Fixing Scratch on Bumper Cover

[colonelcasey]

I was walking around my car today after surviving the terrible ice commute to work and noticed a 1 inch scratch on my back bumper cover. It's a vertical scratch that's gouged a bit into the plastic bumper itself. I think I may have hit it yesterday while unloading a heavy object from my car but didn't notice it till now.

What's the proper procedure for at least covering up this scratch? I was thinking of buying touch up paint and filling it back in but I'm not sure if that's the way I should go or if I should sand it down first and then paint it. I found some Nissan OEM touch-up paint on eBay but does anyone have suggestions for a good clear coat touch up after the touch-up paint goes on?

[TrevorK]

My personal opinion is that no matter what you do, there is a very good chance it will never be perfect. With this in mind, I recommend balancing time/effort vs results. I would personally very, very, very lightly sand ONLY the part with jagged paint to get rid of the "dangly bits". Clean this off after sanding (dust, etc). I would then use the touchup pen to fill it in (several light coats is better than a heavy coat). Once you are happy with the paint itself (colour, thickness, etc) use a clear coat pen to apply the clear.

There are ways to make the job better, but for most people, it would require a lot of trial and error.

Also, keep in mind you need ideal temperatures to allow the paint to cure. I see snow in your picture, that's obviously not ideal. I would personally wait until spring.

EDIT: Nissan sells pens with paint at one end, clear at the other.

[colonelcasey]

Yeah I understand that it won't look perfect unless I pay someone to respray the bumper (not happening unless I somehow get more scratches). Making it less noticeable than a black mark is good enough for me. Definitely won't attempt a repair on this for another couple months when the ice storms subside.

I think I might have some 2000 grit sand paper lying around. Should I use this or something more coarse to get out the jaggies?

I found the 2-in-one brush/pen applicator on eBay and Amazon but can't find the pen with clear coat too. Where did you see the one with clear coat too?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Touch-Up ... de&vxp=mtr

[TrevorK]

I think I might have some 2000 grit sand paper lying around. Should I use this or something more coarse to get out the jaggies?

This come down to time/effort versus value. I am sure you will still get what you are looking for if you use the 2000 grit to remove the edges, perhaps even rough up a little bit of the surrounding area (so that it bonds to it).

That said, I would feel guilty if I didn't mention other ways to do it. A trip to your autobody supply store would probably yield some great results if you can talk to the counter staff. A more advanced way to do it would be to smooth out the scratch with some wetsanding, wetsand a little bit of the surrounding area (so that it can adhere), use some sort of filler that is made for plastic parts that flex (ideally you would use some sort of adhesion promoter too, but that might add a bit to the cost for such a small scratch), get the area perfectly clean (tack cloth if need be), apply thin layers of paint, then apply clear coat. Wet sand any high spots.

As you can see, this would take a lot of time and possibly cost a lot of money because of the variety of materials. It may also be challenging it such a small area.

What I like is that the first method is relatively inexpensive to try. And let's face it, you can use the pen to fill in all your other rock chips so it's not a huge waste. If you do not like how it looks, you can always go with method #2 (or whatever you research/want to do). I just don't want you to walk away thinking to touchup pen is the only solution if you do not like how it looks.

I found the 2-in-one brush/pen applicator on eBay and Amazon but can't find the pen with clear coat too. Where did you see the one with clear coat too?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Touch-Up ... de&vxp=mtr

The Nissan dealer will sell touch-up pens that match the paint of your vehicle. They come with 2 ends - one paint, one clear coat. I have not looked for any aftermarket alternatives myself so I cannot comment on a place that has them both. If you cannot find a 2-in-1 pen, you can always buy a clear coat pen by itself:
https://www.turtlewax.com/shop/products ... -30-fl-oz-

[ImStricken06]

take a very sharp brand new razor blade and cut off any jagged ends. then try and shave it down so it level.... or at least as level as possible. take a hair drier or heat gun on a low setting and warm up the plastic. but dont melt the darn thing.

apply touch up paint, and apply more heat.

we dont have clear coat. we have a single stage paint job. (paint & clear is all one)

[TrevorK]

we dont have clear coat. we have a single stage paint job. (paint & clear is all one)

Do you have a link to this? The black Rogue's definitely have clear coat from what I have seen. Perhaps it is by colour or type of finish (pearl, metallic, etc) that determines it?

My Nissan touch-up pen also came with clear coat/base coat separate. I would assume if they use a single stage system for my colour it would have been a single pen then too.

[ImStricken06]

we dont have clear coat. we have a single stage paint job. (paint & clear is all one)

Do you have a link to this? The black Rogue's definitely have clear coat from what I have seen. Perhaps it is by colour or type of finish (pearl, metallic, etc) that determines it?

My Nissan touch-up pen also came with clear coat/base coat separate. I would assume if they use a single stage system for my colour it would have been a single pen then too.

i dont need a link, i can tell on my own. rub it, and see what happens. or better yet, wet-sand it, and see what happens. or get a magnetic paint depth meter.
bumpers especially are treated with even less regard, than the rest of the car; when it comes to painting. the base material of the bumper is considered as "no priming needed".

after my accident, i had the car painted, using multiple stage paint. primer, base coat, clear coat. you should see the difference. its night and day.

[TrevorK]

Do you have a link to this? The black Rogue's definitely have clear coat from what I have seen. Perhaps it is by colour or type of finish (pearl, metallic, etc) that determines it?

My Nissan touch-up pen also came with clear coat/base coat separate. I would assume if they use a single stage system for my colour it would have been a single pen then too.

i dont need a link, i can tell on my own. rub it, and see what happens. or better yet, wet-sand it, and see what happens. or get a magnetic paint depth meter.
bumpers especially are treated with even less regard, than the rest of the car; when it comes to painting. the base material of the bumper is considered as "no priming needed".

after my accident, i had the car painted, using multiple stage paint. primer, base coat, clear coat. you should see the difference. its night and day.

What colour do you have? Perhaps Nissan uses a different method based on colours. I would think the factory service manual should specify paint codes, clear, etc.

[ImStricken06]

What colour do you have? Perhaps Nissan uses a different method based on colours. I would think the factory service manual should specify paint codes, clear, etc.

they wont differentiate between colors. its always one method, unless you order a special edition. mine is gotham gray.
and your manual wont list the layers of paint. your VIN PLATE will list your color code, and thats it.

i can tell you, that after owning the g37s coupe, the paint job was 100% different than any nissan i have had. it had a thick glossy clear coat. infiniti certainly gets the thick clear coat.


i started digging around, and it appears nissan is pretty hush-hush about its paint process; unlike for example mercedes, which is pretty open about their amazing painting process.

in 2008 they changed their paint process: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/20 ... -02-e.html

and then in 2013, they again announced they are changing their painting process: http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/ ... aint-plant

[TrevorK]

they wont differentiate between colors. its always one method, unless you order a special edition. mine is gotham gray.
and your manual wont list the layers of paint. your VIN PLATE will list your color code, and thats it.

i can tell you, that after owning the g37s coupe, the paint job was 100% different than any nissan i have had. it had a thick glossy clear coat. infiniti certainly gets the thick clear coat.

i started digging around, and it appears nissan is pretty hush-hush about its paint process; unlike for example mercedes, which is pretty open about their amazing painting process.

in 2008 they changed their paint process: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/20 ... -02-e.html

and then in 2013, they again announced they are changing their painting process: http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/ ... aint-plant

They have to change processes for different colours - a pearl white involves a different process than a plain white (arctic white, or whatever the new cool description of white is). I am not sure if that's what you mean by a "special edition".

Your link to the Franklin Tennesse plant discusses that there are three distinct stages when painting. They are able to spray each one after another (without letting the paint cure), but they are all individual layers. This shows that the clear is it's own layer.


Here is a snippet from the service manual that discusses the various colours. I am unsure what the reference is to a "hard clear coat", but can only assume it's a clear coat that has different properties (and it's on the darker colours, so maybe more scratch resistant?).