Bumper damage, to claim or not

Yes if you are comfortable with removing the entire bumper cover. It's not rocket science but you'll need a manual or good how-to link. You should be able to pop it out easily then. Next, get some rubbing compound (the liquid turtle wax is good), read the directions, and use a lot of elbow grease. Judging by this picture, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see most of the damage is paint from the pillar. Yes there will be some scratches that made it through the paint but a touch up pen should help a lot.

You'll only be out a few bucks plus your free labor if you're not satisfied with the results and decide to take it to a body shop.

GOOD LUCK!

 

I wouldn't claim it on insurance. It will just make your rate go up. As fotomoto stated, you can pop the dent out and use rubbing/buffing compound to get some of it out but all will not come out. The color is easy to match and, you can buy a spray can of touch up paint from automotivetouchup.com (along with clear coat). Fixing stuff like this is not expensive (if you DIY) but it does take a lot of elbow grease. To fix it right (make it unnoticeable), you would have to sand all the scratches completely out (I would start w/ 220 grit wet or dry and progress to about 6-800 grit), prime the areas of exposed bumper (black, if any) paint with basecoat, sand with 1000 grit, clean with prep solvent, clearcoat an area larger than the repair area and blend the entire repair in with 1000 grit then 2000 grit, then rubbing compound and finally buffing compound. It is very time consuming. Most people don't realize that the paint on their car is one of the most expensive things to replace (due to the amount of labor required).

If it were me, I would take the bumper off, pop out the dent with a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer, rub it, buff it and see how it looked. Then you'll have to decide from there if you can live with it or not.

 

I repaired a much deeper crease with a hair dryer ( a hot air gun would be quicker) but do not get it to hot. Heat the area round the dent a bit first then work inward, that should make it pop out easily. If it does not pop out on it's own give it a push with a wad of cloth do not use metal or wood as this will stretch the plastic and form ridges.

Sea my post "bumper repair" on page2 of this forum.

good luck John.

 

There's absolutely nothing in the tone of your post, the wording of your post, or you revealed outlook that would suggest to me you either want to claim this on your insurance or should claim it on your insurance.

Good Luck...post a picture of the results.

 

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