How to hide damage and avoid ensuing rancour?

[t0p]

Scenario: X has borrowed his father's shiny silver TV while Dad repairs X's own set. In a moment of clumsiness, X spills indelible substance on TV; then in a moment of stupendous stupidity tries to remove said indelible substance with nail varnish remover, which removes the indelible substance and a very noticeable patch of the TV's silver finish. Result: a silver TV with a black patch that attracts the eye every time one watches the thing.

What should X do? Apologise immediately by phone? Wait til Dad returns then apologise in person? Deny culpability? Claim "it was like that when you lent it to me"? Learn a magic spell which will disguise the problem seamlessly?

Ideas very welcome.

[Elfy]

"Dad, how could someone repair a patch on a tv that someone's mucked up with nail varnish remover?" "Oh - well it was like this then ... "

I'd phone - I'd want my kids to phone as well :)

Alternatively "What black patch? That's some floater you've got in your eye"

[Sef]

I'd phone

+1. Best to get bad news out of the way.

[sdowney717]

Fess up be honest, accidents do happen all the time.
You can buy silver spray paint, mask off the area and repaint.

[grahammechanical]

Use the said nail varnish remover + lots more of the same, to make the whole TV black. He will never notice.

[mips]

Apologise.

You can remove the housing, prep the surface and respray the entire thing in a colour you (dad) actually likes.

Edit: Oh and t0p, we know you are X :tongue:

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

The Mothers of Invention said it best in "You're probably wondering why I'm here"


You tore a big hole in your convertible top
What will you tell your mom and pop?
Mom, I tore a big hole in the convertible

[iamkuriouspurpleoranj]

In all seriousness, X should own up now by phone or in person, whichever is quicker.

A man takes responsibility for his actions. Even his screw-ups.

In X's place, I would also offer to replace the TV. If he only has pocket money and this will take him twenty years, it's still polite.

Slightly different advice if X's dad is a psycho with a history of violence:
Leave town

[stefangr1]

I would say honesty is a must. Furthermore, calling him now is probably better for your own peace of mind, but at the same time somewhat impersonal because you can't see face impressions.

Also, maybe you can buy some model building paint in a color and finish that matches the color of the TV as closely as possible. Though you would probably still notice it when looking for it, it won't stand out so much as a block spot. So then when he arrives and you tell him the bad news is far less worse.

EDIT: in case you would try to fix it, make sure to put the TV flat when you apply the paint such that it does not trip down on the screen.

[kurt18947]

I haven't tried it but there paints available in spray cans for plastic. Depending on how extensive the damage is and injured party's preferences, repainting the entire area is going to be the only way to truly get them to match. You'd have to mask very carefully. Touch up the damaged area, sand if necessary then spray the entire same colored area.

Auto stores in the U.S. typically have quite extensive selections of touch-up paints. Maybe one of those will be close enough if he doesn't want the entire part repainted?

[Megaptera]

I think X should own up as soon as poss and hope dad's household insurance may cover accidental damage away from insured premises.
Still ... best to own up and then try the magic spell approach!

[oldos2er]

Buy Dad new model of same TV, hide away the old damaged one in shame forever.

[Dry Lips]

I agree with what most of these guys have said. Make a call and tell him the truth. If he is a reasonable guy, I'm sure that you'll be able to work things out.


@grahammechanical: I literally laughed out loud when reading your post.

[llanitedave]

Heh, the finish was probably silver nail polish in the first place.

Sounds like an opportunity for an experiment!

But still -- fess up anyway.

[Paqman]

It's only a TV, it's only cosmetic damage. Apologise and ask his advice about how to best repair it.

[QIII]

Put an Ubuntu sticker over the damage.

[kio_http]

The practical answer is to phone.

This way, X's dad's initial shock climax will occur when he is away from X. By the time X is confronted, the magnitude of emotion and anger will have reduced considerably.

Or Silver nail polish, remove all silver color using nail polish remover to even the color.

[kurt18947]

put an ubuntu sticker over the damage.


:d

[t0p]

X read all the above comments and asked me to convey his appreciation. He knew all the time he'd have to fess up, what he really wanted was advice on apologising now, via phone, or to wait and apologise face to face. After reading the comments, he decided to apologise by phone, and is now dreading the moment when daddio comes round.

X liked the idea of using nail varnish remover on the rest of the set, then he could say "what ya mean, pop? It's always been black!" Covering with an Ubuntu sticker also tickled his ribs.

Oh, and mips: What on earth makes you think I am X? I'll have have you know that I am highly intelligent and would never try to clean a TV with nail varnish remover like t0p, no I mean X, hang on, no...

[coldraven]

Put a "I Love Dad" sticker over the patch. It might work :)

[llanitedave]

Does the confession phone call get merged with a "please send money" phone call?

[mips]

Oh, and mips: What on earth makes you think I am X? I'll have have you know that I am highly intelligent and would never try to clean a TV with nail varnish remover like t0p, no I mean X, hang on, no...

:biggrin: We've all had our moments where stupid reigned supreme, myself included. So don't worry it about it to much t0p, sorry I mean X...

[Docaltmed]

My kids learned early on that if you wrapped an "Oh, Dad, sorry but I..." story in a larger funny story, they could get me laughing so hard that I would miss the confession.

Me, 3 minutes later: "Wait, wat, you HIT THE #$%^! TREE?!?!?!"

But by then it's too late. I'd yell inconsequentially about personal responsibility and wander off mumbling to myself.

[stalkingwolf]

lies, secrets , and coverups always comeback to bite you. sometimes the "I did something really stupid" approach works best.

or remember you said a mistake is only a stupid mistake if you dont learn from it. well...................

[bailout]

Stage a burglary.

[t0p]

Stage a burglary.

Now that's a cunning plan I hadn't thought of. X could claim loss of his father's TV, another, much bigger and more expensive TV, a laptop... the sky's the limit!

One thing though: if X took out insurance today then suffered a massive burglary tomorrow, would the insurer perhaps be a little suspicious? ;)

[slickymaster]

Alternatively "What black patch? That's some floater you've got in your eye"

+1
I would stick with this one and would recommend an urgent eye examination.

[G_khan]

Scenario: X has borrowed his father's shiny silver TV while Dad repairs X's own set. In a moment of clumsiness, X spills indelible substance on TV; then in a moment of stupendous stupidity tries to remove said indelible substance with nail varnish remover, which removes the indelible substance and a very noticeable patch of the TV's silver finish. Result: a silver TV with a black patch that attracts the eye every time one watches the thing.

What should X do? Apologise immediately by phone? Wait til Dad returns then apologise in person? Deny culpability? Claim "it was like that when you lent it to me"? Learn a magic spell which will disguise the problem seamlessly?

Ideas very welcome.


Open a terminal and run:

sudo apt-get remove --purge black-patch.

If that doesn't work, then you should probably tell your pops what you did, replace the tv and/or owe him a huge favor. The longer you wait, the worse it'll be.

[CloakandPigeon]

Phone will give him some time to cool down before he gets back. :D

[C.S.Cameron]

Pawn the TV and claim it was stolen, hopefully it is insured.
Win-win solution.

[neu5eeCh]

Oh for...

Don't listen to all these namby-pamby do-gooders.

Lie! Lie! Lie! So far, the best ideas have been pawn-shop, ubuntu sticker or more nail-polish remover.

Here's what you need to do: the lie has to be novelistic - Joycian. It will involve a burglary, a spy, a beautiful Russian woman, a villain (must have some distinguishing physical flaw), a complicated international entanglement which must be kept secret, collateral damage (this will involve the TV), Monaco, Israel, Lichtenstein (this is essential), a car chase, a boat chase and the space shuttle, a coffee plantation and a doughnut. You need to work on this, you will need to plan, and you will probably have to buy a back-up ink cartridge for your printer. Plan on several sleepless nights. This has to be good. You have to do it quick.

Time is of the essence.

[C.S.Cameron]

Oh for...

Don't listen to all these namby-pamby do-gooders.

Lie! Lie! Lie! So far, the best ideas have been pawn-shop, ubuntu sticker or more nail-polish remover.

Here's what you need to do: the lie has to be novelistic - Joycian. It will involve a burglary, a spy, a beautiful Russian woman, a villain (must have some distinguishing physical flaw), a complicated international entanglement which must be kept secret, collateral damage (this will involve the TV), Monaco, Israel, Lichtenstein (this is essential), a car chase, a boat chase and the space shuttle, a coffee plantation and a doughnut. You need to work on this, you will need to plan, and you will probably have to buy a back-up ink cartridge for your printer. Plan on several sleepless nights. This has to be good. You have to do it quick.

Time is of the essence.

+1, I think this just might work.

[acidqueen]

Oh for...

Don't listen to all these namby-pamby do-gooders.

Lie! Lie! Lie! So far, the best ideas have been pawn-shop, ubuntu sticker or more nail-polish remover.

Here's what you need to do: the lie has to be novelistic - Joycian. It will involve a burglary, a spy, a beautiful Russian woman, a villain (must have some distinguishing physical flaw), a complicated international entanglement which must be kept secret, collateral damage (this will involve the TV), Monaco, Israel, Lichtenstein (this is essential), a car chase, a boat chase and the space shuttle, a coffee plantation and a doughnut. You need to work on this, you will need to plan, and you will probably have to buy a back-up ink cartridge for your printer. Plan on several sleepless nights. This has to be good. You have to do it quick.

Time is of the essence.

I quote the sage philosophers Clarkson, May, and Hammond:

"Run! Just run!"

:popcorn:

[lisati]

Not to be a party pooper, but I'm uncomfortable with the lying approach, possibly because I might not be able to pull it off successfully.

A big +1 for keeping communication open, helped along with a healthy dose of good humour.

[acidqueen]

Not to be a party pooper, but I'm uncomfortable with the lying approach, possibly because I might not be able to pull it off successfully.

A big +1 for keeping communication open, helped along with a healthy dose of good humour.

I'm taking a massive shot in the dark here--but I think that those of us who are encouraging a coverup are joking.

At least, I'm joking anyway. :p

[lisati]

I'm taking a massive shot in the dark here--but I think that those of us who are encouraging a coverup are joking.

At least, I'm joking anyway. :p

I endorse the humour. :D

[forrestcupp]

Accidentally run your car through your living room wall and stop right where the bumper barely touches the black spot on the TV. He'll be so concerned about you and your house that he'll be happy when he sees the small black spot is all that happened to his TV. :)