RickM

One of my personal gripes with Audi is the design of the rear bumper on my wife's A6 wagon; there's no protection on the top of it. Take a look at any BMW or Volvo wagon...or for that matter any American-made wagon too, I think...and you'll see that there's almost always some kind of rubber strip running across the top of the rear bumper. This obviously makes good sense; if you're using the wagon, as intended, for hauling pets (as I do) or kids (as I do, with the rear-facing third seat) or even bales of peat moss and such, that rear bumper is exposed to a lot of abuse. But Audi gives us just a painted plastic bumper (I don't know if this is true for all wagons in all years, but I know it's true for the last generation of A6 wagons of which my wife's is one). So the top of the rear bumper is all scratched to hell, mostly from dogs getting in and out. I've tried glaze. I've tried clay. I've used plastic polish. The polish minimizes the scratches best, but it seems to mask more than it does eliminate them and the effect is temporary. In any event, has anyone come up with a sure-fire way to get rid of these kinds of scratches on the bumpers? They don't penetrate the paint to the primer, but they also don't respond well to 3M IHG. I'm guessing I need something more aggressive than what I've been using. Any suggestions? If I can get the finish back to looking new, I'm then going to cover it with protective film (sold by the foot in different widths at Griot's Garage). But first I need a way to restore the finish. The rest of the car looks great, so it kills me that the rear bumper is in such a state. Thanks.

Greyhound Guy

a strip of clear 3M material, like the clear bra stuff.

RickM

<center><img src="http://www.griotsgarage.com/images/products/lg/77633_LG.jpg"></center><p>Probably the same as what you have in mind. But first I have to figure out how to eliminate the scratches.<ul><li><a href="http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=77633">Clear protective strip at griotsgarage.com</a></li></ul>

TraderAlex

Besides the A6 Avant, we also have a Dodge Caravan ES. The rear bumper on the Dodge has the same design, no protective strip on top. I have always made a point to lay a blanket or soft picnic table mat across the cargo decks and bumpers, before moving anything of weight in or out. A bit of an extra pain in effort, but it does keeps the bumper finish from becoming spoiled.

RickM

We're transporting two labs in the back 3-4 times a week. Just TRY to get them to wait to get out of the car after opening the tailgate while you neatly spread a blanket across the width of the rear bumper! Nope, I don't think so. Thanks for the idea though. I'm sure it works well when moving heavy stuff around.

Greyhound Guy

I am going to a body shop and they will use a high speed polisher and some rubbing compound. Very dangerous combo if you don't know what you are doing. I might have tried myself with a mild abrasive but I have a big scratch on the lower side of the back bumper that needs a lot of work.