Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics rear bumper repair

awhile back i ran over an unknown object on the freeway at 4am. it was lying on a dark spot between lights on the side of the highway so i couldn't see it until it was too late. as a result, my rear bumper has a horizontal crack on the right half that is about 6 or so inches long and the mesh is gone as well. while researchng what is involved with fixing it i found this:

how to repair plastic bodywork

book linked to in another thread. my question is, does anyone have any opinion about this book? or perhaps a better book if you don't like that one? basically i know nothing about working with plastic and i want to know exactly what i am thinking about getting myself into before i make my decision to do it myself or get it fixed.

Unless you know exactly what you are doing, id leave it to professionals, that way you have assurance it will look good+ it saves you a lot of effort.

lets see pictures of the damage... I'm thinking that you can easily repair it using Lords Fusor 100EZ... that stuff is fantastic..

I dropped a frozen sandbag on mine and put a one vertical and 1 horizontal crack in it. While putting off fixing it I drilled the end of the cracks so they woudln't keep spreading and they just kept going even with the hole at the end so its gonna be real hard to stop them. Someone( beyondloadedse I think) recommended fiberall. not sure what it was as I am still putting off fixing it or just get a new one but its supposed to work good so
check this out.
And another question-will bondo fiberglass repair kit work? or is it too resistant to flexing?

on the rear bumper i think i would use fiberglass since the rear fascia has less "flex" than the front fascia. If you want, you could use 3M duramix which is what i recommend for the front fascia. Its specifically used for eurathane fascias and other flexible body parts.

why not just "harvest" a replacement out of a wreck???? seems to me that approach would be a whole lot easier (what is it, like 6 bolts that hold the rear bumper on?),might involve a whole lot less time, and would certainly ensure a good outcome.

just a thought.....lakeside

Fusor 100EZ would work great... it's basically a 2 part plastic/urethyne mix which will not crack.. You'd want to use that to fill in all the voids - sand and then apply light filler over that ..

if there is a full thru hole then apply some duct tape to the front of your bumper and then pipe the 100OZ on the back of the bumper filling in that area.. wait 24 hours and remove the tape - sand and lightly fill to make it flush.. then off to paint.

why not just get it plastic welded. i got my front bumper plastic welded for 50 bucks and it was terrible. crack down the side..crack in the middle...crack on other side. The best thing to do when repairing plastic is to use the same plastic to repair it with. That way, the stuff you repair it with isn't harder or softer than what your bumper is made of. When it's harder or softer, sometimes bad things can happen from that.