thecorsaal
Member
Registered: 27th May 06
Location: Tyne and Wear
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after some advice smoothing a post 97 front (numberplate recess & swage lines), im pretty handy so decided to have a go myself, its a full plastic bumper at the minute, where do i start?
cheers
alan
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andyc1234
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Registered: 7th Nov 06
Location: Lancashire
User status: Offline
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i want rid of the lines in my bumpers. was thinking about expanding foam and then a skim of filler over the top. the numper plate recess is quite a big gap and you need to get the shape right so your probably best of using fibreglass to build it up a bit first. im no expert so dont go picking at me but im gonna have a bash at it aswell .
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Dean B
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Registered: 23rd Aug 06
Location: Lincolnshire
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To do a number plate recess im pretty sure it needs to be plastic welded.
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andyc1234
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Registered: 7th Nov 06
Location: Lancashire
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alan do you have carbon door things round the speaker not sure what its called if so
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thecorsaal
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Registered: 27th May 06
Location: Tyne and Wear
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yeah the door pods are carbon fibre effect, not the real deal like
i can plastic weld but ive been told theres a compound i should use instead? to get a more solid finish?
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SAL
Premium Member
Registered: 19th Dec 05
Location: Radlett, Hertfordshire
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expanding foam  NO!
can you get your hans on a plastic welder ? if so then weld some plastic rods into the swage line, as for the number plate recess you will need some spare plstic ie from a waste bumper, make sure its the same plastic ! else it wont weld...
make a template with cardbord and then weld in the shape
use a plstic filler to finish
only do small layers at a time and try to push out any air bubbles etc
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thecorsaal
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Registered: 27th May 06
Location: Tyne and Wear
User status: Offline
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any more ideas on this peeps?
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STEvieXE
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Registered: 21st Jan 03
Location: Ballymena N.I.
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stavs has covered it all really...
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thecorsaal
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Registered: 27th May 06
Location: Tyne and Wear
User status: Offline
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i know of the plastic weld way already, i was wanting more info on the plastic compound, i cant get hold of the guy who mentioned it to ask him but he said that plastic welding will warp the bumper unless your very experienced (im not great tbh) but you can use a filler type compound thats made to bond to plastic, for the majority of the work then use fglass and bodge to get the smooth finish
ideas anyone?
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willhouse
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Registered: 11th Jul 06
Location: Sheffield
User status: Offline
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right, you can smooth it off using fibreglass resin and matting,
you need to drill numerous holes in the swage line on the bumper and then using fibreglass resin and matting fill the swage line making sure the resin comes through the holes and laps over the back of the bumper to stop the fibreglass cracking out, you may want to put a bit of matting on the back too.
as with the numberplate recess, do something similar with making a key for the fibreglass with holes but you will probably need something to pack the recess out a bit, like some plastic, then build it all up and smooth down with plastic filler, or another appropriate filler.
This is a tried and tested method by the dub boys on edition 38 and numerous other forums.
Hope this helps
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thecorsaal
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Registered: 27th May 06
Location: Tyne and Wear
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cheers mate big help
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STEvieXE
Member
Registered: 21st Jan 03
Location: Ballymena N.I.
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f/glass way is rubbish
plastic compound type stuff will sink. i done the fuel cap finger flap with it before and it sunk...
get it plastic welded, the only way to it properly
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Geordie-Chris
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Registered: 10th Nov 06
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
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i plastic welded the swage lines like stavs said and used plastic of another pre 97 bumper and plastic welded it in place and put a layer of fibreglass over the top and i think mine came out great
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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I did Fad's bumper with P40. The only reason why it cracks is because people either driver thier car into solid objects or when people decide to put the stuff onto un-keyed freshly waxed paint.
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STEvieXE
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Registered: 21st Jan 03
Location: Ballymena N.I.
User status: Offline
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i done both my bumpers of my white corsa with p40 and yeah i have to admit its ok, do the job but its not the best way to do it. thats my point.
p40 is ok for filling the gap etc wont crack. needs to be keyed with a soft pad grinder
my corsa never cracked in a couple of years done with f/glass.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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I don't really see why people rave on about plastic welding too. Unless the plastics composition is identical to the bumper then you are effectively doing the same as filling it with P40 - it's not like welding metal where you can fuse one piece of steel with another by intensely heating it...
So in summery, just like anything and everything in bodywork. Put them time in prepping before you start and your work will last a very long time!
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LeHam
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Registered: 17th May 06
Location: Rothwell, Northants
User status: Offline
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Have been considering doing this too. Which donor bumper can be used to fill the gap though?
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SAL
Premium Member
Registered: 19th Dec 05
Location: Radlett, Hertfordshire
User status: Offline
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so ed in the proffesional world of car body repair who is the profesional the bodyshop that lashis the car up with filla or weld the bumper properly so its back in its original shape  didnt midas lash your car up with filla's ? they done the same to mine! so i learned the hard way buy paying the proffesional, now look at my car its faultess ! i will personally weld a bumper and you can smooth a bumper with your filla and we can see what lasts longer when we throw them of a roof for eg ? i will put money on my bumper comming through fine and i will watch the filla fall out of yours ! nothing personal but imo
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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They didn't do the prep work properly. The arches weren't bonded on so they were weak. I did my arches with fibreglass now and they are so strong you could probably jack the car up on them.
I don't think you quite understand my point either. You are either melting in plastic or you are using chemicly hardening plastic. You aren't welding in the same sense as welding steel or similar when you use plastic weld to fill.
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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The main issue with the Midas work was the paint anyway.
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