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@camaraderie avatar
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UTC quote
Well...I'm so ticked off at myself for letting my Dragon Red LX150 fall over in the parking lot...2 weeks old and pristine and now I have road rash (no dents) on the right rear fender about the size of a 4" circle.

I want to get this looking PERFECT again and am willing to pay to get it done right. I know what touch up paint looks like and this is just too big an area to end up looking any good.

So...do I bring it back to a Vespa shop or an auto body shop? Will they sand it, fill it and repaint or will they want to replace that whole piece?
What is the ballpark price I'll be putting on my stupidity??

Thanks for any answers from those who have dealt with other rash attacks!

Cam
@bloop43 avatar
UTC

Hooked
2013 VespaGts300 Super Sport SE Vader part Deux, 2009 Vespa Lx150, 1976 Vespa Rally 200
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2013 VespaGts300 Super Sport SE Vader part Deux, 2009 Vespa Lx150, 1976 Vespa Rally 200
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UTC quote
Personally I would bring it to a Vespa dealer that does body work if you want it done right. More then likely to blend the paint they're going to have to do a large area which means taking parts off. A body shop is probably not going to know the first thing about disassembling a Vespa. If you do choose the body shop route just find out your paint code which is located inside your engine compartment and you can order Vespa paint from Scooter West. http://www.scooterwest.com/items/?_pageCCS=t#page=/item_details/Custom-Color-Matched-Paint-for-Modern-Vespa-1-QT-/9474
Good luck.
@jimc avatar
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The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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@jimc avatar
The Hornet (GT200, aka Love Bug) and 'Dimples' - a GTS 300
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UTC quote
If you do get it painted - consider fitting some crash guards afterwards...
OP
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UTC quote
Thanks Bloop...that's very helpful!

Jimc...That's funny actually...The bike fell over when I was adding chrome! LOL... but you're right nevertheless!
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Hooked
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UTC quote
Sorry to hear that your scooter got scratched up! Here is another good link for Vespa paint:

https://touchupdirect.com/motorcycle-paint/vespa
@judy avatar
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2007 LX150 Daring Plum Leonardo Da Vespa
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@judy avatar
2007 LX150 Daring Plum Leonardo Da Vespa
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UTC quote
I scraped my right side up. Way more than yours. You could take it to your Vespa dealer if their good. I found a really good paint guy (autobody) and for $300 he sprayed the whole right side and some other bits. If you didn't know which side you couldn't tell. You can't replace the side it's a metal mono body. Good luck.
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UTC

Veni, Vidi, Posti
GT 200
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GT 200
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UTC quote
A lot of auto body shops can match the paint. You want to find one that can match it from the color code. If you take the parts off that are around it, like the seat and the lower cowling strip, it should be, as Judy said, about a $250-300 fix.
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2007 Vespa LX 190, 2011 LXV150ie
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2007 Vespa LX 190, 2011 LXV150ie
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UTC quote
Re: Road Rash Fix?
camaraderie wrote:
Well...I'm so ticked off at myself for letting my Dragon Red LX150 fall over in the parking lot...2 weeks old and pristine and now I have road rash (no dents) on the right rear fender about the size of a 4" circle.

I want to get this looking PERFECT again and am willing to pay to get it done right. I know what touch up paint looks like and this is just too big an area to end up looking any good.

So...do I bring it back to a Vespa shop or an auto body shop? Will they sand it, fill it and repaint or will they want to replace that whole piece?
What is the ballpark price I'll be putting on my stupidity??

Thanks for any answers from those who have dealt with other rash attacks!

Cam
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that "rear fender" (more commonly referred to as the cowl) is an integral part of the chassis for the whole scooter, and can't be removed. Further, it's likely that your paint is metallic (I'm not sure about Dragon Red), making it nearly impossible to do a good "spot match." To get a good job, any reputable painter will want to spray at least to the edges of the panel (a hard fold in the sheet metal in this case).

You don't specify exactly where you are, but -- if you are anywhere in the Baltimore area -- I can recommend Motostrada in Cockeysville, MD. Their contract body and paint guy does excellent work.

Jim's advice about crash bars is right on the money, BTW. Worth every penny.
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Re: Road Rash Fix?
Silver Streak wrote:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that "rear fender" (more commonly referred to as the cowl) is an integral part of the chassis for the whole scooter, and can't be removed. Further, it's likely that your paint is metallic (I'm not sure about Dragon Red), making it nearly impossible to do a good "spot match." To get a good job, any reputable painter will want to spray at least to the edges of the panel (a hard fold in the sheet metal in this case).
You don't specify exactly where you are, but -- if you are anywhere in the Baltimore area -- I can recommend Motostrada in Cockeysville, MD. Their contract body and paint guy does excellent work.
Jim's advice about crash bars is right on the money, BTW. Worth every penny.
Thanks SS...ahh...I thought cowls were only the removable stuff like on the Stella. Thanks for that bit of info. But yeah...I had figured out that the whole chassis is involved. The good news is that I don't think it is the least bit metallic so maybe a good blender will be able to do it just on the cowl.

I am well south of Baltimore but actually shopped at Motostrada before I bought. I can't speak to their service, but the sales floor guy and the shop was the most impressive I've run into in a LOT of shopping. If I were in that area...going to them would be a no brainer. I'm a LONG way away from any authorized Vespa shop...so will have to rent a trailer to go at least 4 hours to a decent one....I plan to do it at my next service interval so I can get it all done at the same time. And maybe add that chrome too if there's any budget left! Looks like there's a couple of different crash bar makers for the lx150... do you think any one is better than the others?
Thanks again...Cam
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UTC quote
Thanks also to Joe Judy and Moto...this is all new to me so the info is appreciated. I'm gonna have a pro do it...but the videos on the touch up paint give me confidence that it can be restored fully.
@silver_streak avatar
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2007 Vespa LX 190, 2011 LXV150ie
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Cam, IMHO the original Vespa crash bars are far and away the best. Nice, heavy chrome plating, and the way they wrap around the back end of the floorboards also helps protect those if the bike is dropped.

I have them on both my LX and LXV.
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GTS 300ABS, Buddy 125, Buddy Kick 125
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UTC quote
camaraderie wrote:
So...do I bring it back to a Vespa shop or an auto body shop? Will they sand it, fill it and repaint or will they want to replace that whole piece?
If there is no denting, only scratches - it can certainly be fully repaired by sanding, minor filling, and repainting. Few Vespa dealers have their own body shop, but you should ask your dealer what body shop they usually work with. You want a shop that is familiar with working on scooters. Prices vary quite a bit, but I'd guess the cost would be in the range of $300 or $400. It is more than you might think because the shop will need to sand and spray a fairly large area to be sure the paint all matches.
@flordian avatar
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UTC quote
jimc wrote:
If you do get it painted - consider fitting some crash guards afterwards...
Thought about getting some guards after I had to repaint the whole side of my GTS and my top box from a stationary tip in a parking lot. Does it protect the side completely or just lessen the pain? And, will it help protect the top box?
@silver_streak avatar
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2007 Vespa LX 190, 2011 LXV150ie
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UTC quote
flordian wrote:
jimc wrote:
If you do get it painted - consider fitting some crash guards afterwards...
Thought about getting some guards after I had to repaint the whole side of my GTS and my top box from a stationary tip in a parking lot. Does it protect the side completely or just lessen the pain? And, will it help protect the top box?
The OEM Vespa cowl guards will do just that in a very-low-speed or stationary drop on reasonably level pavement. They'll keep the cowls completely off the asphalt. I was rear-ended on my LX (which had both cowl and legshield guards) while sitting at a light. The scoot was punted out from under me, and skidded about 15 feet on its side with absolutely no damage to the sheet metal. Had a busted mirror, some scratches on the edge of the windscreen, a broken brake lever, and some minor scratching in the chrome plating on the guards, but that was it.

On the other hand, my wife dropped our LXV150ie onto a curb while taking it off the stand. It had the rear guards only. The distance from the curb was such that it struck above the guards and dented both the legshield and the cowl.

Considering how often scooters get knocked or blown over in parking situations, I think they are a very worthwhile investment.
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UTC quote
You can get the factory paint from Scooterwest. It's not cheap, but Vespas aren't either. Any good shop will be able to blend it in as long as the paint color is the same. Good Luck
@silver_streak avatar
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2007 Vespa LX 190, 2011 LXV150ie
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UTC quote
Tierney wrote:
You can get the factory paint from Scooterwest. It's not cheap, but Vespas aren't either. Any good shop will be able to blend it in as long as the paint color is the same. Good Luck
Not necessarily so with clear-coated metallic paints like those used with many Vespa colors. If the tiny metallic flakes in the paint don't lie in exactly the same direction as the original paint, they reflect the light differently, making a perfect spot blend extremely difficult.

That's why most pro painters won't even attempt a spot repair on clear-coated metallics... they spray to the edge of the panel.
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