Modern Vespa

It happened.
I dropped her.
What an idiot. I watched it all in slow motion with my hand on the handlebars and everything.
I was slow walking to back her up into my garage between 2 vehicles, put myself in a weird angle so I thought I'd get off and back her in... I don't know if my arms were overly tired from the ride or what but she just slowly went down to the right as I held her lovingly from the left. It literally went down in slow motion and I'm so disappointed. Totally unnecessary.
My husband says, "that's life babe, it happens to everyone". I don't accept that.
Now I have this garbage to deal with.
Luckily very minimal. But still very noticeable.

Get some nail polish that's close to the mint green or buy the official paint from your dealer. Buff and wax and you'll barely see them.

Sorry this has happened, you must be gutted. If it was mine, I'd face the cost of a professional repair and put it down to a lesson learned. It looks to be only surface scratches without dents which will hopefully keep the cost down.

If you don't get it fixed it is just going to knaw away at you every time you look at it.

I feel ya. It hurts, doesn't it. Your husband is right. Like any other trauma, it will ease with time. Don't beat yourself up nor dwell on it. Write it off as experience.

I remember feeling ashamed of dropping my scooter in the driveway, stupidly trying to turn on the slope. Fortunately it was used....then I went on to drop my nearly new GTS with my kid on the back in front of a dozen friends. Just to be fair to my fleet I dropped my BV in a parking lot. Minimal damage each time, humbling for sure, but yeah, it can happen. Hopefully most of us here have had better luck...

No dents thankfully. Just scratches.
I ended up purchasing this kit immediately.
Vespa colour code 350/A if anyone else in the world buys verde relax and needs the code. (I noticed that colour code is not in the chart here on the forums)

I will update how it works out!

Freedom at last. The first one hurts. Scooters are to serve us, not the other way around. I was bummed when it happened to mine, but it created room for less worry. They look amazing with some scars and story lines. It is hard to keep things that are used in perfect condition. I think they are begging to be with a certain amount of wear and tear. Do as they do in Portlandia, " Put a bird on it".

man I miss that show! Thanks, I needed this giggle!

I dropped Rocket sixteen years ago.

I had put it on its stand on a gravel driveway, checked its stability and walked away.

Then it fell over on its side.

The first blemishes on the rhen new scooter.

I never bothered to fix them in any way.

102,000 miles later, those scratches are still on it, joined by many others along the way.

Those imperfections never slowed me down.

Bill

nope

You'd be surprised what a professional detailer could do. They use fillers and polish on light colored vehicles.

The touchup paint is a good idea. If this is your first scooter, I would wait before a more permanent repair. Because the odds are that you will drop it again, doing something else, probably somewhere dumb like a parking lot. It won't be such a big deal. We've all been there.
Rondels look good, if you don't like how the paint turns out.

I feel your pain... Last summer I dropped my (then-)flawless 2016 GTV, turned from a paved road into a freshly-graveled parking lot only to discover that the gravel was like 6" deep and loose, we went down like it was quicksand. My GTV sustained a couple small scratches like yours; looking back, it was really minor damage, but that feeling of utter horror and nausea was awful.

honestly some judicious use of polishing compound on that will get rid of most of it. follow up with wax and continue on.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40065569/

you can do it by hand. I keep a bottle of this product on hand, it works wonders on making things that look awful into things that look minor.

You will gasp when pricing 3M™ Perfect-It™ Rubbing Compound. $45 per quart (946ml). But it's worth every penny.

I think my old man had a bottle of this a long time ago. It was made by 3M but otherwise unbranded. Clear bottle, white label and a just a chemical code. I never knew what it was, but man did it work.

I remember him bailing out a few high school buddies who scratched their parents' cars and too nervous to go home and face the music. It was like he was erasing the damage.

He'd hide it on us so we had to come to him when we messed up. The Turtle Wax rubbing compound however, was in plain sight and abundant.

If this is the same stuff, I 100% recommend.

Oh, that sucks! Lots of us have been there, including me...

Dropped my scoot - timeframe for repair?

But it still sucks.

You can go the professional route. Or the home repair route. Here's my damage:

And my home repair - see thread above for more details...

Get a matching pair of vinyl stickers big enough to cover the damage, one for each side.

There are about a million different styles, sizes, and patterns out there, Vespa themed and otherwise.

Plus, they'll help with the inevitible next drop or side rub.

Drop happens!

I dropped mine a week after purchase during our first group ride. I'd installed crash bars the day before and the only damage was a scratched barend. Crashbars are worth every penny!

I still like the person who's Vespa's kickstand collapsed and put a barend dent in my Gigi's bum. I slapped a sticker over it and called it good!

If you do go the self-repair route, I recommend a rust-preventing primer as a base layer before the touch-up paint. I used Rustoleum primer, but there are many such primers available. Unless you go the professional route, it won't be perfect, but most people won't notice. If the lack of perfection is going to bother you, see a specialist.

I hope the repair brings it back up to snuff.

The appearance of any vehicle is part of its personality. I've had cars that I've polished religiously and others that ... well ... I didn't care. And I've loved them all differently.

My Aprilia gets wiped with detailer and a soft cloth on a regular basis. The Stella's paint is so ugly I can't get enough stickers. And I love them both.

I totally agree that imperfections add to the character of a vehicle, but absolutely treat it and care for it the way that makes you feel good about it. I think that's the key.

I am sure you will save it well with your kit.

On self repair. Go easy. Adding one more brush stroke or another clear coat just to make it perfect from one angle can make it look like Mount Everest from another, especially on black. DAMHIK

Ok, I did it!
This kit worked really well with some fine wet sanding and compound and wax to finish. (And lots of patience for drying time)

Not a bad job if I do say so myself. I am quite proud!

Happiness: restored.

That's incredible! Great work! I saw some spots I thought were flaws on the "after" picture, but when I scrolled up/down I realized it was just dust on my monitor

LOL Thank you!
After I uploaded it, same thing happened to me and I had a small freak out, thought I missed something, then I just wiped my screen

Were you able to put a coat of Clear back on it, after the wet sand?
Looks like you did a good job on it. Kudos. I rebuild my Brown GTV after wrecking it, what a chore putting on layers of primer color and Clear. Worth the effort when you can hold your chin up during a ride
Congrats.

Thank you!
After what seemed to be about 9000 layers of colour, I put 3 layers of clear, built it up enough so that when I wet sanded after, it didn't remove all of it. No clear coat after that, just compound and wax.

Looks like it never happened

Now its time for some wrap around bars. https://www.scooterwest.com/vespa-black-front-legshield-bars-sprint-primavera-pr11pa-bk.html

WOWIE!!!
You're hired.

great job!

Well done. Paint matching is a PITA, and you clearly have a knack for it.

Looks amazing!

I never dropped a bike...while riding. All three times my GTS fell over happened while it was off. Once in the back of a truck because I stepped wrong, started to fall, and pulled it over.
Another coming back to the bike after a hike: twisted my ankle and fell into it. That one made me ill for a week.
Third time, the stand sunk into pavement that was hotter than I realized while I was getting coffee.

Yep. I've had several accidents in the grass on soft ground, none so far on the road. Scooter tires and wet grass do not go together

Suggestion I give to all new riders or experienced riders on a new bike is put your kick stand up, stand over the bike, and see how low you are physically able to lean it over and pull it up yourself. Good upper body workout, helps you know where your limits are and how the bike's weight feels. Getting used to that helps you manage those tricky situations and avoid clumsy situations. Have a friend spot you the first time.

Other than that. These things happen. Nothing you can do about it so don't beat yourself up.

Great job Christina. It looks beautiful.

I like a happy ending! Good job on making it look like new again! When I got the first Vespa, a 2009 GTS 250, it was immaculate in glossy black. I put a cover on it (same cover I had been using on our other scoots) and when the wind came up, it left fine scratches on the rear cowling. The touch-up results worked out as successfully as yours... but that first mark in it hurts. Thanks for sharing the results with us.

Nice work! No one will ever notice.