DIY bumper fasteners repair

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of bumper fasteners from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Every car owner can face the problem of a torn bumper mount. This can happen not only as a result of an accident, but also during aggressive operation of the car, frequent driving on bad roads, etc.

You should not rush to buy a new bumper immediately after detecting a faulty attachment, just as you should not go to a service center if you know at least a little about the hardware. Do your best and save a decent amount of money by doing your DIY repairs.

Image - DIY bumper fasteners repairMaterials and tools required for work

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Before starting work, you should prepare everything that may be needed to remove the bumper and carry out repair work on its fasteners.

Make sure you have at hand:

  • new mount (be sure to be sold with a complete set of mounts: 2 rear / front and 2 side);
  • long hex key for "6" (different car models may require the use of a key of a different size);
  • crosshead screwdriver;
  • 1-2 keys for "13";
  • lanterns;
  • electric drill and drills (3 and 5/6/7 mm) (if you decide to make the mount yourself).

To start repairs, you need to remove the bumper.

  • remove the radiator grill (for some car models - assess the need for this action on your own);
  • where the holes for the towing cable are made in the bumper, find the heads of the mounting bolts with a hexagon and unscrew them;
  • make sure that the protection of the arches is not bolted to the bumper (if so, unscrew them too);
  • carefully "lift" the part from the latches on the fenders and remove it.
  • carefully dismantle the rear light (assess the relevance of this action on your own);
  • some car owners will have to remove the rear wheels (do not forget to put the car in a stable position on jacks or stands);
  • under the lantern, as a rule, there are two bumper latches that must be released;
  • those fasteners that remain intact should be removed by unscrewing the plastic screws;
  • only after releasing all the fasteners can the bumper be removed (in some car models this is not required at all, since the clearance obtained when removing the wheels and taillights is quite enough to do the work with your own hands).
Video (click to play).

Image - DIY bumper fasteners repairTo remove the rear bumper:

Sometimes, instead of bolts, fasteners are held on by rivets. They must be carefully drilled out and removed by hand.

Prepare new bumper mounts or make them yourself.

To do this, cut out a rectangle of the required size from a metal sheet, mark and drill holes on it for fastening bolts. Experts advise using this method only in extreme cases, when it is impossible to purchase a suitable set of mounts in the nearest auto parts stores.

Attention: it is not necessary to buy mounts designed for your car brand. You can pick up any suitable options from other models (today, many foreign cars have identical, interchangeable options).

Begin installing the new mounting tab. Secure it with self-tapping screws and check its reliability (DIY repair will be much more effective if you control every important step). Next, install the rivets in place. That's it, the repair of the bumper attachment can be considered complete.

Now the most tedious process of the whole repair begins: installing the bumper back.

Any repair requires competent completion. If you got down to business with your own hands, try to complete it 100%.

In order not to break off the bumper to the wing again (which is very easy), it is better to ask a friend for help. Tighten the bolts lightly by hand and try on the bumper. If everything is in order and the repair was successful enough for the bumper to immediately fall into place, just gently push on it. After all the clips snap into place, start screwing on all the parts that you had to remove for the repair (headlights, radiator grill, taillights, wheels).

Don't forget to replace the plastic screws!

At this stage, do-it-yourself bumper repair can be considered complete. Be attentive and follow our recommendations to get a high result of your work.

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Bumpers of modern cars are made mainly of plastic, they are damaged in a minor accident and collision is not an obstacle. Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

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

  • the paintwork is damaged;
  • scratches appear on the plastic element;
  • bumper cracks have formed as a result of a collision with an obstacle or a minor accident.

If the impact to the front or rear of the car is severe, the bumper is most likely beyond repair. But in specialized car services, they often undertake the repair of a badly broken plastic bumper. The whole question is whether the 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 ST can be different, it depends on the level of the car service, the degree of damage to the part, the complexity of restoration. For example, in Moscow, the restoration of a bumper can cost from 2,500 rubles, and painting of one element will also cost from 5,000 rubles. There are auto repair shops that promise to repair the bumper from 500 rubles, to carry out repairs within one or two hours. Advertising is not worth it, most likely, car owners are deceived, or the repairs are performed here of poor quality.Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

Repair of a front or rear bumper can be of varying complexity, there are main types of work that are carried out with body elements:

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

Restoring a plastic bumper requires care and accuracy, sufficient experience, and only a qualified master can do the job with high quality.

Repair of the PB 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 budgetary, and the owner of the car is "with hands", you can try to repair the PB yourself. Much depends on the degree of damage; you can also restore a slightly damaged body part with your own hands. Repair of the front bumper (with a crack) is carried out with the removal of 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. Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

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.

We prepare the bumper for gluing as follows:

  • the damaged area to be repaired is thoroughly washed with soapy water, we give time to the plastic to dry thoroughly;
  • we grind the repaired area, remove the paintwork from it. We clean the paint so that adhesive tape can be glued to the area freed from it;
  • 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 disc;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • we clean the treated surface with the composition 3M 08985, wait for the complete evaporation of the degreaser;
  • we glue the scotch tape on the outside of the glued area;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • on the inside, we fix the reinforcing mesh;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • mix the epoxy components in a one-to-one ratio;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • apply the prepared composition on the reinforcing mesh, with a spatula, push it inward, it must close the crack;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • heat the crack with infrared drying (6-8 minutes). If there is no special drying device, let the glue dry at room temperature for about 30 minutes;
  • remove the tape, degrease, process the front part with an adhesion activator;
  • we prepare the composition for the front side;
  • apply glue on the outside of the crack;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • let the parts dry again;
  • we process the dried surface with abrasive wheels, first with a coarser abrasive (180), then with fine "sandpaper" (240, at the end of processing - 400);
  • blow through the repaired area with compressed air, clean it with a compound from the set 3M 08985, wipe it with a dry cloth. The bumper is now ready for painting.

Damage to the bumper can be different - in one case it is just a crack, in the other, pieces of plastic fly off on 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 the pieces of the bumper are broken off and lost, initially we modify the damaged areas, give them a rectangular or triangular shape.Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

We carry out the work in the following order:

  • from the inside and outside around the damage, we process the entire surface with a cleaning wheel - we clean off the paint;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • we remove all cracks in the paint to the base (to plastic);
  • we prepare a nozzle for a hair dryer, it is needed so that hot air can be directed to the damaged area;
  • we join the torn seam, melt and solder the pieces with a soldering iron. We grab the plastic with a soldering iron in several places - it is also necessary for the plastic to become homogeneous;
  • we put on the nozzle on the hair dryer, with a hairdryer we evenly warm the plastic on both sides. It is important to keep an eye on the hair dryer, with a narrow nozzle it can overheat,Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • after warming up, align the edges of the plastic;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • we solder the seam with a soldering iron thoroughly.

If you need to solder pieces of missing plastic to the bumper, it is advisable to take plastic of the same type, the marking is usually indicated on the inside of the plastic parts.Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

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

  • we take paper, apply it to the bumper, draw a circle around the damaged contour;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • we transfer the drawing from paper to plastic, cut out the necessary piece;
  • install the cut-out piece in the bumper flush, solder along the edges with a soldering iron;Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair
  • So that the piece to be soldered does not move, we first grab it with a soldering iron from all sides.

If you cannot cut the desired piece to the exact 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 dimple is formed around the patch.Image - DIY bumper fasteners repair

The surface can be leveled in two ways:

  • melt everything outside with plastic;
  • apply a layer of putty to the surface, then process it.

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