Editing the bumper with a hairdryer. How to align a plastic bumper

One of the common situations, especially in winter time years, dents appear on the car bumper. They arise in the process of “collision” with snowdrifts. Even a small interaction like this can result in a decent amount of money that you will have to pay at a car service for its restoration. But straighten plastic bumper easy with your own hands. Need to purchase necessary tools and get acquainted with the stages of work.

Removing a bumper dent is done using the following tools:

electric kettle;
small magnet;
construction hair dryer;
thermometer.

Surface preparation

Before straightening the bumper, you need to find out exactly what it is made of.

If the bumper material cannot be heated, then squeezing out the defect with your own hands will be problematic, and in this case it is better to seek help from body repair professionals.

For example, you should not heat an existing welded seam on a bumper, nor should you heat a fiberglass part.

To remove a dent, you must first remove the bumper and construction hairdryer slightly warm the surface. At the same time, the water in the kettle is heated to a temperature of 40 degrees. Heated water is poured over not only the defect itself, but also an area with a radius of 20 cm around it. Then you need to heat the water again to a temperature of 50 degrees and repeat the procedure.

Straightening

Do-it-yourself bumper dent removal should begin immediately to prevent the water from drying out. The magnet must be brought to the surface and moved in different directions. Moreover, even if the bumper is plastic, it will be magnetic, since the paint applied to it contains a large number of metal particles.

WITH inside With our hands we gently press the dent to straighten it to its previous position. This way you can help the magnet and simultaneously distribute the force over the entire surface of the bumper. To remove a dent, you do not need to press too hard with your hands, as this can damage its coating.

Once recovery is complete, do not immediately remove your hands. You should hold the straightened surface for several minutes to fix it. new uniform.

But the restoration work is not finished yet. To remove a dent completely with your own hands, you need to heat the water again to a temperature of 35 degrees and pour it over the bumper. This procedure is carried out several times, and each time the temperature drops by 8 degrees. When the water temperature is 15 degrees, the bumper is left to dry in a cool and dry place. Here it should lie for 48 hours, after which it can be reinstalled in its place.

Repairing complex dents

It happens that deeper dents appear on the bumper than those left after contact with snowdrifts. The reasons for their occurrence can be different, ranging from children playing with a ball to road accidents. To level out such a dent, it is not at all necessary to contact specialists. All work can be done with your own hands.

There is an effective and simple method. To straighten a dent, you will need a powerful hair dryer, which heats the area around the damage for a couple of minutes. Next, the heated dent is sprayed with a can of compressed air until traces of frost from the liquefied air appear. Afterwards, you should wait for the frost to disappear and observe the surface straightening on its own. All that remains is to wipe the dent until a natural shine is formed.

So, you can always fix a dent that appears on the bumper with your own hands, which will save significant cash.

How to remove a dent on a bumper

We remove dents on bumpers ourselves.

It is very easy to damage a plastic car bumper. And the most annoying thing is that even the smallest dent spoils the appearance of the car and at first glance requires professional repair in a specialized auto repair shop. It is worth noting that even minor repairs to dents on the bumper in a car repair shop can require significant financial resources. Do you think it is possible to remove a dent on a bumper yourself?

Many car enthusiasts like to maintain their car themselves, as well as perform minor Maintenance of your vehicle. But, unfortunately, not many people can boast of knowing how to repair minor damage to both the front and rear bumpers without outside help.

Fortunately, there are ways to remove a dent without the help of specialists. But first, you need to determine whether the bumper can be restored independently. To do this, inspect the bumper for torn chips, cracks and similar defects. If the bumper has a crack and is generally badly damaged, then, unfortunately, you will not be able to restore it yourself. In this case, you need to seek professional help.

If, as a result of an accident, the car's bumper only has a small dent, then you can try to fix it. Before proceeding with the restoration, it is necessary to remove (if any) any remaining foreign paint or dirt from the bumper. To do this, use various paint removers. For example, nail polish remover (use carefully as you may damage paintwork car - for this, the cleaning process should be as short as possible in time). WD-40 cleaner can also help you remove dirt. Another old proven method for removing paint or dirt from a bumper is to use brake fluid, which, like nail polish remover, must be used as much as possible. a short time. Despite the precautions taken when removing paint, you can still slightly damage the layer of varnish applied to your bumper. In order to restore the shine to the damaged area, you need to polish it using special products that are sold in many car dealerships.

Unlike dents on iron body parts, repairing damage to the bumper is not particularly difficult. We offer you a proven method that we found on the Internet that will help remove a dent on the bumper.

In order to start removing a dent you need: rubber gloves, a kettle of boiling water and a large bottle (or pan) of cool water.

Removing a dent on the bumper

One of known methods removing dents with a hair dryer.

To remove a dent, you need to gradually start pouring boiling water from the kettle onto the damage.

Plastic is a flexible material and can easily change its shape when heated. As the hot water heats up the area where the bumper is damaged, the dent will decrease and subsequently disappear completely, and the bumper will return to its original appearance.

At the moment when the dent completely disappears, it is necessary to fill the defect area cold water so that the plastic cools down to temperature environment, which will lead to fixation of the bumper geometry.

Remember that the process of cooling the bumper after restoration is extremely necessary, because if this is not done or the damaged area is not cooled sufficiently, the dent may be restored.

Unfortunately, dents on bumpers are different and not all defects can be repaired so easily. Bumper damage often occurs in difficult areas. For example, on a bend or on the edge of a part. In such cases, using simple boiling water may not completely remove the dent. To do this, you need to crawl your hand from the inside of the bumper and press on the dent (you can use wooden block, if it is problematic to reach with your hand) after or during treatment of a complex damaged area with boiling water.

Other less quick way To remove a dent from a bumper, use a regular powerful hair dryer to dry your hair. But, as a rule, this method takes much longer (more than 20 minutes) and is not always effective.

But even after removing the dent with a hairdryer, you must cool the damaged area in order to fix the plastic in this position.

This way you can save several thousand rubles by using just a few liters of water to repair a dent on your car.

Welcome to the kuzov.info blog!

In this article I will tell you how to fix a dent on a bumper. Let's look at several ways to heat a bumper and the correct sequence for straightening a dent.

Pressing from the reverse side can be considered the easiest way to straighten a dent. However, for a plastic bumper, if you get to the back side or even remove it, it will be difficult to push out the dent due to the rigidity of the plastic. Extruding a dent on a plastic bumper is made easier by heating it. The rules given in this article will help you straighten a deformed bumper without causing additional damage. It is impossible to restore a bumper to new condition by simply pushing out the dent from the inside. Usually scratches and small creases remain, which require further puttying, priming and painting. However, if everything is done correctly, the bumper will look 90% better even without painting.

Preparing the bumper for repair

Wash and dry the damaged part of the bumper before repairing.
It is not always necessary to remove the entire bumper to fix a dent. You can remove the protection from below or loosen the fender liner to gain access to the back of the dent. Thus, it will be more convenient to press on the dent from the back side when the bumper is fixed.
Again, if the bumper is removed, it becomes possible to heat the back side of the bumper. This makes heating more even.

Bumper heating

To straighten a dent, you need to properly remove all the stress created by the deformation. This can be done by heating the plastic and applying the right amount of force. When heating a dent, you also need to heat 10–15 cm around it. By doing this, you relieve the tension in the area around the dent created by the impact.
For heating, you can use available means such as a hair dryer or boiling water. Other means that help to more evenly heat the entire deformation zone at the same time are exposure to an infrared lamp (drying), as well as dipping the damaged part into a bath of hot water. We will consider all these means below.
Consider the thickness of the plastic before applying heat to the dent. On some modern cars, the plastic is very thin and can easily overheat.
If the plastic is not hot enough, the deformation will not ease and, when straightened, will return. On the other hand, if you overheat the plastic, it will become much more difficult to repair. It will stretch unnecessarily when pressed. When plastic is overheated and on the verge of melting, strength and elasticity deteriorate as it cools. Therefore, it is important to heat the bumper to the correct temperature and not overdo it.

There are cases when stronger heating of the plastic is necessary in certain places. For example, to remove folds formed during deformation.
When using a hair dryer, you need to heat the bumper until the surface is hot when touched. The ideal temperature for heating the bumper is between 160–200 degrees. When heating the bumper, you need to hold the hair dryer nozzle close to the surface to control the heat, but no closer than 10 cm. Move the hair dryer evenly at a moderate speed to properly warm the plastic. Excessive heat may cause the paint to bubble. At this temperature, the plastic can change shape with moderate force. Don't forget that you need to heat not only the dent, but also the area around it. When using a hair dryer, use its highest setting. A hair dryer is best used on medium settings. If the dent is large, then you can use two hair dryers. It is better to have a second person help.
When using hot water to straighten a dent, you need to boil a full kettle or pan of water. Hot water will make the plastic more flexible. Such heating will not last long, so you need to do everything very quickly. You need to get to the other side and press. We will look at dent correction in more detail below.

If a dent has formed on the ribs of the bumper, then after heating you need to press directly on the ribs.

To straighten the dent, the bumper can be immersed in a bath of hot water (80–90 degrees Celsius) for several minutes. Part of the dent may return on its own, but the rest must be straightened by hand after removal from the bath. To remove any remaining deformation, you can apply local heat with a hairdryer set to the desired temperature.
Infrared drying can be used to heat the damaged area. Drying can be considered a less accessible heating method, but effective. It is used in body repair and car painting. Drying softens a large area, and the dent becomes pliable and all stress is relieved. No matter how deep the dent is, it will heat up evenly and return easily without significant effort. In addition, if the plastic is well heated, there is less chance of small cracks appearing in the paint after straightening.

How to fix a dent on a bumper?

When the desired temperature has been reached, you can begin squeezing out the dent. For large dents and small waves, a gloved hand works well. For sharper dents, creases, or to restore edges, a wooden block can be used. If you can’t get your hand through, use a long block with a rag wrapped around it.
The plastic cools down quite quickly, so you need to maintain the temperature to keep it pliable.
When straightening a dent, it is best to start from the outer part of the dent and work towards the deepest part. The deformation stress is concentrated at the edges. Relieving the tension will allow the deepest part of the dent to straighten out easily. If the area with stiffening ribs is deformed, then you need to press directly on these ribs.

Sometimes a shallow dent in a bumper can be straightened out by applying heat and then applying pressure to the raised areas formed along the edges of the dent. This way, you don't even need to push out the dent from the back side.

Straightening out a dent sometimes requires direct, steady pressure. In other cases, smoothing may be required. There is no need to be afraid to press with force, but if the plastic does not give in, then you need to heat this area some more.
Some dents are easier to fix than others. Sometimes several editing steps are required.
You can use a hairdryer to spot heat the remaining creases or holes.
Once you have straightened the dent to the desired shape, holding it from the back side, fix the result with a wet rag. It will cool the bumper and the shape will remain unchanged. The rag should be applied around the dent.
After straightening the dent, the bumper can be put back in place and the remaining defects can be polished, or a brush can be used to touch up scratches. Deeper scratches and uneven surfaces require puttying, priming and painting.

Sanding, puttying the bumper and preparing for painting

When sanding your bumper, don't be afraid to use coarse sandpaper (P80 or P60). This paper will remove paint and cut off small raised areas that are otherwise difficult to remove. Puttying and sanding with a finer abrasive will help get rid of rough scratches in the future. To slightly smooth out the lint that forms after sanding with coarse sandpaper, you can use a gas torch. You need to move the burner quickly so as not to overheat the plastic. You can read more about the technology of puttying a plastic bumper in the article “technology of puttying and painting plastic bumpers.”

3 ways to fix a dent on a bumper

The bumper suffers most often while the car is moving, since it is the first to be damaged when it hits an obstacle or an accident. That is why every car owner should know how to fix a dent on a bumper. Otherwise, he will have to completely change this expensive part, spending additional money and physical effort on it.

In addition, auto repair shops do not always undertake this work, since the design of modern bumpers is complex and, without experience working with products manufactured for cars of certain brands and models, it is very difficult to straighten a dent. That is why many car owners perform this procedure on their own, in their own garage, without involving professional auto repairmen.

Tools and materials

A dent in a plastic bumper can be easily repaired using the correct and quality tools. Moreover, when doing such work with your own hands, it is important that the product being repaired is carefully prepared in advance. As for the complexity of the tools needed to straighten a dent, in many cases you can use by simple means, which do not require investing a large amount of money.

To repair a plastic bumper, ridding it of dents, you need to prepare in advance following materials and tools:

hairdryer When selecting it, it is imperative to pay attention to its power, which is why it makes sense to give preference to construction and other industrial devices that can heat up even thick-walled products well;
boiling water. It is used for the same purposes as a hair dryer, and sometimes instead of it. Boiling water has a gentle effect on plastic products and that is why they sometimes replace an industrial hair dryer. You can prepare it using an ordinary household electric kettle. You can bring it to the work site and prepare boiling water as needed;
a screwdriver or other metal object with a blunt end;
economic or protective gloves. They are necessary to protect your hands from burns if they are accidentally exposed to hot air or boiling water;
magnet for straightening metal parts or elements.

Preparing for repairs

A dent on a bumper can be deep or shallow, with or without damage to the paint layer. That is why, before starting to repair it, you must first inspect the damaged area and decide whether it is possible to carry out the repair in principle. If the bumper has cracks or other significant damage, repairing it is impractical and it would be better to buy a new product to replace the broken one. If the bumper looks slightly dented, it is quite possible to straighten it yourself.

In addition to a visual inspection, before starting repair work, it is necessary to clean the surface of the bumper from old paint and dirt. Since plastic is a fragile material, you should not use metal objects and emery. It is best to use special paint and varnish removers. In any case, they should not be aggressive. If you don’t have anything at hand, take regular brake fluid, but it is advisable to quickly wash it off so that it does not damage the paintwork remaining on the bumper.

Dent removal algorithm

Repairing a dent on a plastic bumper is carried out in accordance with the following algorithm:

the part is dismantled in order to have equal access to both its outer and inner surfaces;
The dent area is thoroughly washed and dried, ensuring that its entire surface is dry and clean on both sides. Traces of rust, dirt, and fungus that could interfere with the normal course of the restoration process are strictly excluded;
align the bumper after preliminary preparation you need a hairdryer, gradually warming it up. The entire repaired area must be uniformly heated to a temperature at which the plastic bumper softens, but there is no need to bring it to the melting point and you should press on it carefully during the work process. If this rule is not followed, the bumper will have to be repainted;
warming the product with a hairdryer, or watering hot water, pull out the dent with gradual circular movements, pressing on it from the side. It would be great if this type of dent straightening is done using a blunt metal object.
After warming up the bumper, you should wait a few minutes before straightening the dent, since under the influence of degrees high temperature, he can begin to straighten himself out, returning to his previous state;
after the part has taken on the old or received a new shape, and the dent has been eliminated, the bumper needs to be cooled at the site of damage using a wet rag, as well as a can of compressed air.

Remember that heated plastic is easily deformed, so you can only straighten it evenly on all sides.

What to do with difficult dents

It is easy to straighten the bumper if it is plastic and does not have serious damage, but if it is metal, it will be more difficult to correct the situation. To do this, you need a magnet that is magnetized to the edge of the dent. After this, it is heated with boiling water, pouring it over the surface of the dent. Next, the magnet is pulled towards itself with force, gradually moving it towards the center of the dent. As a result, it should at some point straighten out, making a characteristic sound. In the same way, level and metal parts on a plastic bumper.

If deep dents appear on the plastic bumper, use the original method. To do this, take a powerful hair dryer and use it to heat the area around the damage. Next, the heated dent is cooled using a can of compressed air until frost appears on it. After the frost melts, the dent should disappear, since the plastic should “remember” the shape it previously had.

In the same case, when the dent is located next to a repaired chip or crack, you should not restore the bumper yourself. In this case, it makes sense to contact a specialized workshop that performs body work. Here you will have damage of any severity and complexity repaired, even if it is located in problem areas.

conclusions

The design of the bumpers of modern cars and technical properties materials used for their manufacture make it possible to perform most repair work on one's own. To do this, you need to be careful and careful not to use unnecessary physical force and damage the bumper. However, complex dents should be entrusted to the attention of professionals, since they may be located in inconvenient places, or their independent removal may lead to failure of this element of the car’s structure.

The process of removing a dent on a plastic bumper

Even experienced drivers sometimes cannot avoid damage to the bumper of their car.

Fixing a dent on a plastic bumper

Driving with a dented bumper is not very good, so the problem will have to be fixed. You can do this by contacting a car repair shop or doing the repairs yourself. If you chose the second option, you will find detailed information about your necessary actions below.

Preparatory stage

There are several ways to remove a dent from a plastic car bumper with your own hands. But before you start repairing, you need to understand whether independent restoration is possible in principle. Carry out a thorough inspection to identify any damage. If the crack is too large, and the bumper itself is severely damaged, repairing it yourself is out of the question - you will have to go to a car repair shop. But you can easily handle a small dent and a couple of chips on the plastic bumper on your own.

Dent on plastic bumper

Before starting repairs, you need to carry out preparatory work. Remove old paint and dirt on the bumper. For this you can use special means to remove paint. Failing that, even regular acetone-based nail polish remover will do. As a last resort, you can use brake fluid, but it must be washed off as quickly as possible so as not to damage the rest of the coating.

Dent removal process

To carry out repair work to remove dents from a plastic bumper with your own hands, you will need:

rubber or construction gloves to avoid damaging your hands;
electric kettle or saucepan with boiling water;
large container with cold water.

Removing dents with boiling water

To straighten the bumper, you can use a special hair dryer or simply boil water in an electric kettle. You can simply do this in your garage. The last method may seem dubious to you, but in practice many have already been convinced of its effectiveness. This is what we will look at in more detail.

Use hot water to pour hot water over the bumper in the area where the dent has formed. The manipulations will need to be repeated until it warms up thoroughly. If you use a hair dryer, be careful. In case of severe overheating, the plastic may begin to stretch, or the paintwork may come off. That's why hot water even more preferable for a beginner.

Plastic is malleable, so as it heats up, the dent will gradually shrink and eventually disappear completely. The bumper will return to its original shape without much effort.

As soon as the damage completely disappears, the area where the defect was should be immediately filled with cold water. This way, the plastic bumper will cool down and the resulting effect will be firmly attached to it. The cooling process is important point in the bumper alignment procedure. This is especially true if you have been driving for a long time with a damaged one. The “memory” of the plastic bumper may have had time to change, and if the result is not fixed, the dent may appear again.

Unfortunately, some dents form in hard-to-reach areas and are not that easy to reach. For example, if they are on the bend or edge of the bumper. In this case, to straighten the bumper, you will need to physically impact the dent. The procedure in this case will be as follows:

gradually heat the dent with outside;
take a blunt object (for example, a wooden block) and press in a circular motion on the inside of the dent to straighten the bumper;
if a dent has formed on the edge, then pull it out first;
Do not press in one place under any circumstances - a lump may form that will not be easy to remove.

If you use a hair dryer, it may take longer to restore the bumper. But this method does not always give a positive result. If you still managed to straighten the damaged area, do not forget about cooling with water. As a last resort, apply a wet rag to the former dent.

By the way, if the damage is minor, the bumper can even “heal itself.” Try leaving it under straight lines on a hot summer day sun rays. They will thoroughly warm up the plastic bumper, and the deformation will disappear. If this option does not help you, then you will have to heat it yourself.

Of course, it all depends on the type of plastic. If he belongs to the soft category, then the method given above will suit him perfectly. But with hard plastic things are a little more complicated. It bends with difficulty, so you will have to heat it almost to the melting point and press very hard.

ABS plastic deserves special mention. It heats up too quickly, so you need to be careful not to overheat. Otherwise, it will simply lose its shape, and it will be very difficult to restore the bumper.

Removing a dent from a bumper

As you can see, with such simple manipulations you can not only restore your car to its original appearance, but also save a significant amount of money. Just a few liters of water - and the bumper will be almost like new!

Aligning the plastic bumper is not the best hard work and can be performed by any car enthusiast in his garage. Here, of course, a lot depends on the size of the dent, the shape of the bumper and what plastic it is made of. For repairs, you will need a hair dryer and a blunt object (something like a screwdriver handle). I also recommend using regular (not rubberized) gloves, otherwise you will be guaranteed burns if you are not used to them.

Now, in order. Before repairing, the bumper must be washed thoroughly and removed from the car. We gradually heat the dent from the outside so that the plastic does not begin to melt. Then, from the inside, using a blunt object in a circular motion, we gradually begin to squeeze the dent outward from the edges to the center. If there is a rib on the bumper, then first pull it out. You cannot press with force in one place, because you will stretch the plastic and create a lump that will no longer be easy to remove. If the paint on the bumper was not damaged and you did everything correctly, then you most likely will not need to repaint it. Of course, each plastic behaves differently when heated; some dents will immediately straighten out on their own, while others will require some tinkering.

Plastics also have a so-called memory of their shape, but if you drove with a dent on the bumper for a long time(especially after a hot summer), then this memory will change into a dent. And then 5-10 minutes after you level the bumper, the dent may appear again. In such cases, the area that you have leveled should immediately be cooled with a wet cloth.

The above method is suitable for bumpers made from soft plastics(PP, PP-EPDM, EMPP, PP-PE, PE, HDPE, PE-EPDM and so on). Hard plastics (PC-PBT, PA-ABS) are more difficult to level. They bend very rarely, mainly if the bumper is very hot in the sun, in other cases they simply break. To level such plastic, you need to heat it almost to the melting point and press with great force.

Separately, I would like to say about plastic such as ABS. It heats up very quickly and if you overheat it a little it immediately becomes soft and loses its shape. It will be very difficult to restore such a product later.

One of the common situations, especially in the winter season, is the appearance of dents on the car bumper. They arise in the process of “collision” with snowdrifts. Even a small interaction like this can result in a decent amount of money that you will have to pay at a car service for its restoration. But it’s easy to straighten a plastic bumper with your own hands. You need to purchase the necessary tools and become familiar with the stages of the work.

Tools

Removing a bumper dent is done using the following tools:

electric kettle;
small magnet;
construction hair dryer;
thermometer.

In addition to the tools, you should prepare the place where you will straighten the bumper yourself. It is advisable to carry out work in a garage or box where the temperature is maintained at 20-30 °C.

Surface preparation

Before straightening the bumper, you need to find out exactly what it is made of.

If the bumper material cannot be heated, then squeezing out the defect with your own hands will be problematic, and in this case it is better to seek help from body repair professionals.

For example, you should not heat an existing welded seam on a bumper, nor should you heat a fiberglass part.

To remove a dent, you must first remove the bumper and use a hair dryer to slightly warm the surface. At the same time, the water in the kettle is heated to a temperature of 40 degrees. Heated water is poured over not only the defect itself, but also an area with a radius of 20 cm around it. Then you need to heat the water again to a temperature of 50 degrees and repeat the procedure.

Straightening

From the inside, we gently press the dent with our hands to straighten it to its previous position. This way you can help the magnet and simultaneously distribute the force over the entire surface of the bumper. To remove a dent, you do not need to press too hard with your hands, as this can damage its coating.

Once recovery is complete, do not immediately remove your hands. You should hold the straightened surface for a few minutes to secure the new shape.

Repairing complex dents

So, you can always fix a dent that appears on the bumper with your own hands, which will save significant money.

Trouble in the form of dents is a common problem among car owners. This is not always the result of an accident. Sometimes spoil appearance Even hooligans can wield an iron horse, but it is not always possible to find the culprits and compensate for the damage. In this case, this is exactly how the bumper of a 2006 Nissan Titan was damaged. Since the dent was not too large, and the bumper itself was plastic, it was decided to fix this problem with our own hands.

Materials

Before removing a dent on a plastic bumper, prepare:

heat gun;
screwdriver;
round nose pliers;
small adjustable wrench.

Step 1. First, check whether you will need to remove the bumper or whether you can cope with the task of straightening the dent without this action. To do this, you need to turn all the wheels of the car in one direction and pass your hand behind the bumper. If you managed to get to the back of the dent, then the bumper does not need to be removed. If this turns out to be problematic, prepare all the tools for the job.

Step 2. For this car, removing the bumper was quite easy. It was necessary to stretch the plastic tabs and remove three bolts. True, we had to work very carefully, since the tabs turned out to be fragile. On a Nissan, in order to completely remove the bumper, you must first remove the grille and headlight. To do this, the fasteners of these parts were removed and the wires were disconnected.

Step 3. Place the bumper on the floor or other work surface. Turn the back of it towards you and turn on the heat gun, setting it to its highest setting. Place the tool at a distance of about 20 cm from the surface of the bumper. This is necessary so that the plastic does not melt during operation. For the same reason it's not worth it hot air point at one point, slowly move the gun along the surface of the bumper in the area of the dent.

Step 4. As soon as the plastic has warmed up well, and 3 to 5 minutes of exposure will be enough for this, carefully use the head of a screwdriver to press the dent in the opposite direction. You will not be able to completely remove the dent in one such manipulation. You will simply reduce its depth. To level the surface of the bumper as much as possible, you will need to heat its surface and push the plastic forward again 3–4 times. In this case, it was possible to achieve 95% removal of the dent.

Step 5. On the Nissan, in addition to the bumper, the headlight was also hit, which became clear when disassembling the car. A small crack appeared on its plastic body, but the issue was easily resolved with the help of superglue. The latter was applied to the damaged area in several layers.

The bumpers of modern cars are made mainly of plastic; they are damaged in a minor accident and are not hit by an obstacle.

Various car services repair body parts, some of them specialize in this type restoration work. In order to save money, some car owners repair plastic bumpers with their own hands. What features there are when independently restoring these body elements will be discussed in the article.

As you know, there are front and rear bumpers, and the front bumper (PB) is damaged much more often than the rear bumper (RB). The PB needs repair if:

the paintwork is damaged;
there are scratches on the plastic element;
Cracks have formed in the bumper due to a collision with an obstacle or a minor accident.

If the front or rear of the car was hit hard, the bumper most likely cannot be repaired. But specialized car repair shops often take on the task of repairing a badly damaged plastic bumper. The whole question is whether restoration is worth the money; in some cases it is easier and cheaper to buy a new part.

The cost of repairing a PB or SB can be different; it depends on the level of car service, the degree of damage to the part, and the complexity of restoration. For example, in Moscow, restoration of a bumper can cost from 2,500 rubles, and painting one element will also cost from 5,000 rubles. There are auto repair centers that promise to repair a bumper for 500 rubles and complete the repair within one or two hours. There is no point in relying on advertising; most likely, car owners are being deceived, or the repairs are performed here poorly.

Restoring a plastic bumper

Repair of the front or rear bumper varies in complexity; there are main types of work that are carried out on body elements:

sealing cracks;
restoration of plastic fragments;
dent repair;
preparation for painting (cleaning, sanding);
primer;
painting;
restoration, repair of fasteners.

Restoring a plastic bumper requires care and precision, sufficient experience, and only a qualified craftsman can perform the job efficiently.

Repairing the bumper becomes profitable if the bumper itself is rare, installed on an expensive car, on which the car owner does not want to install a cheap “non-original”. There are also tuning bumpers - they are expensive, and the industry does not produce non-original spare parts of this kind.

If the car is budget, and the owner of the car is “hands-on,” you can try to repair the PB yourself. Much depends on the degree of damage; you can restore a slightly damaged body part with your own hands. Repairing a front bumper (with a crack) is carried out by removing the body part from the car, and to seal the crack you need to connect the edges of the damaged area - make a reliable lock.

There are special repair kits on sale, for example, from 3M. The FPRM kit includes:

two components of epoxy material (glue);
reinforcing mesh;
special tape.

Prepare the bumper for gluing as follows:

Wash the damaged area to be repaired thoroughly with soapy water and allow the plastic time to dry thoroughly;
We sand the area to be repaired and remove the paint coating from it. We clean the paint so that the area freed from it can be pasted with tape;
We grind the edges of the crack at an angle of 45 degrees; they should be in the form of wedges. We process the surface first from the inside and then from the outside; for this we use a grinder with a cleaning disk;
clean the treated surface with 3M 08985, wait for the degreaser to completely evaporate;
stick the tape on the outside of the area to be glued;
We fix the reinforcing mesh on the inside;
mix the epoxy components in a one to one ratio;
Apply the prepared composition to the reinforcing mesh with a spatula, push it inward, it should seal the crack;
heat the crack with infrared drying (6-8 minutes). If special device no for drying, let the glue dry at room temperature approximately 30 minutes;
remove the tape, degrease, treat the front part with an adhesion activator;
prepare the composition for the front side;
apply glue to the outside of the crack;

Let the parts dry again;
treat the dried surface abrasive wheels, first with a coarser abrasive (180), then with fine “sandpaper” (240, at the end of processing - 400);
we blow the repaired area with compressed air, clean it with the composition from the 3M 08985 kit, and wipe it with a dry cloth. Now the bumper is ready for painting.

Damage to the bumper can be different - in one case it is just a crack, in another, pieces of plastic fly off upon impact. To seal a plastic element, you will need:

construction hair dryer;
angle grinder;
pliers;
screwdriver;
soldering iron;
sandpaper;
spatulas.

The soldering iron must be powerful enough, preferably at least 100 watts.

If pieces of the bumper break off and are lost, we first modify the damaged areas and give them a rectangular or triangular shape.

We carry out the work in the following order:

If you need to solder pieces of missing plastic to the bumper, it is advisable to take plastic of the same type; the markings are usually indicated on the inside of the plastic parts.

To solder the missing pieces into the bumper, proceed as follows:

If you cannot cut the required piece exactly to size, you can cut off the plastic with a margin and solder it on the inside of the bumper. But this option is worse, since when soldering from the front part, a hole is formed around the patch.

The surface can be leveled in two ways:

melt everything on the outside with plastic;
Apply a layer of putty to the surface, then treat it.

After soldering and applying putty, we treat the surface, prime the bumper and paint.