lee

im so pissed off right now

some jerk in a red car mustve hit my truck pretty hard in the last day or two. i wouldnt have noticed it because its been snowing so my truck has been covered in snow everytime i leave it.

the bastard put red streaks in my chrome front bumper, took a lot of paint off of the front left fender flare and put a mark on my grille guard on that side.

what can i do to get the paint of the chrome? its a little dented, but i can live with that if the paint streaks are gone.

what do i do to repaint the flare? do i sand down the effected area and then paint over it?

i wont do the painting till the spring though, im gonna let it ride through the annoying accident-prone winter time first.


thanks guys.

Cebby

Simi Chrome Polish should take it off. Sorry to hear about the mishap.

lee

awesome, ill look for it today.

thanks cebby.

any other tips you guys have are much appreciated.

ill post some pics up later..

SHINYSIDEUP

Brillo pads works great on chrome.

Cebby

If used very gingerly. Otherwise, nice for scratching.

Bob_98SR5

lee,

i would not use brillo pads to take off paint on chrome as the material is abrasive.

getting paint off chrome is especially easy. take some nail polish remover and dilute it to a ratio of 1:8 (NPR to water). put it on a clean cloth and gently rub off. wash it w/ soap and water afterwards. same for the fender flare.

as for the fender flares, i'm not gonna guess until i see the pics.

bob

lee

awesome, thanks bob.

no biggie on the flare. i dont want to do anything (paint it for real, etc) till the spring so in the meantime i got some touchup paint from the dealer ($9) and just lightly brushed it on after washing the truck and drying the surface well. now that the paints dry it looks just fine, barely noticeable that the paint got scraped off unless you look REALLY close.

ill try that npr/water trick tomorrow and let you know. problem is, theres a freakin dent!

oh well. really, im cooled off about it now -- couldve been worse i suppose. ill still post pics tomorrow when i get my hands on my camera.

thanks again.

Bob_98SR5

lee,

i spent 2 years in boston for grad school. i kept my then honda civic ex pristine and undented. 1 winter, it was dented on the lower driver's side quarter panel---not to mention scratched up bumpers, door dings, etc.

after the snow melted, only then i truly understood the word "mass-hole"

bob

lee

hahahah.. yea, seems quite common i guess.

whered you live & go to grad school?

MTL_4runner

I hear ya Bob!
I am amazed your Civic even lasted that long.
MA is not my favorite place to drive but all the Family lives there so...Oh well. :pat:

lee

its great in the summer time though. boston in summer is a whole different place than in winter.

lee

picture time:


you can see how the chrome is dented and has the big red paint scrape


thats not dirt (well, not all dirt), thats scraped paint. i didnt put the touchup paint on this part yet.


i put touchup paint on this part... you can barely even see that theres a problem.


another pic of the chrome dent and the scrape on my grille guard is visible here too.


thanks for all your advice... this sucks.

Hyperlite

uhhh..........Thats what my finders look like from mud and trees
pull the bumper off and pound it out

Bob_98SR5

lee,

i went to babson. 1st yr, i lived on campus. acquired some nice door dings. 2nd year, i lived in brighton, just across comm ave, down the hill from boston college.

these guys used to get together early in the morning and go golfing on saturdays. one guy drove a maxima station wagon and always picked up the two other guys in my complex. one of my neighbors told me that mr. maxima guy hit my car. i left a note on my neighbor's door and wanted his friend's number. they never responded and even when i went up in person, they played dumb. grrr.

the worst was street parking anywhere in the city. oh well. people warned me about boston when i got there.

and yes, summers there were pretty good (humid), esp boston commons. we'd take our bikes down for a nice ride and enjoy the "scenery". but really, i can't take the winters. im a big CA wussy.

anyways, the paint on the chrome should easily come off. as for the fender flares, i thnk you did a good job w/ the touch up paint. just make sure you clean the area off really well w/ soap/water before touching up.

bob

lee

thanks bob. i live now right where you did.. brighton, right down from bc... almost at the corner of comm ave and chestnut hill ave. nice!

im heading out right now to do the npr/water trick on the bumper... be back in a bit with good or bad news

lee

vs.



vs.


thanks again, bob, it worked great and though i did not exactly do a showroom job on the touchup, i think it looks just fine. im really relieved now. ill pull the bumper and pound out the dent this spring when it warms up.

one last pic..

Bob_98SR5

lee,

no problem. and in a weird way, its good to see boston architecture in the reflections off your bumper.

bob

lee

then you will love this:

AgRunner06

Dude, there's the culprit in that pic.

BTW, nice job on the repair.



EDIT: Now that I think about it, that car may be too low.

lee

hahah hadnt noticed. no, it isnt that car as it happened at work, not at home. that much i know for sure.