Asshats that park too close.

[drakon543]

thats why i like my 97 i like to find the guy that parked on the line and get real close. i still have the old faded molding on mine tho. last time i got to see the guy rage and kick my bumper and hurt his foot.

 

[dmad1]

Our '17 has a scrape about 10" vertical and 3" wide on the passenger side where someone's door swung open and glazed it just enough to scrape it but not put a dent in it.
To add to it, we were stopped at a red light and some guy in an old Toyota banged us. I got into a very verbal argument (dangerous after thinking about it). I called the police to report it and before they arrived, he started claiming we backed into him and he took off and turned it into a hit and run. Luckily, the hitch took the hardest hit.

 

[sumo]

Do like I do: run an older rig that already has some nicks & scratches, and then you don't worry so much about the new ones that come along.

Or do like I do. Apply a overly generous amount of wheel weights to the front wheels of ******* car. Maniacaally laugh knowing that once they start driving, their whole world is gonna go into a panic mode wondering DAFUQ is happening.
I also keep a tire core stem tool in my cars as well just in case I need to free trapped air in ******* owners cars.

 

[Steve_1357]

I've been looking into small scratch and chip repair techniques, this YouTube video is pretty much on target with what you need to do:

(YouTube channel is "Sweet Project Cars" in case the link above doesn't work)

A little shade tree, but I like his technique and his attention to detail... he's **** about cleaning the repair area and keeping it clean throughout the process to provide the best possible conditions for a successful repair.

As mentioned by @iamdub, the key is to get "good" color matched (use the color code in the VIN) touch up paint that combines the base coat & clear coat, use 1500 or greater wet sandpaper to sand down the touch up paint, and to check your sanding very often so as to not sand through the factory clear adjacent to the repair.

The basic process is:
Wash
Clay bar
Clean with alcohol, to remove any surface chemicals, waxes, etc.
Sand around chip/scratch to give the paint a rough surface to bond too
Apply paint, give it enough time to completely dry
Sand touch up area down until it's level with the surrounding paint/clear
Compound
Polish
Wax/seal

As a side note, I have done touch ups on previous vehicles (well aged, not too concerned about how the repair looked), skipping some of the key steps (clay bar, alcohol clean, proper sanding of touch up area) as well as using cheap touch up paint, and I can tell you that the repaired areas looked more obvious AFTER I repaired them then before, so don't skip or skimp on any of the steps!

Maybe practice on an inconspicuous area? Or go find the vehicle that caused the paint chips and practice on that? You could even skip a few steps just to see what happens, also experiment with lower grit sandpaper like 150 instead of 1500 (what's a zero between friends, right?)...

Good luck!

 

[08HoeCD]

This thread reaffirms my plan to hang onto my old rig for a lot longer. Since she's already got some bumps & bruises, I don't really care if she gets more. She's a truck!

I'm sure I'd feel differently with a brand new ride. Hell, my wife and I went nuts when a family friend accidentally put a huge ding in wifey's rear driver side door, and it's a 7-yr-old Audi! lol

 

[sarneson91]

@sumo I still have my core remover from when I worked at Discount Tire! I wish I had access to wheel weights still as well, they did the trick too! I had a guy in college consistently park in my parking spot (assigned spots) that wouldn't move after several attempts of nicely asking him to move, pulled a couple cores and it was all good, never happened again!

 

[2011SSVHOE]

Do like I do: run an older rig that already has some nicks & scratches, and then you don't worry so much about the new ones that come along.

I always try to buy my units pre-scratched (aka pre-owned) as to avoid the heartbreak of some ****** being the first to deflower a virgin. If you want to keep your unit pristine park it in your living room and leave it there. Just kidding people just don't give a shit, I've been driving for 45 years and nothing has changed except the price of everything.

Black is fairly easy to touch up, a little dab of Black, wet sand with 1500 grit and polish and then repeat with clearcoat, it's all about leveling the surface for a mirror shine.

You also can chalk it up to the aging process of the vehicle, they don't stay new forever.

 

[gpracer1]

Funny story, went out to eat a few years ago and parked at the end spot in my vette........I guess the cop may also drive a vette??