I am getting a bumper for free, it has light scuffs and scratches in it, and also a medium sized crack. Where can I pick up bondo locally for a good price that I can use to repair it? Also, where is the best place it pick up touch-up paint and how many layers of paint should I use? I'll get some before and after pics for you guys :thumb:
You can buy bondo at any auto parts store. Not that I use it, but I see it there all the time. I get my paint from PaintScratch Touch-Up Paint (rs), Spray Cans, Spray Paint, Paint Pens, Car Paint, Automotive Paint
I have no idea, man. should be fine if you take your time. Paintscratch does an awesome job matching your paint color. Metallic is REALLY difficult to match up properly though. I'm on my second try right now with a section on a customer's Ford Explorer.
Don't just bondo the crack. Fusor products work really well for repairing damage to polyurethane. You'll have to repair it from the backside for it to hold up. If you just repair the front side it's going to look nice for a while but not hold up in the long run. Some people will try to plastic weld polyurethane back together, and while you can plastic weld it, that particular plastic is very hard to weld properly and it's just easier, faster, and better to use a product like Fusor. Though for all the products the repair method will be similar the exact way you'll repair it will differ slightly based on the product you use. Usually for most things I stick with Fusor 100EZ and 114, and I do use the Extreme Plastic Repair in some situations. SEMS, Duramix, 3m, etc, are also other companies that have products like Fusor, but I personally use Fusor, however Im sure the other companies products are of similar quality Im assuming you don't have a gun or compressor and are going to aerosol can. This is not going to give you the quality you want. There's just no way to make it look nice. If I was you I would save a few bucks and take it to a shop and have them fix it and paint. Given the crack isn't huge and a new bumper doesn't cost that much to cancel out the repair work.
Wagon project has the only correct solution for mending plastic bumpers. I have smoothed a bunch of VW bumpers in my day and that is the only method that works. Bondo essentially forms a rock hard epoxy. If you have any flexing of the bumper with bondo on it the stuff is going to crack off. The fuzor stuff actually is made to flex with the bumper and chemically fuze to the plastic. Teh body shop I worked in never fixed bumpers they just got new ones the time and effort wasted in fixing them was always more than just buying a new one and refinishing them. I did work in a insurance restoration shop. I was one of the few peoplethat came in on the weekend and tinkered with custom stuff.
Some good info in this thread! Of course a new bumper is better, but this guy is getting this bumper for free. I had no idea about the flexing compatibility.
Yeah, I've seen a far amount of bumpers come in where other shops just put "bondo" (hate that term) over a crack in a front bumper/valance and expect that to hold the crack together. I will fix a lot of them just b/c I can get them done in no time and the customer doesn't want to pay a lot. I spend a lot of time at the shop, being only 21 its awesome when I can have mentors who are willing to show me and watch me as I practice and learn different thing. Showing me the right and wrong and hacked ways, lol. But to the OP, I would find a reputable shop that will do walk-ins and not just insurance claims and just see what they would charge to do it. Doesn't hurt to see what it would cost.
Good info man, thanks a lot. I wasn't exactly sure how I was gonna do it, I just wanted it to be a project, it had a big scuff mark on it that I could easily remove with my detailing supplies, and I was getting it for free so I though just make it a project, and then sell it if it turns out nice. If not, then it's a good learning experience. I'll use some fuzor and then see how much a repaint is
No problem. Depending on the paint supply store, there's some knowledgeable guys out there. Usually if you tell them what you have, they can set you up. Good luck!
Bobby ... there are some places that specialize in plastic welding. They will likely weld the back and smooth the outer (exposed) surface. You will never be able to match the metallic paint on a plastic bumper. It will always be off because plastic tends to affect the color. You will definitively see the difference at dusk or dawn because the sunlight emits different colors that reflect on the metallic paint. This is one of the biggest issues in the automotive industry when it comes to paint quality (at least when I worked at GM). You are better off just keeping an eye on a good used one on ebay to swap it.
Thanks Gianni, I just started this thread because I just saw a free bumper on craigslist and it just had a crack and some scuffs that would polish out so I thought maybe I can pick it up, fix it, sell it for cheap and make a quick buck but I had no idea the repairs were that extensive. I ended up not getting the bumper. I do have a question for you though, you saw the Corolla bumper today right? I know it had tape over it, but there's about a half-dollar coin sized piece missing. Is it possible to take it to the plastic welding shop and repair it, or would that be a new bumper + paint(Expensive)?
I definitively have to take a good look at it. Plastic welding is mostly used for broken tabs and linear cracks (lower air dam area tears for example). I don't know if the plastic surface quality gets affected when you weld a "patch".
ok....i use fusor but i will give you the procedure.... 1. rough up the backside thoroughly with 80 grit 2. mix up resin and apply a piece of tape on the outside of the holes 3. apply resin to 80 grit scratches with a paint brush 4. saturate a piece of fiberglass matte with resin then apply to backside 5. repeat step 4 but over lapping that piece 6. repeat step 5 7. cover with plastic sheeting(or a piece plastic grocery bag) and press your matte firmly against the valance and let cure 8. remove tape an bevel the holes out to the size of a quarter making sure to grind into the 'glass on the backside but not through it note: when grinding plastic use low speed so you do not melt the plastic,if you melt it you will lose adhesion! 9. take scissors and matte and chop up very small shavings so that when you mix it with the resin it will make more or less a paste(i call it wadge) 10. mix up wadge and apply to the beveled hole you just made(use a 'bondo' speader. 11. sand flat with 80 grit then 180 grit 12. prep for primer 13. prime
