This morning I was backing into a parking spot at my office's garage and didn't realize how close I was to the support column. Well due to not being more careful and the rain blurring the vision on the side mirror I swiped the column and left some deep scratches (took off paint) on the right side of the rear bumper (4"x3" area).

Don't want to take it to a body shop and prefer to repair it on my own. Anyone recommend a kit they used and any other tips or tricks? I saw a kit on scratchwizard.net for $50 that looked promising.

On another note, some idiot decided to squeeze their car into a space that was too small behind my 4Runner and bent my hitch step in the process. Didn't notice it until I had to get something from the cargo area a few days later. Any advice on how to bend it back?

For the hitch step, I would say there is no good way to bend it back without really weakening the metal.

If the scratches on the rear bumper are through the paint and into the primer or even took it down to bare plastic I would recommend getting it repainted by a body shop. Scratch pens pretty much always turn out like crap and there's no way of buffing it out if it is through the paint.

Some pics of the damage. Doesn't look too bad. Could have been a lot worse. I don't think it would be worth the cost to have it done at a body shop.