so yeah... after spending alot of money the past couple of months on a crazy detailing hobby.. it has paid off!!!! Insurance cut me a check for about $2.2k and I thought i'd give it a shot before I hand it over to the bodyshop.. i don't think i'm goin to take it there anymore


before (look under grill):


after:


-
before:


after:




so yeah... i wanted to post this in the detailing forum, but I thought maybe this will help anyone with some scuff damage... it's really quite easy to fix it yourself. Well, i've been detailing almost every other week and i've got a good feel... I hit it with clay-> 1Z ultra paint polish -> then 1Z paint polish. I used a porter cable orbital with a yellow cutting pad.

There are still a couple spots that have been rubbed down to the black plastic, but I hope to practice touch up / wetsanding. Actually this job has actually made my bumpers more reflective than before.

What do you guys think?? It is sort of cheating because the pics are slightly blurry and lack of sunlight, but I will get a good sunny shot of the rear bumper (most damage) tomorrow.

I just felt the quote the insurance/bodyshop gave me was pretty ridiculous and wanted to try it MYSELF before goin for it. It's not anywhere near perfect, but the bumper previously to the damage was not all that great either. The inner taillight is cracked up, but I have a replacement I bought from ebay for $15 shipped on it's way... got a quote for $80 alone on that piece lol.

 

That looks awesome man. What are you gonna do with the money now?

 

I am saving up for future investments... maybe another car. But i have set aside $500 for mods this summer. Not sure! I am interested in a kit might be sold locally... stillen front with dynamic ionic side/rear. looks nice! not sure yet.. summer is the time where my expenses are at it's peak so small mods and just blowing the rest lol.

 

I'd still take $500 out of that, get new bumpers and get them painted.

 

if i can find a shop that does a hella good job with bumper replacement and repainting for 500, hell yeah i will do it! It still bugs me that the rear is fucekd up. The front is totally fine. I might still get the rear bumper repaired and repainted... just gotta go back and get a quote for JUST the back bumper.

My shop gave me a $1200 quote for JUST front/back bumper repair/repainted. Then my parents were bugging me to not go for the bodyshop and to save the money because the damage didn't look that significant. Last year, my dad got rear-ended in his corolla. The damage cost about $2k to fix and the damage was similar to mine except the muffler was slightly bent but not broken/cracked. He was contemplating just using the money to pay off the debt we had, but I had convinced him to just get the damn car fixed. Literally 2 months later, it was rear-ended again. Got another $2-3k for the damages. He decided to keep the money. I was lucky to find a replacement bumper cover for him at a junkyard that was painted the same color. His car isn't perfect, but he's happy and you can barely tell there's damage on it.

 

Dont this belong in the DETAILING forum?

 

well if you read my first post... but whatever, it'll be moved if it's not in the appropriate forum.

 

haha i'm just messin w/ ya

 

Get the rear bumper on ebay for like $100 shipped. Painting it should NOT b emore than $250. Leave the front alone if it's not that bad.

 

ill look it into it, thanks! i've seen the aftermarket front bumpers... fitment is off. Hopefully it isn't the same for the rear!

 

yea just make sure the bumper is oem not the replica ones

 

I told ya so..

 

Car turned out nice. Looks like you might have found a way to make some cash on the side as well.

 

The front is perfect but the rear is somewhat not right. It's just too shiny in comparison, so I'll defenitely get that part replaced/repainted.

 

Looks very good, nadir. That PC is great, isn't it? I'd opt for finding an inexpensive rear bumper because of the damage, and pocket the rest of the cash.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....ap+rear+bumper


CHEAP

 

Why don't you just take the bumper off then get a rubber hammer thingy and knock it back in place? I did it to my maxima's rear quarter panel (except I kept it on the car).

 

See if his rear bumper is in good condition: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=306465

 

Nice job! What brand/model PC did you get?

 

PC 7424, but the PC 7336 is the same thing, just marketed differently.


as for everyone else..... THANKS. Now i have alot of options for that rear cover. The certifit shop looks awesome, but the closest one is on the other side of the state... but I may visit down there in the coming couple of weeks, and if it's about $20-$40, i'm definately getting it. I'm gonna put another layer of polish and see if that helps.... have a great memorial day weekend everyone.

 

Because your rear quarter panel is sheet metal and the bumper is plastic. Once the bumper is pushed in, trying to get it straight will either make it crack or it won't do anything at all.

 

detail my car for me

 

sure, come on over lol.

 

Nadir, would it be possible to have you detail my bumpers like that for money? Im in the Bay Area and would be willing to drive to you..let me know..

Derek

 

hmmm, well first of all, i wouldn't charge you for it. I'd be happy to help you out because doing just the bumpers doesn't take too much effort. Only thing right now is i'm swamped with work. Hopefully we can get another meet goin soon... the meet this weekend at matthel's place woudl have been perfect. Anywho, yeah PM me and we'll figure something out.

Do you have similar damage? Maybe you should invest in an orbital if it's just scuff marks you want to remove... it is soooooo easy to use. I was intimidated by it first, but any monkey can use it!

 

I bought my car from a guy who used to live in San Francisco so my rear bumper is covered in crap that i'd like to clean up, and my front could use some help as well. Ill be on the lookout for future meets!

Derek