Dented plastic bumper!

[Agile]

Someone decided to let an old Ford reverse into the front of her car today on her first trip after I bought it!.

Instead of hooting BEFORE he hit her she hooted afterwards so he drove off. Neither women in the car bothered to take his number!

It must have been quite an inpact as both side fixings were snapped off.

There is now a five inch deep dent about one third of the way along.

Has anyone had any success in getting these plastic bumpers to return towards their original shape???

Tony

 

[JohnD]

I had this happen on a Nissan 200SX

my neighbour told me that as soon as the plastic bumper was taken off its steel brackets, it would pop back into shape (and the brackets can be bent back).

The bodyshop insisted I needed a new bumper.

So I told them I wanted the old bumper returned to me as a spare.

When I collected it, it had popped back fine.


I have an idea the Dents Away man mended one on another car of mine by heating it with a hair drier and rubbing it from the inside.

 

[Agile]

That sounds too easy John!

Obviously I will try it out when it stops raining but I will let her stew in the expectation of a £200 repair for a couple of days !

Any other suggestions if it does not pop out?

Tony

 

[JohnD]

take it off, look for bent brackets or steel inner holding it in dented position, ring "Dents Away"

I think my bumper was £300 plus paint (protected NCB though)

I believe the sooner you pop it out, the better, or it may take on the new shape.

 

[jossper]

Remove bumper & staighten brackets etc as suggested. Heat up damaged area with a hot air/paintstripper gun. You need to do this slowly & carefully so the heat penetrates through the plastic - the idea is to soften it not melt the surface. Its suprising how hot you have to get it. Then push it back into shape with your hand - you may need to use a rag or similar to protect your hand. You may need to hold it while it cools a bit or it may spring back. You won't get it perfect.

It's worth checking price of a new bumper - some are ridiculously expensive but some are cheap. eg 2003 Honda civic rear bumper is about £100 and comes painted to match the car.

I used to do this kind of thing & minor paint repairs for dealers.

Hope this helps

Paul

 

[Agile]

Thanks Paul!

Are you suggesting that Johns thought that it may well spring out virtually on its own is a bit too hopeful?

Its a "P" reg japanese car by the way.

Tony

 

[pete1405]

go with checking for damaged brackets and then warm up dent very slowly .

good way is to get a heatlamp or if not homebase sell heat bulbs put it in a table lamp and aim at the area .

 

[munnster]

The cover (the plastic bit) may come back to shape if kept warm for a while but do not get it too hot!
The metalwork that is part of the bumper structure and the mountings on the car form part of the crush zone of the vehicle. Once damaged they should be replaced, not repaired. In a subsequent crash their capability would be impaired.
My advice is to take it to a garage and get all the metal work replaced. If they can re-use the cover, all the better.

(I used to work for a vehicle manufacturer - I am not a vehicle repairer - i have nothing to gain in giving this opinion)

 

[pj11]

Someone decided to let an old Ford reverse into the front of her car today on her first trip after I bought it!.

Instead of hooting BEFORE he hit her she hooted afterwards so he drove off. Neither women in the car bothered to take his number!

It must have been quite an inpact as both side fixings were snapped off.

There is now a five inch deep dent about one third of the way along.

Has anyone had any success in getting these plastic bumpers to return towards their original shape???

Tony

I have repaired dented plastic bumpers many a time(as you do trying to keep that fleet of red vans on the road).But i have used a steam wallpaper stripper to warm up the bumper.A tip is if you can keep the dented area under pressure while its warmed up,this can be acheived by using a bottle jack wedge under something and apply pressure to the dented area.