Save your money! Just use touch up paint. Nobody will notice it unless they look really really closely.

 

Agree. This is what the dealership would do if you traded your car in on another.

 

I saw this video and thought about this thread.
YouTube - Mighty Car Mods - Bumper Paint Touchup (SE02 EP12)

I'm also in a similar situation, but worst---I've beat up my front lip, sides, and rear, all on the bottom. I'm a noob driver, sucks to be me. But it's only an eye sore because I know it's there but most people won't notice it unless they know where to look. As for me I'm just going to sand it, spray it with the right paint and some clear coat. It would cost way too much to buy new (and possibly scratch that again cuz I'm a noob.) I'd rather save money and spend it on other things, like aftermarket wheels, etc.

 

Mine last week

Before -


After - and since this pic I sanded the masking line slightly and gave a couple of light coats. Can't tell it was scraped.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. I ended up going with the JDP lip and couldn't be happier. I wanted it before the scrape, so this gave me a reason to justify the purchase. The scrape is 99% concealed, and I'll touch up the little knick that's still visible just above the lip.





You can see a tiny little mark above the lip here, but it'll be easy to touch up.

 

A few weeks ago, I did pretty much the same thing with my 2010 SSM Sport. My damage isn't qute as bad, limited only to the rounded edge. I found some boat "boot stripe" tape in my garage, left over from my sailing days, and in a few minutes, laid on a couple of pieces. I'm 'getting used to' the look with a black edge on the front spoiler, but I think I like it enough to paint some matte black on it. The boat tape, available at marine stores, is kinda pricey, for tape, about $20 a roll, but it's stretchy and seems to conform to the lip pretty well... Mine is 1" wide, and that was just enough. It comes wider than that as well as different colors, including an multicolor stripe that is about 3 " wide.

 

Looks great! Whatever works best and as long as you're happy. I'm contemplating starting a thread and show off my noob badges. I've got plenty of them.

 

Socialvegetable Hat's off brother, that's beautiful - JDP Engineering carbon fiber over OEM bumper? Can I ask what that set you back? Beats the balls off a paint job, you did it right. A tight shot where it wraps around into the grill area would be nice to see.

blassty Start that thread, would love to see as well.

 

Thanks. The lip is $250 + shipping, so my total was $300. My estimate for a professional paint touch up and re-clear was $530. DIY paint touch up would have been cheapest by far, but I'm awful with paint and hoped to go for the lip at some point anyway.

I'll get a close up of the grill area later on for you. It's a shame the photos don't show off the metallic sheen of the CF, it looks beautiful in person.

Now it's got me wanting to compliment with some other JDP goodies.

 

Just one more to show off the angle from the side, as I couldn't find any photos from this angle when I was looking to buy the lip.

 

HA - ya save $300 to spend on what you want next - must really be driving the wife crazy. I've justified more, no most, of my power tools that way. We just can't help it.

So you removed the front air dam hanging under the bumper. Any real purpose to that piece - could it go back on????

 

Thanks!

Haha, I've still got a hefty scrape under my right skirt from a Target parking lot. A woman in an SUV was taking up most of the aisle, so I kept to the right and drove through a little snow to turn in around her...only there was a curb under the snow. That was immensely embarassing. I meant to touch that up when I had the car off the ground this weekend, but ran out of time.

 

I see more CF on the way...........

 

I sold some toys to pay for the lip - taking from one hobby to fund another - so the wife is happy.

I think you're talking about the rubber "curb feeler" strip. It's really only there to let you know you've pulled up far enough, and if you keep going, you are going to start tearing up your undercarriage. Probably also to prevent damage from rocks and debris to some minor extent, too. Removing it is essential for installing the lip, as it uses the same holes and mounting clips. I suppose you could make longer clips and find a way to keep it on under the lip, but it's not important either way IMO. That said, it can be reinstalled if/when the lip comes off. I've kept mine just in case.

 

Could be, but I'm getting the car detailed before anything else, and if I'm going to save for anything, it will most likely be wheels. CF never really did anything for me, but my stance has changed in the last 2 days. CF rear diffuser would go nicely...

 

I really like the looks of the profile - more pics.

 

I personally prefer the stock white look. The JDP looks good, but it seems like such a fad thing, where it looks good temporarily but you'll get sick of it in the future....at least for me anyways.

On a more serious note, that mom must have been pretty good looking for you to curb your lip like that.

 

or we could say I would just scrape it anyways. For now I will stay with $15 can of TW from Crappy Tire. It will do a lot of scrapes. I am going to try it on my winter steelies as well.

 

Ha!! I think white steelies would look so silly~! :P But try it out and make sure to post pictures! I for one would be interested in how that actually looks heh.

 

LOL... Every noticed though, that basically every car on the road has scrapes on the corners of the bumper? Not everyone you meet has a giant ketchup stain. I'd say these are more like the wrinkles you get in your pants just by sitting down. Everyone has them unless they JUST put on their pants, but you're itching to take them off and iron them.

The Fit's kind of a cheapie car though... Mine was bumped by someone else in a parking garage after about 2 months of ownership, and I used touchup paint on it. If it were a classic or an expensive car, I might care more, but honestly, If I have an extra $300 that I just HAVE to blow on my car, I'm gonna put it toward the principal and have the thing paid off that much sooner.

(I've spent money in the past to make sure my car was perfect. Nobody noticed. Nobody cares. You'd probably be surprised that NOBODY would ever notice if you just touched it up.)