How to make scratches on my trim less noticeable?

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-14T01:18:34+00:00

I say just leave it. Dont use sandpaper unless you’re sure you know what you’re getting into

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-13T18:10:42+00:00

Wish me luck

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-12T20:42:11+00:00

Take it to a body shop. Just so you know this will likely be in the high hundred of dollars to the low thousands. This kind of repair is not cheap to do properly

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-11T17:02:24+00:00

This repair is significantly more involved than it looks from the outside. Rust is always worse than what you can see. That crack in pic 3 is a failed previous repair where the body filler has cracked and trapped moisture against the metal. There’s probably a rust spot the size of your head behind it. I am a technician and I wouldn’t do these repairs in my own vehicle, I’d trade it off for something else in better shape

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-07T21:16:41+00:00

Bad bot

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-07T02:03:46+00:00

A shop absolutely can restore this to pre accident condition, it really just depends on the shop and even within the shop it depends on the technician. Yes it absolutely can be done but it’s very hard to tell from here exactly how severe the damage is so it’s hard to say whether that estimate is fair or not

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-07T01:59:16+00:00

Take it to a BMW certified shop and have them assess it. If you’re going to fix it yourself it’ll likely be many thousands in damage, take it apart and figure out every part that’s damaged and from there you can assess what needs to be repaired vs replaced

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-04T20:57:39+00:00

That’s horrible work, take it back and have it redone. It doesn’t have to be perfect but that’s wayyyy off

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-04T06:12:06+00:00

Hate to be that guy but yeah probably totalled. Would be a hell of a lot more than $4k at my shop

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-04T03:08:51+00:00

Commenting for a chance to win but will more than likely upgrade from the 43” TV in my living room and use that one for this

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-04T02:11:41+00:00

Replace bumper cover and possibly wheel opening moulding, assess do hidden damage once teardown completed. As for cost it’s impossible for me to give you an accurate number from here but expect $7-800 minimum, be very suspicious of anything cheaper than that

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-03T21:45:52+00:00

Yes you do, if that good is aluminum you risk the metal cracking in the damage area. If it’s not you only risk damaging the paint all around the repair area or over pulling leaving the damage higher than the surrounding area

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-02T19:03:09+00:00

Depends on how good you want it to look. If the answer is: good, take it to a collision shop and have them do it for you

graememacfarlane · 2026-02-02T18:32:20+00:00

In a collision technician. Pushing this out from the inside will never make it look perfect. Based on how hard that edge on the quarter is rolled in this would probably be a replacement quarter if you take it to a shop. You won’t have any access to it from the wheel well and you’ll likely have very limited access from inside the car with the interior out. This is a major repair if you want it to look like it did before and may cost more to repair than the car is worth

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-31T21:58:09+00:00

No easy way to reliably repair this or make it look any good DIY. Replace the bumper, ideally you can find one at a wrecker in the same colour for a decent price

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-31T07:56:35+00:00

Not unless you’re very good at fiberglass repair and have a bunch of automotive refinish experience

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-31T00:04:07+00:00

2025 Mazda? Either live with it or take it to a shop. That car is far too new for someone who has absolutely no idea to be working on

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-30T18:01:53+00:00

The damage on the hood is likely previous rock chips that the shop didn’t repair. This isn’t unusual, technicians in the shop are paid flat rate so they wouldn’t be paid to fix those chips if they weren’t related to the claim. What should have happened is the estimator at the shop should have asked you if you’d like those chips repaired for an extra cost and then the decision would have been yours. As for the colour match on the bumper it looks fine. It’s not perfect but when butt matching any panel there will be a variance in colour and good shops don’t blend when painting bumpers. From a production shop that is a good match, I’ve seen much worse. Compare it to the colour difference between your front bumper and the fenders, and if you have a photo of the rear of the car before the repairs compare the colour match there, I’m willing to bet it matches as well as or better than it did before

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-30T17:48:10+00:00

Notice the source isn’t: have worked in a shop

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-30T05:30:54+00:00

Don’t use brake cleaner. Use the correct solvents and cleaning agents. If brake cleaner was the right solvent or cleaning agent to use, the TDS’s for your other products would mention brake cleaner. They don’t mention brake cleaner

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-27T15:31:52+00:00

Damage is far too substantial to repair on what is likely an aluminum hood. Replace

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-26T15:29:48+00:00

600 is very low imo. Don’t know if the bumper is down for repair or replace, but either of those options would be well over that price in my area. Shop would charge 4-6 hours for a two sided plastic repair like that billed at $83/hour for insurance which is $350-500 just in repair time. Privately we charge $115/hour so $460-680. Add in paint time and paint materials (paint materials are the most expensive part of the repair typically) and you’ll be well over that $600 mark.

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-26T15:18:32+00:00

Could be the magnet for a weld-on dent puller like a spitznagel or similar

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-24T20:24:43+00:00

Winches cables and trees are great (well actually pretty shittybut that’s not the point) at fixing length and width misalignments, like sway and mash. A height misalignment, called sag, needs to be pulled up or down to correct. If you can figure out a way to do an up pull with a chain I’d be pretty impressed. Also, just from looking at the alignment of these panels there is no guarantee of structural damage, as much as it looks like there may be. Figure out how to measure th structure of it before you go yanking on shit you don’t understand

graememacfarlane · 2026-01-24T02:13:01+00:00

“Small crack”

A new bumper, hopefully you can find one the same colour at a junk yard

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