Two Nice Gashes...

[SandyRunner]

Well, it happened...I was driving home from work when BAM!!!, something hit my passenger side door. When I got home I noticed that I had two gashes in the paint (about the size of dimes). I have no idea what hit me, but now I need to figure out the best way to fix it. I have heard about a product that smoothes out touchup paint...is this a good idea. I really don't want to take it to the stealership unless I have to...what steps do i need to take to get my door back to it's original shine???

 

[Hitman]

Is the paint gone? If so, I wouldn't try to fix it myself--I'd have a body shop respray it.

Unless you are REALLY good, I doubt you'll ever get good results trying to touch-up two dime-sized scratches, especially if they are down to the metal.

 

[SandyRunner]

Yeah, it is definately down to the metal. I was afraid that it would take a professional's touch. Thanks for the reply, I guess I will take it to the body shop tomorrow...

 

[gonzo]

make sure you inquire about paintless dent removal, they can take out the dents without drilling into the door or sanding it down and using bondo. they can also do a great job of blending in the paint rather than painting the whole door. few dealerships have this service, although i have heard them recommend it. check into it for yourself though, it could save you money and better maintain your factory finish.

 

[Derek]

as gonzo said, most dealerships have a paintless dent removal company that repairs their cars for them. A lot of brand new cars are damaged during transit and have to be repaired to be sold as new. My 4Runner was damaged by the service department (three dents in the fender) and they had their paintless dent removal people fix it and they did a PERFECT job.

 

[SandyRunner]

That makes me feel a lot better...I'll be stopping by the dealership later today. Hopefully it won't cost me an arm and a leg.

 

[Lee1]

Just another thumbs up for paintless dent repair. Before my T4R, I had a 1999 Trooper that was outside during one of our infamous North Texas hail storms. Insurance company gave me a check for $4-5K and I had PDR done for about half that and it looked perfect. Insurance adjuster told me I could do that - as long as I had the car fixed, they did not care what process and I really did not want to get it repainted as it was in perfect condition. I was amazed at how well it worked and we are talking hundreds of dents on roof/hood, rear doors and passenger side.

Good luck,

Lee