SWMBO, bless her heart, must have thought I didn't have enough projects. Backed into a Yukon right on the Yukon's rear wheel. Punched a hole in the corner of the E46 rear bumper, probably from a lug nut or wheel center cap. Most of the bumper plastic is still there, but the size of a silver dollar tore on one edge and folded in. I was able to heat it and sorta straighten it back out, but it definitely needs to be filled and smoothed. How do I do this? Can I use fiberglass mat on the backside to rebuild the strength and then Bondo to finish? Or will that not work on a bumper?
apply your favorite bumper sticker :D
on a serious note, I saw an interesting plastic repair on Wheeler Dealers (british TV show on Velocity network over here).
He had a cracked plastic grille bezel or something,
so he actually drilled a few holes around the cracked area,
used a flexible metal mesh behind it,
slathered some resin on the back so that it oozed out the holes in the front also, and applied some kind of non-stick plastic sheet over the front to smooth out the resin (and leave a flatter surface....less sanding later)
The holes that he drilled (that the resin oozed through, around the cracked area) helped add some rigidity to the repair I guess (since it would be a continuous glob of resin from the back that also oozed through the drilled holes).
After the resin cured, he pulled off the plastic sheet,
then sanded, smoothed and filled any remaining damage.
And after paint it looked good as new.
Hard to explain without seeing the episode.
And he may have used some specific plastic repair resin, rather than typical run-of-the-mill epoxy.
Could be one option though. Similar probably to using fiberglass from behind.
The drilling of holes was interesting I thought though.
colored duck tape- i mean "300mph tape"?
novaderrik wrote:
colored duck tape- i mean "300mph tape"?
That's what is on there now :-) Car is too nice for it to be a permanent fix.
Your local body shop supply will sell a urethane bumper repair kit. It comes with a bondo type material the flexes at the same rate as urethane.
In reply to glueguy:
This stuff is easy to work with and seems to stand up over time:
http://3mcollision.com/3m-automix-ez-sand-flexible-parts-repair-kit-05895.html
ddavidv
PowerDork
10/24/12 5:40 a.m.
Anything less than the 3M bumper kit is a waste of your time. This is a specialized repair. If you want it to hold up, there is no budget fix. I would, in fact, strongly recommend leaving it to a professional. Having sat through a bumper repair class 3 times so far I know what it takes to accomplish this repair. It's not so much that it's difficult, but that the products are expensive to purchase for a one time repair. For what everything will cost you, you can probably pay someone to do it who buys the stuff in bulk. Proper surface prep is paramount or the repair will fail. 3M does publish a booklet on how to do it if you elect to ignore my advice...you can probably get it for free from any supply vendor.
cdowd
New Reader
10/24/12 9:43 a.m.
what about one of the mobile bumper shops the dealerships use? I have heard they do a good job.
Chris
Would this help?
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/spoil-sport/
Bumper sticker, duct tape, zip ties, something like that. Celebrate the minor scar.
Very much agree with ddavidv, a diy repair will almost assuredly look worse than if you leave it alone.
Wally wrote:
this is better than my "300mph tape" suggestion...
foxtrapper wrote:
Very much agree with ddavidv, a diy repair will almost assuredly look worse than if you leave it alone.
This is what I'm afraid of, what with my limited skills. I can source a new painted bumper on eBay delivered for under $400. It will come to a point where if I need to buy plastic prep, special resin, flex agent, etc. that I'll have $200+ in supplies for a one time try that may or may not end up looking good.
David S. Wallens wrote:
Would this help?
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/spoil-sport/
yes, thanks, forgot about that
