I have a small scratch in the lower, unpainted part of the rear bumper. I found something on the "Clean Image Car Care" website in the UK…

http://www.clean-image.co.uk/articles/index.htm
(If you go there, scroll down the page and click "Photo Article: Bumper Scuff Repair".)

Anyone know anything about this??

"Before" photo: You can see a scuff on a plastic bumper. Because plastic trim such as this is bare and unpainted, it can't just be filled and repainted with normal car paint by your local body shop. Special products and techniques are used to give an invisible repair.

"After" photo:
The gouges are filled with a special resin which is then sanded smooth. The area is then sprayed with a textured paint to reproduce the stippled effect of the original plastic finish. Then finally the repair is given a coat of coloured paint. These paints are specially mixed to match the exact colours and textures of individual makes and models of car. They are seldom quite as grey as they look and usually have a coloured tint.

 

I also have a small scratch in the lower unpainted part of my rear bumper. No one in Richmond would touch the repair job based on the difficulty in matching the grain of the "black" plastic.

Let me know if you find something that works, short of replacing the bumper.

 

Frustrating as hell, isn't it? I'm gonna visit a few local body shops and show 'em those before/after photos. If I find anyone who knows how to do this sort of thing, I'll give you an update. (I'm gonna tell 'em I don't care if the textured "grain" finish doesn't match exactly—maybe that's what's stopping them from taking on the repair.)