What would you do about this dent?

[sberk1012]

A friend and I were installing my catch can and he dropped a pretty big torque wrench from about 1 foot above the top of the front bumper. This happened 2 days after I had $1400 worth of XPEL clear bra applied to many parts of the car, including this area. My friend feels really bad, admitted it was totally his fault, and has agreed to pay whatever it takes to fix it. The dent is sort of crescent moon-shaped, about 3/4cm long, 2mm wide, and 1mm deep (this is an estimate because it's hard to tell exactly how deep because there is clear bra on it). There appears to be no paint damage, just the dent. It's not too visible straight on, but with any glare or angle, and up close, it's more visible. The last few pictures are very close-up, where it's the worst.

From talking to others (including a dent repair place), it seems that it's possible that the whole bumper could have to be repainted after the dent would be sanded out. In that regard, I'm really worried about paint matching, etc. Basically, could it look worse after it is "fixed" than if I just left the small dent there?

This whole situation just sucks. I bought the car in September, had to store it right away (for 6 months), had clear bra applied right after I took it out of storage to protect my baby as best I could, and then some freak incident like this happens At this point, it's so much about principle as well. Would I really be able to live with this dent after I did all I could to prevent damage from rock chips and the like?

[29er]

i feel your pain man. really sorry about that. it teaches you, that next time you work in your engine compartment, put a heavy blanket all around to protect you from mistakes like this.. it can happen to everyone.
you can live with it, or fix it. it depends on how much it makes you sick to see it..
pay and turn the page or ignore it..

[CJ1034]

Thats what fender covers are for!

[sportyb24]

Not much without repainting the bumper

[Emvici]

At least you have a seemingly very reasonable and realistic view of any potential outcome good or bad. You seem a lot like me, I want it right, and I have a difficult time accepting things that are wrong that can be corrected. I have tried to learn to accept flaws in my car, whether it be a mechanical problem or a paint issue. I think owning a car has been a bit of a micro lesson in life and who you are and what you want out of it will ultimately guide your decision. I personally have decided to stop trying to figure out the best move as though I would really "know" and to instead Trust the opinions of the professionals in the fields you require attention in and you the best decision will be made for you.

[hawk02]

I can't tell from the photos how deep the dent is.

If it's not too deep you could try filling it in with touch up paint. Apply light coats until the level of paint is slight higher than the rest of the fender then wet sand and polish.

This won't be a perfect fix but if done right you'll be the only one to notice it.

If you still can tolerate the dent and decide to get the fender repainted, I wouldn't worry about the paint not matching. You'll be amazed what body shops can do these days.

I chipped about a dime size chunk of paint off the hood of my 2011 Camaro by opening the hood with the wipers in the up position. The hood took the entire brunt of my stupidity. Not one mark on the wipers. I tried the above touch up paint method and wasn't satisfied with the results. Ended up having the hood repainted and you would never know it. The body shop did a great job of blending the paint and because my car was so new there were absolutely no issues with color matching.

[ghostrider2]

By you posting and asking means it will bug the hell out of you, as it would with me. Just get it fixed, but ensure you have a good shop doing the work and you'll have no issues with color matching.

[HDRDTD]

The problem is, the dent is under the clear bra, meaning if you decide to fix the dent (no matter what method you chose), first the clear bra would have to come off, fix the dent, then re-apply the clear bra.

However, the good news is the paint is still intact.

In that case, I'd contact a local paintless dent repair shop. You would be completely amazed at what they can do. I'd start with getting an opinion from the paintless dent repair guy and then decide what to do. A paintless dent repair won't require anything be done regarding the clear bra.

[Emvici]

sounds like good advice HDrdtd.

[Brownster]

Originally Posted by ghostrider2

By you posting and asking means it will bug the hell out of you, as it would with me. Just get it fixed, but ensure you have a good shop doing the work and you'll have no issues with color matching.

+1

[sberk1012]

Yes, I know it's going to bug the hell outta me, even though it's so small. It's good to know that the paint can be matched if the whole bumper needs to be painted. I talked to a paintless dent repair guy a couple days ago, and he said the clear bra would have to be off to know for sure...but he didn't seem to confident that it was an easy fix. Maybe the smaller the dent, the trickier it is to repair? I don't know. I plan to bring it to the guy who applied XPEL next week so he can take that portion off. Then, I'll bring it back to the dent repair guy and see what he has to say.

My friend said he'll pay whatever it takes to fix it. However, I really don't want to stiff him with a huge bill if I don't have to. Can anyone give me a ballpark estimate on what to expect to pay if they do have to repaint the whole front bumper? Does $800-1000 sound reasonable? Plus it'll probably be about $300 to re-XPEL that area.

[MTCobra]

Personally, if a friend of mine accidentally did this helping me out I'd just pay for the fix myself if I chose to fix it. Just my view.

[Samson2029]

Use touch up paint. Fill in the dent. Once hard and dry smooth it out with fine compound. Re apply Xpel. If. It doesn't work then take it to a pro.

[Skylane765]

I am not a fan of re paint. Just leave or try to push out with out paint work.