How to repair a dented bumper

[stampedehero]

Our cars are vinyl clad envelopes.  A slight bump or penetration can cause you to use extensive foul language, especially  after an auto body shop hands you the estimate.  I ran my 012 Honda Accord into an ice pile at two miles an hour and the inverted dent was 8 inches deep.  For the hell of it, I went to my auto body shop and they gave me a $1019 estimate including a $349.00 bumper replacement.  On Ebay you can get them from $83 to $125 primered.  Paint to match is roughly 125% more   After Utube research I found out how to take off the bumper.  Once I did that I used a painters heat gun and an empty rolling rock beer bottle to form fit the dent into a roughly 95% repair.  The initial dent impact was hard to erase but it is hard to notice from afar.  I hope this helps one of you one day.   

[K-Dog]

I have been in collision repair for over twenty years.  I have found golf balls, base balls and soft balls to be more effective and better over all over a beer bottle. 

 

Its incredibly rare that you can push out a bumper cover dent and have the results be an undetectable repair.  When the plastic is pushed to the point of deformity, there is portions of the plastic that stretch to the point it does not return. So even though the bulk of the plastic is right where it used to be there will always be an area that shows some imperfection.  In the shop we would simply fill that area with a flexible body filler that is specially designed for plastic bumper covers.  

[52520Andrew]

25 minutes ago, K-Dog said:

Its incredibly rare that you can push out a bumper cover dent and have the results be an undetectable repair.  When the plastic is pushed to the point of deformity, there is portions of the plastic that stretch to the point it does not return.

Ohh Ohh Pick Me!!! I know this!!!

The material passes what is called the yield point on the stress strain curve and starts to deform plastically meaning that it will not return to the original state when the load is removed.

[K-Dog]

16 minutes ago, 52520Andrew said:

Ohh Ohh Pick Me!!! I know this!!!

The material passes what is called the yield point on the stress strain curve and starts to deform plastically meaning that it will not return to the original state when the load is removed.

Gold star for you.  

( not a Harbs reference )

[ludy51]

On 2/23/2016 at 9:32 PM, 52520Andrew said:

Ohh Ohh Pick Me!!! I know this!!!

The material passes what is called the yield point on the stress strain curve and starts to deform plastically meaning that it will not return to the original state when the load is removed.

Edited March 6, 2016 by ludy51

[stampedehero]

1 hour ago, K-Dog said:

I have been in collision repair for over twenty years.  I have found golf balls, base balls and soft balls to be more effective and better over all over a beer bottle. 

 

Its incredibly rare that you can push out a bumper cover dent and have the results be an undetectable repair.  When the plastic is pushed to the point of deformity, there is portions of the plastic that stretch to the point it does not return. So even though the bulk of the plastic is right where it used to be there will always be an area that shows some imperfection.  In the shop we would simply fill that area with a flexible body filler that is specially designed for plastic bumper covers.  

Both of you deserve the gold star.  I choose the beer bottle because it was the perfect fit and it taste good beforehand.  A slight deformity can be seen up close but not far away.  I tried to download the pictures but no luck so far.  

[Steve0x]

Be a good driver and you wont worry about dents. Im a good driver cause i can control my car.

[MTRavensFan]

5 hours ago, Steve0x said:

Be a good driver and you wont worry about dents. Im a good driver cause i can control my car.

yeah, right.

I was in the dentist's getting a tooth pulled, and walked out to $3000 in damage to my Tundra. Somebody backed into me HARD, and didn't bother to leave a note. Now, THAT was a painful day!

[cobrajet]

34 minutes ago, MTRavensFan said:

yeah, right.

I was in the dentist's getting a tooth pulled, and walked out to $3000 in damage to my Tundra. Somebody backed into me HARD, and didn't bother to leave a note. Now, THAT was a painful day!

On Christmas Eve, I was at my brother's house and someone hit the front left fender of my truck and did not leave a note. I found an older man that was retired from body and fender work and he fixed the dent and had it in primer in an afternoon. The paint work was a little more than I thought, but after the work was completed, I could not tell it was even hit. I paid for the damage myself because I thought my insurance would go up and I would be paying more in the long run for filing a claim...plus I had a deductible. Hit and run drivers are even worse than bad drivers.

[Steve0x]

 

[K-Dog]

One thing to keep in mind is the bumper cover could be hiding more damage.

Sometimes significant damage that could be a safety issue.

As a matter of fact I am just finishing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee,  very light cosmetic damage.  It looked like a simple bumper cover and grille replacement.  Once I removed the bumper cover I discovered the frame rail was crushed and needed to be replaced.

 

Just because it doesn't LOOK bad doesn't mean its not bad or unsafe. 

[stampedehero]

On 2/23/2016 at 4:30 AM, Steve0x said:

Be a good driver and you wont worry about dents. Im a good driver cause i can control my car.

Now you cursed yourself and some moron will be magnetized towards your car soon.

Look Out!! (You are the shark)

[stampedehero]

On 2/24/2016 at 7:50 PM, K-Dog said:

One thing to keep in mind is the bumper cover could be hiding more damage.

Sometimes significant damage that could be a safety issue.

As a matter of fact I am just finishing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee,  very light cosmetic damage.  It looked like a simple bumper cover and grille replacement.  Once I removed the bumper cover I discovered the frame rail was crushed and needed to be replaced.

 

Just because it doesn't LOOK bad doesn't mean its not bad or unsafe. 

K Dog.  The picture with the heat gun:  I did my work from the backside so paint would not be affected

[stampedehero]

On February 23, 2016 at 10:18 AM, MTRavensFan said:

yeah, right.

I was in the dentist's getting a tooth pulled, and walked out to $3000 in damage to my Tundra. Somebody backed into me HARD, and didn't bother to leave a note. Now, THAT was a painful day!

Yeah.....The idiots out there are to be feared.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Moderator 3
Let's not disparage a nationality