What is a primer-depth scratch across multiple panels?
Grey, white or black in the line, clearly not your colour, is the layer under the paint. On a metal panel that is primer. On a bumper it may be the plastic itself. Either way, the clear coat and colour are both gone along that line.
What kind of repair does it need?
Painting each panel it crosses, blended into the panels beside them. The good news: no bare metal is showing, so no rust yet.
This is where insurance becomes a real question. Get each panel priced on its own as well as together. Dropping one lightly marked panel can change the total.
What to do next
This is where insurance becomes a real question. Put the repair price next to your excess before you decide. A claim costs your excess plus any effect on your premium and no claim bonus. Get two quotes. Ask for each panel priced on its own as well. Dropping one lightly marked panel can keep it under your excess.
Sources
- Moneysmart (ASIC)government
Generally, if you're at fault and you make a claim, you'll either lose your bonus or it will be reduced.
- Moneysmart (ASIC)government
Generally, you have to pay an excess when you make a claim whether you're at fault or not.
- KH Automotive Collision Repairrepairer
The bumper cover (also known as the fascia), the painted plastic cladding, is cosmetic rather than structural and is generally made from TPO or polypropylene.
- BASFpaint maker
BASF recommends blending into an adjacent undamaged panel whenever the panel…
- Chemical Guysproduct seller
If you catch the scratch with your fingernail, it likely extends into the paint layer.
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