How do you mend a broken heart.....

[DAP]

Picture it:Few months old 2007 Pontiac Vibe.... First new car in over two decades.... The only really nice thing that I own.And I manage to back it into a rough brick wall of a building that was a LOT closer than I thought.Not hard (I wasn't moving much at the time...), but enough. Enough to break my heart!Enough to rough up or abrade the plastic/vinyl/whatever cover of the back bumper (passenger side) just above and below the small light fixture there.Hardly noticeable.Except to a guy who hasn't had a car this nice in a few dozen years. Except for a guy who really agonizes over each scratch, ding, dent and blemish.Yes. I KNOW that it is foolish. I KNOW that I am being ridiculous.But that scrape is the ONLY thing about the car that I see anymore! It is the first thing I notice as I approach the vehicle, and the last thing I see as I walk away from it.Every.Single.Time.So people,... Do any of you folks have any cosmetic body shop tricks to smooth over and otherwise hide this eyesore, and so help to mend my broken heart?Surely others have done something similar sometime, and I am hoping that this is one of those things that everyone has an opinion on.But, please, DON'T ask me to do anything as sensible as "getting a life" and "getting used to it".Thanks to one and all for any help.dap

[BlueCrush]

I know how you feel. The first one is always hurts the most. I have yet to fix my door dings. I have gotten a few more since, and I was like, great, another one. I plan on getting them fixed via paintless dent repair the next time my local car club has a a paintless dent repair meet so I can save up to 50% off. Post a pic of your injury if you can so we all can share your pain.

[keithvibe]

I would suggest you contact your dealership... I know, I know I said the dreaded word "dealership".... but as most know I too got my first scratch the other day... well to make a long story short... go to your dealership talk with the salesman/woman about the problem. Ask them who they use to do touchups on cars that get dinged up on car carriers. If they are a good dealership they will put you in contact with the correct person who can make your blemish go "bye-Bye"..I did the same thing and i am just waiting till the guy stops at the dealership on a weekend so I can bring my car over to have him do the touchup and make it look like it never happened.I can see you are like me, your car is not just a car but your passion. Good for you... take pride in something you work very hard to get!You can try touching it up yourself but if your like me.. no-one else will see the touchups but you and to you it will stand out like a sore thumb.

[lexicon]

You did not mention how deep the scratches are.If you have gray cladding, you can sand (with a mechanical sander ) the scratch down until you get to the depth of the scratch.You would need to start with a 100 grit and progressively go to 600 grit until it is flat with the surrounding area. The smoother the area, the more it will look like the gray cladding. Then hit it with Mothers or 303 plastic protectant. There is a sheen on the non sanded gray cladding that appears to be there because of pulling it out of a mold.If you have only paint, you will need to fill in the gap with special materials specifically for plastic bumpers, then layer in the paint base and final coats of paint and polish it to blend with the rest of the paint. You can do it yourself, but, if you are not handy, leave it to the professional.I think you can get it touched up well enough so it will be only noticeable by you. Since you know exactly where it is.Let us know what you do, and post pix.Good luck

[rebbierae]

Oh DAP, trust me, we all feel your pain here! Just a couple weeks after I got my Vibe I had a few dents--Jim thinks from someone throwing rocks. Then one day going to lunch with a friend I got too close to the curb and dinged up one of my wheels. My friend laughed and I had to try VERY hard not to CRY, I was so upset that I did that. I still haven't been able to get all of my little issues fixed and to me they seem HUGE every time I look at them. I would definitely contact your dealership if they were decent to deal with. They could at the very least tell you where a good place would be to start. Good luck, and keep us posted!