How to remove dent from plastic bumper?

[Ron C]

Hello,

I have a plastic bumper off Honda Accord. Has a baseball size dent pushed in over an inch deep- probably from trailer hitch or something backed into it.

What is best way to get the dent out- heat gun?? Also- is there filler made especially for plastic repair versus filler such as Rage for metal?

I have pounded on back side with rubber mallet with no effect- have not tried pounding on it with body hammer yet thinking I may do more damage than good.

Best someone who knows tell me the right way- then I will go at it. Will much appreciate any help.

Ron C

PS- Great site and forum!!

[vadimb]

You can boil some water, a gallon for example, and slowly pour it on the dent, usually the dents come out this way, or you can use a heat gun.
Good luck

[Serge]

A heat gun, don't burn it though. When it's hot you can generally massage it back into some shape but it's difficult to do when the thing is very distorted. I use polyflex on bumpers, it's a flexible filler made by evercoat, Len sells it here. It's good for small imperfections...

[340 man]

One thing to add the Serge`s post, when its hot try using a screwdriver handle or a hammer handle to push it back out after using the heat gun it will be hot. You may have to do it a couple of times to see some results. Then give it a coat of polyflex an you should have it.

[wolfsautobody]

If using the heat gun you can also pour cool water on it to get it to shrinkback in a little while you are pushing from the back with a screwdriver or something (just NOT your bare hand!!!) because the bumper can get PRETTY hot real quick. (not gonna say how I found that out... LOL Pouring the water on it is pretty much like putting a damp rag on sheet metal when trying to shrink it back.

Never tried the boiling water. Of course I don't have a stove in my shop either. But if you use the boiling water you wouldn't run the risk of catching the paint on fire, which you can do if you are not careful with the heat gun. And you could still have a bucket of cool water to shrink it back after using the boiling water.

Ben

[PDR tech]

The most effective way I've found to remove the dents in the plastic bumpers is a three step process...

First, I use a curing lamp (that mobile painters use) to heat the damage and surrounding area. The heat from the lamp softens a large enough area for pushing the bulk of the damage out. When you heat a larger area, it allows more of the pressure and crowning to dissipate as it softens the plastic. With the larger surface area heated and pliable, there is less pressure required to move large or deep damage. Before you push, evaluate the shape of the dent to try to determine where the bulk of the pressure is being held. This should be your first push once the temperature is appropriate. With the painted surface properly heated, the paint has less chance of "spidering" due to its pliability.

Second, I use a heat gun for directed heat on remaining crowns and lows and work each part of the deformation just like a normal (metal) dent. The most important part of this is to partially quench each area as you work the deformations out. I use a block of aluminum that I have made into a dolly. The aluminum dissipates the heat quickly, but only enough to "pin" the repair into place. (The dolly also comes in useful as a prying instrument on larger, flatter deformations.)

You can get close to the same cooling effect by keeping a damp cloth nearby and lightly water quenching the specific area you work. The problem with using the damp cloth is the possibility of damaging the paint while it is hot. If the surface is really hot the cloth will leave an impression of its texture on the paint surface. The best way to quench with the rag is to work from the back of the panel.

Lastly, Let the area start to cool. Once the paint is cool enough to not be damaged, a full water quench on the entire surface will stabilize the plastic and solidify the repair.

[Ron C]

Thanks All!!

Heat gun on the back side of bumper did the trick. Used the poly flex filler as well. Bumper now done- including repaint.

Thanks for the great help!!

Ron C

[Marcia]

I read the responses to fixing a dent in your plastic bumper and tried the hairdryer to the dent one. It worked beautifully. My husband then pushed out the dent. Looks almost good as new.
Thank you !!

[vipond]

I too use evercoat poly-flex for bumper repair. A ouple years ago I discovered that evecoat makes a single stage flexible spot putty. Looks a lot like 3m,s lacquer putty. Nobody uses lacquer putty any more but I thought if evercoat makes it is must be somewhat good. I,ve had good luck with it , put a dibby dab on your finger to finish up minor things. Too bad somebody don.t come up with something better than the old lacquer putty tghat you could use out of a tube vipond

[mantis10]

I actually had the same problem. I own a '90 Nissan Primera P10. I recently bought a rear T.E bumper for it and it a dent on the top.

All I did was clamp a board to the top of it and heated the bottom of the dent with a hair dryer. Then I used a wet rag to cool. It took about 15 - 30 mins to get a satisfying result.

Hope this helps!

[showcar]

always good to use a wet rag to hold it's molecules to lock it back into the original mold. The way to tell if it's heated enough is if it's hot to the touch on the backside, and obviously before the paint bubbles.

[style]

You can boil some water, a gallon for example, and slowly pour it on the dent, usually the dents come out this way, or you can use a heat gun.
Good luck

ive used boiling water to threaten misbehaving children but never to fix a bumper,guess ill have to try this one ...

anyone else ever try this?

[style]

always good to use a wet rag to hold it's molecules to lock it back into the original mold. The way to tell if it's heated enough is if it's hot to the touch on the backside, and obviously before the paint bubbles.

oh yea the molecules,what was i thinking...

[docuwindows]

Bumper Repair Did it work. I just want to remove a shallow line for touching corner of garage. 1/16 inch deep and 2 inches long,

Hello,

I have a plastic bumper off Honda Accord. Has a baseball size dent pushed in over an inch deep- probably from trailer hitch or something backed into it.

What is best way to get the dent out- heat gun?? Also- is there filler made especially for plastic repair versus filler such as Rage for metal?

I have pounded on back side with rubber mallet with no effect- have not tried pounding on it with body hammer yet thinking I may do more damage than good.

Best someone who knows tell me the right way- then I will go at it. Will much appreciate any help.

Ron C

PS- Great site and forum!!

[Len]

Bumper Repair Did it work. I just want to remove a shallow line for touching corner of garage. 1/16 inch deep and 2 inches long,

If the paint is damaged you'll probably need to sand it smooth then repaint. If there is a depression you may be able to just heat the bumper and push it out by pressing on the back side. In many cases plastic bumpers need both straightening and painting after they are damaged.