to ensure the paint adheres, then coat all exposed areas with a primer.Finally, apply multiple layers of spray paint matching the color of the bumper or car body, and finish with a transparent clear coat.

Depending on your bumpers and how they were damaged, fixing them can be easy or time-consuming. If you're ever unsure how to proceed, you can always consult a professional. See this website for more information on bumpers and other car accident repair in Garner.