A scratch on my baby!

[Jayda]

I absolutely love my 2011 128i coupe. I have had it just over 6 months and it is in basically perfect condition except for a scratch on the trim piece beneath the passenger door . Not sure how it got there but it bothers me. The trim piece does not feel like metal but rather plastic. The scratch is about 2.5 to 3 inches. The ends of the scratch are very light but the middle is quite deep and it feels rough. Any suggestions on how I might fix this myself? Is there a good product to use? It is quite low on the car and most might not notice it but I do. I was looking possibly at Quixx scratch repair.

[zkeeper]

Boy are you not gonna like this. Yes you can try to fill it, wet sand and re-shoot it with proper color...but unless you are really good at this, its going to show. My counsel to anyone in this situation: unless you are good at this, get an estimate from a good shop, maybe two, save up a bit if its a money thing, and get it done right. Something or someone gouged it, perhaps when you are parking near a bush/branch, or someone in shopping cart??maybe? However, its now as it is...get it done sharp and you will be glad you did on such a new car...

[Uptempo80]

The only non metal thing is the rocker panel or "side skirts". If that is what you are talking about...that part is abs plastic. If you can get your fingernail inside the scratch than it is deep enough to get a professional to color match and air brush (or simply paint the area). This is the best route. Good Luck and keep us posted.

[jimmy1990]

I have try the scratch remover you mentioned, I thin it works pretty well. It removes light ones 100% and maybe 80~90 on a deeper one

[Jayda]

Originally Posted by jimmy1990

I have try the scratch remover you mentioned, I thin it works pretty well. It removes light ones 100% and maybe 80~90 on a deeper one

It is down very low on the car (it is low on the side skirt). Truthfully, it is only the center of the scratch that is deep and the ends are very light. I am leaning toward trying a repair myself and then if I mess it up, maybe seeking a more expensive repair. If it were in the middle of the door or on the hood, somewhere very visible, it would be different. I guess I am looking for suggestions on the best scratch repair kit out there.

[sonicbimmer19]

The plastic piece with silver trims and stuff right? I'd just buy the part.. you can't fix scratches lol. I'm sure it's possible but it will be noticeable.

But my real suggestion to you is to let go of little things. I'm a detail oriented perfectionist that notices every single scratch. I used to get stressed, angry, annoyed when I found scratches but I quickly found out that me getting annoyed didn't help anything.
My mom saw me get annoyed at tiniest scratches and she told me "you are supposed to enjoy your car, not get stressed over it over tiny scratches"
Been enjoying my car ever since...

[Jayda]

Originally Posted by sonicbimmer19

The plastic piece with silver trims and stuff right? I'd just buy the part.. you can't fix scratches lol. I'm sure it's possible but it will be noticeable.

But my real suggestion to you is to let go of little things. I'm a detail oriented perfectionist that notices every single scratch. I used to get stressed, angry, annoyed when I found scratches but I quickly found out that me getting annoyed didn't help anything.
My mom saw me get annoyed at tiniest scratches and she told me "you are supposed to enjoy your car, not get stressed over it over tiny scratches"
Been enjoying my car ever since...

No the part with the scratch is that little section of the car beneath the door (if you look at the car with the door closed). It is like a painted plastic. It is on the outside of the car. Probably not worth the stress I know but seems like it would be worth a try to fix it.

[sonicbimmer19]

Originally Posted by Jayda

No the part with the scratch is that little section of the car beneath the door (if you look at the car with the door closed). It is like a painted plastic. It is on the outside of the car. Probably not worth the stress I know but seems like it would be worth a try to fix it.

Ah, okay. Research thoroughly before you do anything because you might not do it right with right products.
What I would do is get OEM stick paint and paint it a little bit and be done with it. I have OEM stick paint and I paint stone chips with it. It's not perfect but at least I don't see silver spots on a blue car.
Good luck!

[ken1137]

FYI...the local body shop here uses a special resin to fill gouges and deep scratches in plastic parts. At least thats what they did for my wifes MDX. Try to find a local shop that will do the work... it was about $200 b/c they had to paint the entire piece of the rear bumper.

[3liter1]

Originally Posted by Jayda

I absolutely love my 2011 128i coupe. I have had it just over 6 months and it is in basically perfect condition except for a scratch on the trim piece beneath the passenger door . Not sure how it got there but it bothers me. The trim piece does not feel like metal but rather plastic. The scratch is about 2.5 to 3 inches. The ends of the scratch are very light but the middle is quite deep and it feels rough. Any suggestions on how I might fix this myself? Is there a good product to use? It is quite low on the car and most might not notice it but I do. I was looking possibly at Quixx scratch repair.

I have used Dr Colorchip products with very good success. Since it is below the door (not in full sight) you may like the results. I bought it to fix a similar but smaller scratch above the door, and am happy with the results. I also use it a lot now to fix stonechips on the hood. My car is Lemans Blue FYI.

[info@VMRWheels]

A body shop might be able to fill that but I'd definitely recommend professional painting. Body work is one thing where you get what you pay for. It shouldn't be too much to repaint a side skirt though.

[DriveHard]

Originally Posted by Jayda

No the part with the scratch is that little section of the car beneath the door (if you look at the car with the door closed). It is like a painted plastic. It is on the outside of the car. Probably not worth the stress I know but seems like it would be worth a try to fix it.

please !

[Uptempo80]

Originally Posted by info@VMRWheels

A body shop might be able to fill that but I'd definitely recommend professional painting. Body work is one thing where you get what you pay for. It shouldn't be too much to repaint a side skirt though.

I agree. However, I am fearfuol about metallic color matching. It will never match 100%...Atleast that's my opinion on that. I've examined friend's cars after they came back from a insurance repair job and it is noticible that the metallic doesn't match.

It makes me nervous to see such flaws in matching metallic paints...

Heck, even my OEM BMW blue water metallic paint stick doesn't match my paint 100% I've got stone chip anger lol and these things will sadly be the reason I purchase the new 2 series conervtible in 2013. BAD Luck. My 8,000 mile car has worse stone chips than the used 25k mile 128i cabrio I glanced at on the BMW dealership lot last night. Bad Luck is what I got.

[shodanusmc]

Leave it alone. I had a few stone chips on the front bumper down low. Drove me nuts and had the entire bumper repaired and it looked great. A week later, my wife forgot about the low height and went over the top of a curb parking scratching the underside of the plastic. Now, I can't really see it, and have learned to live with it.

[info@VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by Uptempo80

I agree. However, I am fearfuol about metallic color matching. It will never match 100%...Atleast that's my opinion on that. I've examined friend's cars after they came back from a insurance repair job and it is noticible that the metallic doesn't match.

It makes me nervous to see such flaws in matching metallic paints...

Heck, even my OEM BMW blue water metallic paint stick doesn't match my paint 100% I've got stone chip anger lol and these things will sadly be the reason I purchase the new 2 series conervtible in 2013. BAD Luck. My 8,000 mile car has worse stone chips than the used 25k mile 128i cabrio I glanced at on the BMW dealership lot last night. Bad Luck is what I got.

That is true... A lot of metallic finishes are hard to match. I think silver is the hardest personally. I've seen lots of cars with mismatched silver parts.

[adobeee]

Originally Posted by DriveHard

please !

+1

[Jayda]

I guess the fact that the scratch is so low it is difficult to get a good picture should tell me something! I did try....

[Uptempo80]

I think with space grey touchup paint and the correct applicators...you should be fine. It's a darker color and should match better than my light blue metallic paint. The stuff I purchased @ the dealership BMW oem paint doesn't even match my car's paint !

[ken1137]

Originally Posted by info@VMRWheels

That is true... A lot of metallic finishes are hard to match. I think silver is the hardest personally. I've seen lots of cars with mismatched silver parts.

It could depend on the shop. The shop that worked on my wife's MDX works on Acura's, BMW's, Mercedes, and Audi's. You pay more but they do an excellent job ...had no issues matching the odd metallic green of the MDX. I have actually taken her MDX to this shop several times, although I have given up recently and am resigned to the fact that her car is a magnet for flying objects (EG; doors, keys, rocks, you name it).