Big Problem!

[Cody Underwood]

Ok... so i was driving down a country road screwing around with some of my friends. I was probably going a little bit too fast and the road was wet. There were ditches on each side of the road about 4 feet deep. I was playing around a little too much i guess and i ended up facing the opposite direction in this ditch (my car did a 180 degree spin and my front end was slammed into the ditch). There was a culvert that my back drivers side wheel hit and almost slid over (which would have been absolute HELL). Some VERY nice people pulled over to help me and they happened to know a guy that lived down the road that had a wrecker. He pulled me out with his wench. LUCKILY and AMAZINGLY my car had very little damage. If you saw my car in this ditch you would think it was screwed. my back passenger side wheel was standing in the air. As soon as i got back into town i ran the car through a car wash and it looked fine except for about 3 places.

The bad part... lol
My parents cannot find out this happened. I managed to get my car pulled out of the ditch and back home without them ever knowing anything happened. If they found out i had a wreck on the 5th day i had my license i dont know if id ever be able to drive again! Ive been parking my car in an awkward position so my parents cant see the damage. its been about three days now. im out of school tomorrow because my school basketball team is going to state but im not going because i have to get this damn dent out before my parents see it (they'll be at work all day tomorrow). I need this fixed by friday! so ive got 1 day to do it. I have no money for a body shop.

Im going to do my best to describe the damage
My 1997 white Pontiac Grand Prix has a dent right under the drivers side driving light. (on my front bumper) it had 2 big dents in that area but i managed to get one popped out by myself in a parking lot (being as i cant work on it at my house). The other dent is in the bottom of the curve of the driving light hole. and its about 1"-1 1/2" deep. i tried popping it out with little success. There are cracks in the paint where it's dented.

Please help me! i need to pop this other dent out and figure out how to get these cracks in the paint looking a little neater (just a quick fix maybe until i get more time).

My dad has a heat gun but i dont know where it is. i couldnt find it in his garage. So would a hairdryer maybe work if i needed to use that?

[ZRX61]

(my car did a 180 degree spin and my front end was slammed into the ditch).

i had a wreck on the 5th day i had my license

I see the problem: You're an irresponsible idiot.

[Cody Underwood]

Thank you so much for your help ZRX! I believe i posted this in an AUTO BODY FORUM SITE to get advice on how to fix my bumper, if i wanted advice on being an irresponsible idiot i would have gone to the Dr. Phil forum.

[AlexeiVT]

You mentioned you were able to pop out one of the three dents in the bumper. If the bumper is plastic, you might be successful in making it a bit malleable w/ some heat...it's at least worth a try w/ the hairdryer (the heat gun, you'd want to be careful not to keep in any place too long, and if you can't locate it, it does you no good).

Be creative in pulling it out, and check to see if there is anything keeping it "squished" to its current shape...basically it's either foam or air behind the bumper...seems if one came out, the others should.

As far as dealing w/ the cracks in the paint, from the bumper flexing, you're best least expensive bet would be to sand them down a bit w/ something like 400 grit, shoot a bit of a light colored spray can primer, and then if you're lucky you could find an aerosal can of the appropriate color white to top it off...check at a larger auto parts store and see if you can get a can that approximates the color (obviously, painting the whole thing would probably make any attempt less noticeable than an aerosal blend...but, you could get lucky).

Luckily, in terms of color, "white is right", and will be the most forgiving in terms of trying to make defects less noticeable.

Realizing of course, that these are best described as "attempts on a budget", and not the surefire (and more expensive) way to do it right and have it last...but, then again, it's a 10 year old vehicle, and not a Benz.

Good luck, lesson learned.

If all else fails, find some roadkill, stuff some fur in the grill (grey matter for added effect), and blame it on a poor 'ol 'possum.

If you manage to get it fixed up well enough so that it could pass for no harm done...you might well find in the long run, to fess up an opportune time...your folks might surpise you if they see they've raised you w/ the courage and character to admit you made an error (and you don't have to give them all the details).

In my youth, I drove a few cars that didn't belong to me, off the road...stuff happens =) The worst of them, was when I was doing 360's in the church parking lot in my dad's Datsun 280Z...when the tires spun through the gravel they caught some asphalt, launched the car over a grass burm, and somehow it not only took down the streetlight, the car ended up w/ wheels off the ground and the light pole underneath it...still not sure what happened since I think I crouched in the seat when I saw the pole going down.

That was an expensive lesson...when I came home, I knew nobody would be happy and wouldn't believe the story...so I just handed over $800 first, shrunk my head, revoked the driving privelages myself, and called it a night.

An earlier spin in a 1980 Toyota Corolla actually sound similar to your dilemma...for whatever reason I was slaloming the dashed lines w/ a rain covered road...fishtailed, spun off the side of the road onto a golf course. The only damage done was a pea sized dent in the middle of a passenger door from a tiny plastic reflector stuck in the ground...managed to miss a host of other objects.

This thread could probably make for a good one in the General Discussion forum under "Crashes in one's youth".

[AlexeiVT]

Woops, meant the "Just Talk" forum, not the General.

The spray can primer will have a bit of build to it (most likely lacquer)...though it may seem obvious, as w/ any repair, and whatever materials you use, good preparation is warranted so spend the effort to prep right.

Wash well w/ soap and water (assuming you're not going to buy a can of wax and grease remover), and ensure there is not wax or residue on your repair areas. Mask the surrounding area off well (good old newspapers and masking tape). Scuff / sand the area w/ the scratches as well as a bit of the surrounding area. When you prime, be patient, do it light coats, let them dry thoroughly before successive coats...don't pile it on, just mist it evenly (if you glob it on now, things will never dry right or look good...and starting w/ sub-par products to begin w/ is already a step back). If you still see the cracks after the first light coats of primer, sand the area back down a bit (wrap the paer around something flat like a paint stick), then reprime. Then go w/ paint...start in the middle, do a coat, and then sort of work out the successive light coats wider and wider to accomplish some degree of a blend...it's the edges between new and old paint that are likely to jump out a bit (maybe you could mask to any nearby edge where the bumper meets fender, so you have a bit of uniformity...all hard to tell w/ out actually seeing anything).

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

Not to gang up on you but I'd think it's safe to say that maybe they should find out. It'd be a good lesson for you. It's only your 5th day and your driving around like a maniac? Feel lucky you weren't injured or even killed.
You're not impressing anybody by driving wildly, you're just making an ass out of yourself. Maybe it'd be wise for you to be a little more carefull and a little more grateful.

[Cody Underwood]

At first i thought it would be easier to just tell my parents, but then again i really dont have the courage right now and it would be easier just to try and fix it myself. If you knew my parents you would probably understand why. They seriously blow everything out of proportion, but i assure you i have definitely learned my lesson from all of this. i will be more careful with what i am doing, and i am very grateful that me and my friends didnt get hurt (and for the small amount of damage). i could have hit a tree which was very close, or i could have slid over that culvert which would probably have flipped the car.

But im going to bed... i have to get up early in the morning to go work on the farm then get home asap to fix this up... i will keep you all posted on how everything goes.