Discovered some scratches along the rear bumper this morning! Probably got there from some holiday shopper and their out-of-control shopping cart. Really pisses me off when I go out of the way to park away from everybody.

Later,

 

With the nice weather here in SC, I spent some time right after lunch working on the scratches found in the rear bumper. Definitely looks much better now. One has to really search to see the scratches. I'll spend some more time on this as opportunities come up during next 3-4 months.

Later,

 

What process did you use to diminish the scratches, if you don't mind me asking. I tried some bottle car paint on mine but it didn't work, probably a spray can would work better. Thanks

 

I've got a paint pen from Automotive Touchup that I use for small chips. I've used it on some scratches but takes more effort to finish.

I'll apply a solvent cleaner (e.g., Prep Sol) to remove any old wax from the surface. You can pick this up at any good automotive paint supplier store. I then use a clay bar on the surface where I'm planning to do the repair work. Removes any remaining contaminants & final prep before compounding. I then dab the paint pen along the scratch and then smear it with the tip of my finger (usually wear latex glove when doing this). Paint dries really fast so have to do the smear as I go along. That leaves me a thin layer of paint over the scratch.

I let that dry for a couple of minutes and then use the buffer with a foam applicator & compound to smooth out the paint and remove any excess. Might take me a couple of passes to get all the excess paint removed. I've even had to go back & use rubbing (red) / polishing (white) compund by hand to get the last of the stubborn excess paint removed.

Once this is done, and the surface looks to be back to near new (never totally new), I'll wipe it clean again with PrepSol & finish up with the buffer using a good grade polish (removes the swirl marks). Then I apply a top coating of wax for protection.

Pretty much typical for small paint repairs.

Later,

 

***
Thank you for the information, I am going to try that process.

 

Spent some time on Saturday working on the remaining couple of small scratches on the rear bumper. Weather here got up to 76F so it was hard not to take advantage of the opportunity. Results were somewhat positive as these remaining scratches were small, but the appearance now is negligible. Probably will quit while I'm ahead as any sign of the damage to the rear bumper is all but gone.


Later,