Gf didn't pull the car forward enough and closed the garage door on the bumper. No pics right now but as much as I want to tell her that we're getting a new bumper and all that, I do believe the marks are so shallow that it could come out with a good polish and wax. Is there clearcoat on the bumper, or is the polish just going to mess up the bumper even more?

Sorry guys I posted in the stickied thread called ask a detailer, but there is a big meet tomorrow night and tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day and we'll be doing stuff around the house all day so I have no patience.

 

Yes you can polish any painted surface of the car. All painted surfaces are clear coated.
If the clear coat has been scratched right through you will not be able to polish them out.

Rule of thumb is if you can catch the scratch with a finger nail its too deep to fix with polishing.

 

When you bump your car with something, or something bumps your car, or whatever... there are 2 possible outcomes in terms of paint damage.

1 - material transfer. The object (car, garage door, shopping cart, whatever) scuffs your car and leaves a mark. This mark is actually residue from the object that hit your car. In some cases it is paint transfer, other times it is actual plastic material that is transferred. In any case, it is removable!

2 - scratches. In this case the object which hit your car actually scratches into your paint. The severity of these can range from a light blemish to a deep scratch all the way down to the substrate. Light scratches are easily removed, but anything through the clear coat cannot be easily repaired except with repainting.



Example of Material Transfer

Before


After using M105 and M205 on a 3" dual action polisher




Hope that helps. Let me know if you've got any other questions!

Zach McGovern
Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author
Attention to Detailing - Peoria, IL

 

You sure? I thought the A54 Vibrant Red was a single stage paint with no clear. I know when I wax my car and buff it I have to be careful because, even hand waxing, some red will show up on my polishing pad.

 

SnowMan you are correct. Looks like the went single stage with the A54......never get this with car makers these days. Put clear on it or end up with a pink car in 10 years :P

 

Well.. Yeah... Unless it's garage kept its entire life