Bumper Choice - Repair or Replace

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 6:19 am
Daughter in-law bumped a car with hitch so there is a 2" square flap (one side is not cut). Other than this the bumper cover is in great shape, no tabs broken, and being a newer vehicle we want a good repair.

Options we have discussed:

1) repair
Have a concern with the "flap" repair. It's cut through on 3 sides, will repair be secure with no memory of the bend that will come back and haunt us on a hot day

2) replace with used OEM
Lot of work

3) pick up a "primed OEM cover" (found on eBay)
Running around $125, almost seems too good

Any other repair would be easy to pick, this one is different. Looking for some opinions!

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 8:48 am
It's like anything else...how skilled is the technician and what process is going to be used to do the repair. The short answer is that if done correctly there is little to zero chance the repair would be detected again, ever. Plastic welding, backed with mesh and epoxy...done all the time.

Watch the eBay bumper covers you may have a miserable time with alignment and/or body gaps. They are cheap for a reason.



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PostPosted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:32 pm
You need to find out what type of plastic your dealing with first, as Chriss said it may well be the repair is done with Plastic welding or it may need Glue gotta find out what your dealing with first so then you can figure out how to repair it may be welding may be glue and if it is glue there are many different types of plastic all taking different types of glue. there is NO one type of glue for ALL you have to identify what your repairing first.

Do certain types of glue repair more than one type of plastic bumper? yes but still in order to know which one to buy you need to know what your dealing with first.

https://www.polyvance.com/identify.php
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

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