Slopoke?
Nope. Maybe one of our advertisers who pay to keep this site up for us though. 
So the truck’s new enough that I can probably get a can of midnight blue Nissan spray paint from the dealer. Is spray the way to go? Where should I get primer & clear?
^ I wll be honest I did not read what anyone else said. Sometimes I get headaches listening to “it will just buff right out”…
For color the spray can should be fine. One tip for clear is that you should scuff the whole panel with a red scuff pad (Scoth brite) wipe it down and clear the WHOLE panel. Clear tends to shrink as it cures so it needs to wrap around an edge. Think of it like shrink wrap. If you just spray one flat area and blend it eventually it will flake.
This is how I would do it:
Bumper - Remove it obv. Would not even touch it if you ONLY use sandpaper, not worth the time and it will only get worse. You may want to get some bumper paint and blend it in. Just clean it with reducer, knock off the sharp edges with some rough sand paper (120 grit), wipe down again, then paint. You will wind up putting color from the wheel well around to the front (I assume front cause I can’t tell from the pic) about 4-6 inches.
Fender - (If you can remove the fender it will be easier to work with plus no masking of the car. If not then no biggie) Remove the light and any trim, badges, etc that are on the fender. Tap (I will say again…TAP) out the dent from the inside with a body hammer and dolly. Don’t just use a hammer as you will pierce the metal if you hit it too hard. Get it close. You will most likely need to fill it. Just get the best deal at the time for body filler. They are all pretty good if you go to Al-Wil (I will explain later). Sand out the clear, paint, and looks like rust started in there as well. Feather out the edges of the paint, OEM primer, until you get a good base or bare metal. You should have about an 1/2 to 1 inch of layers showing (like a topographical map: border of one inch of primer, then one inch of color, etc… ) when you are done. Example if you are unclear: http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a274/donbartlett/2623_1128517212551_1215811314_30384.jpg
Now mask off any part of the car that you don’t want primer, paint, or clear. News paper and drafting tape work great for a budget. Do NOT use anything plastic Except the special Blue stuff, it is pricey. Garbage bags melt when you get paint on them. You can mask a 4 foot area around the painted area with 2-3 layers of newspaper then drape a couple sheets on the other side of the truck. If not, you could get some overspray. If you can make a make-shift paint booth I would. Drop some plastic to make a clean room and use 2 box fans to blow the fumes out. Make sure you wear a respirator.
After that, I would fill the affected area with filler. Mix it on a piece of cardboard with a stir stick or a squeegee. Apply. Cure. Then sand out first with 80 grit then down to 120. If that feels smooth and contoured correctly then hit it with 400. If not then clean the dust with reducer then re-apply more filler. If you are good then clean with reducer and prime. Cure. Then sand with 120 to knock of the overspray until smooth. Clean again with reducer. Then get ready for paint. Here is the tricky part.
Paint and Clear are tricky if you don’t understand how the react with each other. Clear is best when sprayed over the paint while it is curing but not fully cured. I would ask the guy at Al-Wil what is the falsh time between color and cure for the paint you have (I would say 15-20 minutes). So back to primer. Clean with reducer after sanded smooth. Scuff the WHOLE panel with the scotch brite pad on the OEM Finish and your primer. Clean with reducer. Clean with a Tac Cloth. Spray color.
Allow the paint to flash each time after it is sprayed before you do anything. If the paint looks good (No bugs, dirt, or any other shit in the color) then just spray with clear. I usually do 2 coats color and 3 clear. Allow paint and clear to flash each time. The clear may be a little longer, like 30 to 45 minutes, but as long as it is still soft you will be ok. When you are done. LET THE CLEAR CURE. It can take 8 to 16 hours depending on temp and humidity. If you can park it outside after and bake it in the sun then that is best. If not, just make sure the clear is HARD before you do anything. For this I just touch it with my thumb. If you press too hard you will leave a permanent thumb print in the finish. I just lightly touch it near an edge to see if it feels “sticky.”
When the clear is fully cured then you can wet sand and buff. Some people wet sand between coats of paint and clear. You can. I never needed to. I always wet sand my clear with 1000 grit. This should match your OEM finish pretty damn good.
Just some info for you. I hope it helps. I may not do everything by the book but this is how I learned.
Al-Wil Auto on Transit Rd is where I always go. It may be a bit far from where you are but honestly they have really quality stuff.
http://www.localcarsdealers.com/new-york/elma/218075-al-wil-auto-supply-inc.html
Al-Wil Auto Supply
2811 Transit Rd.
674-5400
Supplies I would get.
Al-Wil:
Paint (If the OEM touch up is available then get that. If not, they have paint in 1/2 pints)
Reducer/Thinner (To clean parts mix with primer or can of paint if needed)
Primer
Measuring Cups
Stir Sticks
Tac Cloth
Sand Paper (80, 120, 400, 1000)
Misc Stuff needed:
LINT FREE cloths (I use cotton T-shirts or a shop cloth)
Masking Tape (White should work fine. You are not using it for a “Edge” just to protect over spray)
News Paper
Cardboard
I am sure I missed some things. If you have any questions let me know. Good Luck.
Luke L coming through with big advice.
get your hands on a spot sandblaster before you repaint your corner, spot sandblast the rust off, its better than sanding and pushing the rust around and actually helps to remove all rust, then take some body filler, smooth it out, use poly putty to get the fine finish.
not much to say for the bumper, besides if you sand it, obviously dont sand to much, it will be misshaped and probably discolored.
Dang. Thanks for taking the time to type all that out for me Luke.
The hard way
The easy way. (deductible pending)
Just my $0.02.
Just my $500.00. I’ll probably still get a quote from a shop. $200 vs me trying to follow Luke’s advice means I’ll probably just pay the $200.
Hit and runs often times do not require a deductible to be payed. You may need a police report though.
fuck hit and runs, it seems like i cant buy a car without getting hit less than 2 weeks later due to some prick hitting it and leaving. i never park sideways or over the line. people have no respect at all for a motor vehicle.
My 2003 Camry has marks like that everywhere, Passanger front fender has 4 big white scraps all down the side of the bumper, The front bumper has a 9 inch long scrap, the middle of hood 4 inch above the grille has gash from a trailer hitch(someone backed up too far), the passanger front door has a 8 inch long red scrap from someone opening their door, the passanger rear fender has 3, 6 inch green scraps, the rear bumper has a huge black tire mark from a tracker trailer blowout that hit my car from a accident after an accident that I was on the side of the road helping poeple that where in the accident. The driver fender has 1 long scrap of white from the side of the bumper down my hub cap and another 5 inchs after that on the door. The only spot un touched is the Driver side back door…
Needless to say it needs a paint job. But it’s a daily with 145k on it and I can’t help the ignorance of other poeple, plus it’s just a Camry. Now my Caddilac and Trans Am remain un touched :tup:
that dent is going to be hard as hell to pound out being in the corner… even if it pounds out it likely wont be smooth at all.
you’re going to need some filler, sanding, priming, paint to make it look right
Trade it in.
While you’re obviously just used to the passive nature of most nyspeeders, I am captain proactive and called my agent before I even made a thread. $500 dollar deductible.
What do I work at 3M or something? :eekdance:
I don’t see what you did there?
Its not noticeable.
Your car needs to be buffed and waxed
If you plan on painting it yourself be sure to hose the floor down where ever its being painted to keep dust at bay.
My personal opinion would be to have it all prepped and ready, then have someone spray it who knows what he’s doing. Nothing worse then finishing it all to find you have crazy orange peel and runs and it doesn’t match. Clear is not the easiest to blend well.
Yup. Pics are after a quick robowash style hosedown to get the salt off after the last snow.