58mark

iTrader: (3)

got a small crack in my rear bumper, so small I didn't even notice it until today. (bought the car yesterday) I would like to take care of it before I paint the car, but I'm wondering if there's a technique or tutorial for fixing a crack rather than just getting a new bumper.

thanks

Blackdog36

iTrader: (3)

Yes you can repair crack and yours is not too bad. There are two methods. one is to grind crack out and use plastic welder to fill in. Problem is that welder guns can get expensive ($200). I see that harbor freight has a cheap welder kit for $35. Not sure if is adequate for this type of repair and if you need certain type of plastic rod. Second option is to grind out crack and fill with two part epoxy flexible. Bumper is made of polyurethane which is plastic. You will need some type of flexible filler which epoxy is. You also place structural backing on rear of bumper for added support. I've read that shops will use aluminum tape on front of bumper to hold tear aligned while the backside is worked on since tape is stiff. I haven't tried it since not sure if tape will leave residue on front like duct tape. If it does you can sand it of easily I suppose.

Most auto part stores sell bumper repair kits. You should add up costs first based upon what you want to do. It may be near cost of what you can find a used bumper for on craigslist, etc. Or you could spend a little money to learn a skill even if it doesn't turn out correct.

Check out these posts. 3m and Evercoat have videos on their website showing procedure. Good luck.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...ect-saved.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...ts-repair.html

58mark

iTrader: (3)

thank you so much... I did a search, but I was using "bumper" as s key word in the title, so those didn't come up

I think I will give it a try... thanks again

Camrs89

I have a front ground effect that has 3 small cracks about an inch each. I will be tackling this too, so Ill post a write up unless you beat me to it. With 8 inches of snow outside and a cold garage, im not too motivated.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I decided to try this the really really easy way, and see what the results are. I relaly have nothing to lose
I still had two tubes of this from my dashpad restoration project. It's an epoxy adhesive that's flexible, but yet sandable
http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=179

I pulled out the cracked area like a tongue, put the adhesive on the jagged edges, and then pushed it back into place with my fingers. I then took a putty knife and worked more into the crack and smoothed over the edges. Tomorrow I'll take a picture before and after I sand it smooth, and then prime it, and paint it

I might have to add one more coat of the evercoat after I sand it, but you can stack applications, so it's good.

I'm not expecting it to look like new, but as long as it looks better than it did before, it will for now, and it won't cost me anything other than materials I already had on hand

58mark

iTrader: (3)

first pic. I sanded the area down smooth with an electric sander and 60 grit paper. It seems VERY strong, but yet flexible

58mark

iTrader: (3)

sanded down with 220, and adhesion promoter added

58mark

iTrader: (3)

latest pic, I primed it with self etching primer, did a light coat of primer/filler, and then followed it up with self etching again

58mark

iTrader: (3)

done!!



it's not show car quality, but I doubt it would have come out any better if I had followed the long complicated tutorial, and I didn't even have to remove the bumper

jb3829

iTrader: (1)

Sorry I caught this thread late but if you ever have this problem again, I recommend a product from 3M called Duramix....it's a plastic "weld" that kinda mixes like epoxy. I just used it on my chin spoiler and the repair is stronger than the origional. The back side gets the "weld" which is then sanded from the front. A plastic body filler is then added to the front of the repair to blend it in. Only thing is it ain't cheap. I spent around $60 for the 2 part filler and repair plus the adhesion promoter and degreaser from amazon.com....goto 3M's site and look for "duramix" or do a search here

58mark

iTrader: (3)

the stuff I bought was from the people that wrote the tutorial on bumper repair, I just didn't use their method. I bought 3 tubes of the stuff to work on my dash, and had two tubes left over. It's available for $9.99 a tube on ebay right now

58mark

iTrader: (3)

the seller I bought from on ebay still has a supply of it, and it's MUCH cheaper than buying it through regular channels...

I love this stuff, I've used it for several projects around my car and even on household stuff, so I just bought three more tubes of it

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT