Front bumper repair

[edgemaster]

Hi,

The front bumper of my 2009 Edge has a slight ding. A body shop wanted $1000 to fix it, way too much.

I bought the paint and clear coat paint and I'd like to do it myself.

Someone told me that the bumper plastic has a memory. If I'd heat with a hair dryer, it would pop back into its original shape. Another guy said that a "normal" hair dryer wouldn't get hot enough, I'd need a heat gun but then the paint would melt.

Does anyone have any experience with that?

[onyxbfly]

Definitely not a body guy in the least, so my advice is exactly what you paid for it. hahaha

 

I'd suggest shopping the job around and tell them that it insurance is not covering it and you are paying out of your pocket. For example the cost to repair the holes after removing the front license plate it would be $400.

 

The quote you received might be on par for the amount of work that needs to be done, or they may be gouging you. You won't know until you shop it around.

 

Not really what you were looking for but some times it helps to look at it from a different POV.

[edgemaster]

You were right, this was not the kind of advice I was looking for but thanks anyway.

[enigma-2]

I believe that this video will answer your questions.

[edgemaster]

Thanks for the video, I'll check it out over the weekend.

[PaulSchott]

I've done this type of repair on a few cars. A hair drier doesn't put out enough heat. If you use a heat gun on the back of the bumper you can push out the dent from the back and not destroy the paint. Move the heat gun in circular motions until the whole area is hot enough to make the plastic soft then use something like a hammer handle to push the dent out from the inside. On two of the repairs that I did, you couldn't see the repair when I was done. On one of them the bumper was gouged to the point that it should have been replaced but it still looked much better than before.

[edgemaster]

Thanks for the input.

I have tried a hair dryer and. as you said, it's not hot enough.

The thing is, the damage is not really a dent it's more like cuff and the bumper is just a little bit out of shape. If it were metal, I could hammer it into shape from the outside, sand it and paint it over.

I have attached a pic.

[PaulSchott]

I would still use a heat gun and try to get it from the back. You may be able to eliminate most of the damage by just heating it and trying to push it back in shape with your hands. Wet sanding and buffing will take the green paint off. If you need to touch up automotivetouchup.com is a great source for paint. a rattle can and a good sanding will make it much less noticeable. If your looking for perfect you may need to remove the bumper and work on it off the car. (Bondo, Sanding, reshaping with heat)

Once you get rid of the obvious marks you will not notice it as much.

[edgemaster]

Thanks a lot, I guess this is the way to go.

I'll try that.