Bumper repair

[cab]

Some bright spark has kissed my P&J with their car (fine end to a crappy day). There is a very slight hair line crack abt 3-4 inches running horizontally across the bumper (i would say there is a couple of mm's of indent). Its not too severe but im not keen leaving the scar as it is - is it possible to fix something like this or is it a case of buying a new bumper

Any views on
a. processes/cost associated with fixing
b. cost of a new bumper (boxster)

Will obviously get the structure beneath the bumper checked out

Many thanks in advance!

[bermyandy]

similar to mine

Was told its not cracks to the paint, but to the actual bumper itself - was therefore quoted £2k for new bumper and front end re-spray

Not yet really looked into other quotes as to be honest, its the front of the car and thats covered in stone chips anyway

[cab]

worst case im sure I can pick up a '2nd hand bumper' - sure i saw something abt a few body shops repairing these sort of things...

[guyvert1]

not thread nicking, but what sort of cost do people pay for front bumper resprays on 996's ?

[cab]

anybody

[BliarOut]

Can you post a piccie of the damage?

[runner911]

Shortly after purchasing my GT3 I "kerbed" the nearside of the front PU resulting in a 4 inch crack and major scuffing/paint removal.. The body repair shop I use ( near Hayle in Cornwall) removed the PU, "plastic welded " ( whatever that is ) the crack , prepared, resprayed and refitted the PU , all for £200.
First class job.
There was never any suggestion of needing a replacement part .
If someone can explain how , I'll post a photo to show the extent of the damage.

Edited by runner911 on Wednesday 17th January 09:06

[tjdixon911]

Is this the Front Bumper or Rear Bumper? Sorry if I missed this!

I paid around £800 for the rear bumper on my Boxster from Cambridge OPC, I did claim it off the other guys insurance although it took a while! Basically he reversed into me while parked and put a slight crack and indent to the bumper so had to have a new one!

After the accident my suspension was knocking also which I still feel was down to the knock (I was parked with my handbrake on). Porsche said it was uncommon for the shocks to go at the mileage/age of my car and that it was too much of a coincedence (sp?) but my claim failed for them and ended up paying the £800 ish again for new rear suspension. Maybe worth checking your suspension also...

[cab]

tjdixon911 said:

Is this the Front Bumper or Rear Bumper? Sorry if I missed this!

front bumper - little gutted as there are are no stone chips .. not bad for a car made in 2002 (was sold back to a OPC abt two years ago so i assum they tarted it up)!

Sure i had heard of plastic welding or something similar - will google it

will get a pic loaded during the weekend

thanks

Edited by cab on Wednesday 17th January 22:35

[slippydiff]

Plastic welding should be an ideal way of repairing your bumper.
It normally entails heating the bumper up to get it back to its original shape (if it's been that badly damaged)

The crack would then be ground out to allow for the welding/filler rod to both fill the crack caused by the impact and to replace the material ground away, thus allowing plenty of plastic to be fused to the existing material forming a strong reliable repair.

The welding gun is normally a hot air gun which has a V shaped nozzle which guides the hot air into a concentrated stream (this stream of hot air melts the bumper) into the side of this stream is the other branch of the V and into this the plastic welding/ filler rod is introduced.

Care needs to be taken in establishing exactly what material the bumper is formed out of to enable the correct plastic filler rod to be chosen for the repair.

A typical plastic welding gun looks like this : -

www.plasticweldingequipment.co.uk/product.php?productid=16141&cat=0&page=1 (the V shaped nozzles can be seen at in the picture)

Edited by slippydiff on Wednesday 17th January 23:15

[cab]

Knew someone would know thge answer

One last question - ball park figure for the cost (assume i would need to respray)??

Thanks

[london gt3]

There is a place right next to the BR station in Hitchin (Herts) that I used a few years back to repair and repaint a broken plastic bumper. That was all they specialised in and the finished job was excellent. Let me know if you want the name and number and I will check it out for you.

Howard

[cab]

If you could let me know the number that would be great (i have an office in hemel so wouldn t be too much of an arse to get there)..

Did you trust them with your porker??

Thanks in advance

[cableguy]

Another vote for Plastic Welding

I can thoroughly recommend www.directfinish.com however unfortunately based in the North. Give David Furness a call (no. on website) as he may be able to put you in touch with someone a little more local.

C.