Repair cut on bumper
Author
Discussion

mk08

Original Poster:

217 posts

70 months

Monday 16th March
quotequote all
Good evening
Can anyone advise how to fill/hide/close this cut. Doesn't matter if it not very clean esthetically as long as it's sorted.
Please refer to the pictures.
Thanks in advance







Edited by mk08 on Monday 16th March 17:41

paul_c123

1,885 posts

16 months

Monday 16th March
quotequote all
Hot staple gun would be the best/easiest to do. You'd need to remove the bumper and do it from the rear. Duct tape the crack closed at the outside to get them aligned nicely. If you're not bothered about a perfect finish, then you could leave it at that. If not, then it would need a little plastic bumper filler and repainting.

DaveF-SkinnysAutos

142 posts

7 months

Monday 16th March
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Its honestly easier and cheaper for you just to use a local Smart repairer.

I would plastic weld that, then UV primer, before blending and spraying the bumper corner. I wouldn't use staples, they expand and shrink at a different rate to the plastic and its not under any stress where the damage is.

Depends where you are but you would need to budget around £250.

mk08

Original Poster:

217 posts

70 months

Monday 16th March
quotequote all
paul_c123 said:
Hot staple gun would be the best/easiest to do. You'd need to remove the bumper and do it from the rear. Duct tape the crack closed at the outside to get them aligned nicely. If you're not bothered about a perfect finish, then you could leave it at that. If not, then it would need a little plastic bumper filler and repainting.
Can i fill it with plastic body filler from outside and touch it with paint?

DaveF-SkinnysAutos

142 posts

7 months

Tuesday 17th March
quotequote all
Have you got a soldering iron? Try to melt gently across the crack, ideally from behind if you can reach it, which will just join it back together. almost like stitches across it, where you are just trying to melt the edges back together. You can do it from the front and then use plastic filler but it will leave a much more visible repair than the actual damage.

The correct way is to use a Dremel to smooth out the crack then melt in some fresh plastic, its usually ABS plastic on a bumper.

You can use hot staple gun but I personally think unless the part is under stress I wouldn't, as the metal and plastic tend to expand and shrink at different rates in the summer and the repair can show cracks, its worth it where you are fixing a broken fixing etc but personally I wouldn't use them to mend a crack in the bumper like yours.

As I say, I think its one of those where the time and materials needed to DIY it, make it better value to pay for a Smart repair.

paintman

7,852 posts

213 months

Wednesday 18th March
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If you can cut a small piece from somewhere inconspicuous under the bumper you can use the soldering iron technique to melt the edges together using the cut piece as a filler to help consolidate it.

mk08

Original Poster:

217 posts

70 months

Wednesday 18th March
quotequote all
paintman said:
If you can cut a small piece from somewhere inconspicuous under the bumper you can use the soldering iron technique to melt the edges together using the cut piece as a filler to help consolidate it.
Thank you. Sorted now

paintman

7,852 posts

213 months

Wednesday 18th March
quotequote all
If you don't mind me asking how did you solve it?

mk08

Original Poster:

217 posts

70 months

Wednesday 18th March
quotequote all
paintman said:
If you don't mind me asking how did you solve it?
Took it to a garage today as someone in the thread mentioned something like the materials cost plus time.

paintman

7,852 posts

213 months

Wednesday 18th March
quotequote all
Thanks.
Much the same thoughts as I had - used to do a lot of that sort of stuff on bumper & caravan panels before I retired.

mk08

Original Poster:

217 posts

70 months

Wednesday 18th March
quotequote all
paintman said:
Thanks.
Much the same thoughts as I had - used to do a lot of that sort of stuff on bumper & caravan panels before I retired.
Ok