Touslesjou

Long story short, I was at the gym yesterday and parked my LEXUS RX 350 outside... some jerk decided to hit my car and then run off without leaving a note or anything. Anyways, heres the picture of the scratch.. I'm in a little financial problem right now so I cannot afford to go to a reputable car mechanic to get it fixed.. and the car is from 2009 so I don't think it would be worth paying that much to getting to fixed anyways. Anyone know of any kits that I can use to get this fixed?

Thanks, and I would appreciate any recommendations. What a way to start off the new year

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Needs to be repainted... the damage appears to be isolated to just the one panel. A resprayed bumper will like be around $300-$400, so not bad at all.

Check with the gym to see if they have security cameras in place that may have caught the guy who hit you.

UDel

If you can't afford or don't want to pay to have the bumper repainted you could try painting the damaged area yourself with a urethane aerosol paint and a 2K aerosol clear like spray max. It will take some sanding, taping, and a little research and practice but it will end up only costing you maybe $50-$75 depending on what supplies you already have, you will need a respirator for the 2K clear.

Check for security cameras at your gym, look for damage on someones car at your gym, see if there is any paint transfer to get a better idea of what color car hit you.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Holy crap.... so a car from 2009 is no longer worth having a proper bodyshop repaint a rear bumper? What planet is this? Were you fed with a gold spoon as a kid?

Touslesjou

Haha, sorry. It wasn't supposed to sound the way it came out. I'm currently a college student and the car was a gift from my dad. I meant that I didn't have the money to get a proper paint job right now and did not want to put the burden on my parents because they already did so much for me. I apologize if it made me sound spoiled.

Touslesjou

Thanks for all the responses guys! If anyone knows any reputable online sites where I could buy the paint needed for this type of car, please share.

I was looking at this http://scratchwizard.net/2009-lexus-...black-212.html , but I'm not entirely sure if this is what I should purchase.

I was mainly concerned because of how deep the scratches looked. Am I supposed to add primer first? I'm a beginner in all of this so any feedback is great learning for me.

All responses/advices are appreciated and I thank you for your time

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

On a serious note,

www.automotivetouchup.com is where you want to go and order your supplies for a small project like this. Get some primer, base, and gloss clear for your paint code which I'm guessing is obsidian. Lucky for you is one of the easier colors to match. But even so, spot painting will never look perfect but will be a dramatic improvement if done correctly. You want to sand the area first to eliminate any of the flaking paint and make sure it's smooth. Use plenty of filler primer, sand that smooth based on the instructions on the bottle, it's usually around 400 grit dry and 800 wet. Get the 12oz aerosol cans.

I've used this company's products before and highly recommend it.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

gentlemen...... please keep threads on topic and keep comments friendly.

UDel

You want a urethane based paint which is what the factory coat is and a 2K clear which will be very durable. You should be able to find a paint shop near you that can mix your color for you in a aerosol can, that should cost around $20, you will have more then enough for your repair with one can, you can then order a 2K clear from a company like Spray Max or Eastwood, they normally run about $20-25 a can. You can get a respirator with charcoal packs for around $20 or less. I used a 1K urethane paint, it goes on very matte/non glossy and won't look right but once you spray the 2K clear on it will be very glossy and will match your finish. If you have access to a Porter Cable polisher or some other decent polisher that will help because you will need to do some wet sanding to try to hide the edges and any orange peel or mistakes and will need to polish those sanding marks out to try to blend it.

You will also need a primer if it took the base coat right off, ask a paint shop about a primer safe for urethane based paint, I used a Dupli Color primer and it worked fine but I would not use Dupli color spray paints or other chain store paints because they are lacquer or enamel based and could have a compatibility issue with the 2K clear(I have read some people who it worked fine with lacquer/enamel paint and 2K but others who had problems so I would not risk it. The problem with the clearcoats you get at autozone or other stores is they have durability issues and certain chemicals or even fumes from gasoline will cause a reaction and failure even if they are dry and months old.