Nose Cone Damage

caddieo said:

​I searched the forum for information on this topic but could not find it, so I am throwing it out there for answers. Excuse me for posting this if it does exist. Has anybody out there suffered moderate gouges and/or scratches (not more than 1 mm. deep) of the nose cone? I am curious to find out if anybody has done DIY repairs/retouching versus professionally done repairs. If DIY, information on materials and techniques will be much appreciated. Alternatively, does it make any sense to consider replacing the nose cone if it is not much more expensive than a professional repair job? Thanks in advance for all information and insights.

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It probably will cost less to replace it as it's not very expensive.

artsci said:

It probably will cost less to replace it as it's not very expensive.

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I think $450.

Try $600 (this is from experience)

Odenator said:

Try $600 (this is from experience)

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I have several spares I can part with

Since you are an early pre-PDC build, simple nose cone (new TM factory part) is about $450 (...I had to replace mine a few months ago). Easy DIY project.

Is it possible to buff out scratches though? It's tempting to replace it, but after having 2 different scratches in 6 months, I'd rather just keep repairing it until it looks awful. The perils of always parking on the street

Luckily this last scratch was caught on camera by my dashcam. I have to comb through 15 hours of footage to find the culprit tho Still not super optimistic his insurance will pay for it either and the entire cost of the nose cone is probably less than my deductible, so it would be nice if there was some way to at least 'attempt' to repair it. Any ideas? What material is the nosecone made out of?

Brand new nose cone is like $350 I think

Rheazombi said:

Is it possible to buff out scratches though? It's tempting to replace it, but after having 2 different scratches in 6 months, I'd rather just keep repairing it until it looks awful. The perils of always parking on the street

Luckily this last scratch was caught on camera by my dashcam. I have to comb through 15 hours of footage to find the culprit tho Still not super optimistic his insurance will pay for it either and the entire cost of the nose cone is probably less than my deductible, so it would be nice if there was some way to at least 'attempt' to repair it. Any ideas? What material is the nosecone made out of?

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If it is like the interior plastic, ABS. Depending on the depth of scratch, it should be possible to fill in the scratch by plastic welding using a soldering iron and donor plastic. I had a bumper bar fixed and the guy had a rod of the stuff. Perhaps ask panel shop where to buy. Then, carefully sand the area using sandpaper starting at 180 grit and working your way up the grits to at least 2400 or even 4000. Wood turning craft shops, easily found on the net may go up to 20,000 grit. I have used this is making acrylic pens on the lathe. Of course these finer grits are wet sanded. The pens i make require no finish, they are shiny plastic at those fine levels. In fact, pen makers kits are pretty cheap, and have a complete range of grits from quite coarse to super ultra fine. Each piece of abrasive is about 2 inches square, and are on a sponge surface. Use with water, and they can be repeatedly used.

I don't see much response to the OP regarding having nosecone damage. I've noticed that my nosecone is pretty filthy with bug strikes after my drives, I had my whole car wrapped including the nosecone and noticed the nosecone having two large rock strikes which caused a couple of nicks that weren't self healed. I spoke with the installer and he recommended waiting until there were more issues before replacing the wrap be ause more than likely the paint on the nosecone will peel off when the wrap is taken off. Anyone else have these issues?

I just had mine replaced last week after someone backed into me. Was $479 including labor.

TTT said:

I don't see much response to the OP regarding having nosecone damage. I've noticed that my nosecone is pretty filthy with bug strikes after my drives, I had my whole car wrapped including the nosecone and noticed the nosecone having two large rock strikes which caused a couple of nicks that weren't self healed. I spoke with the installer and he recommended waiting until there were more issues before replacing the wrap be ause more than likely the paint on the nosecone will peel off when the wrap is taken off. Anyone else have these issues?

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I call BS on that!!!! The nosecone is black plastic and there are not any painted surfaces on it.

yobigd20 said:

Brand new nose cone is like $350 I think

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Actually $450.

Collision damage advice

My name is Chris and I own Alioto's Garage, the Tesla Approved Collision Repair Center in San Francisco. The nose cone on the Model S is easily reparable just like most plastic bumper covers on cars. However since the labor to replace it is so minimal and repairing would need the part to be refinished (added cost), it's better to just replace the part. A good rule of thumb is the if you can catch your fingernail on the scratch, then it cannot be sanded and polished to remove the scratch. Most quality body shops would gladly look at it for your and give you their opinion for free. I'd be happy to give my opinion if you PM a picture.

Cheers.:biggrin:

Chris