Advice for repairing / replacing bumper

[BlackSTI]

Hi,

A long time ago my old liberty had a little incident with a concrete pole (FYI the pole won).

I'm just wondering thoughts on if I should try and get it repaired at a smash repairers or just go and get a bran new one.

I have got some rough prices... $600 to get it repaired, $850 for a new one... does this sound reasonable at all?

How hard would it be to try and repair myself and get it painted professionally?

Thanks.

[Jarrod]

Professionally that would take around 1.5-2 hours to remove and repair before painting.

1.You could take it off and warm the plastic up with a heat gun (gentle heat) until it is plyable to move around (Not with your hands )
2.Push the dint out with an object with a rounded edge to get the bumpers shape as close to original as possible.
3.Sand down the area and fill in remaining divits with auto bog.
4.Sand down bog until the shape is like the original.
5.Prime.
6.Paint and refit.

Its a bit of work to do yourself and can require some skill. It is very easy to overheat, over remould the bumper. $600 to repair and paint is a good price. Pretty much in line what we would charge to repair and paint a silver bumper. (Silvers are harder to paint than most colours).

Cheers
Jarrod

[05GTLIB]

Hey mate maybe try getting another quote, i had my bumper repaired a few months back (i reversed into a trailer ) and the total cost for repairs came to $350, my damage wasn't quite as bad as yours though they still had to remove my bumper, fix it and respray the whole thing, see pic, but yeh your quote seems quite high.

[BlackSTI]

Professionally that would take around 1.5-2 hours to remove and repair before painting.

1.You could take it off and warm the plastic up with a heat gun (gentle heat) until it is plyable to move around (Not with your hands )
2.Push the dint out with an object with a rounded edge to get the bumpers shape as close to original as possible.
3.Sand down the area and fill in remaining divits with auto bog.
4.Sand down bog until the shape is like the original.
5.Prime.
6.Paint and refit.

Its a bit of work to do yourself and can require some skill. It is very easy to overheat, over remould the bumper. $600 to repair and paint is a good price. Pretty much in line what we would charge to repair and paint a silver bumper. (Silvers are harder to paint than most colours).

Cheers
Jarrod

Thanks for the tips, I'm going to have to borrow a neighbors heat gun and give it a go some stage. The bumper looks like it has been compressed (instead of just popped in), but hopefully I can get something sorted.

Does auto bog stick / attach to bumper material (not sure what it is actually made out of) strong enough for a good finish, compared to normal metals etc?

I didn't realize silvers were harder to paint, interesting.

Hey mate maybe try getting another quote, i had my bumper repaired a few months back (i reversed into a trailer ) and the total cost for repairs came to $350, my damage wasn't quite as bad as yours though they still had to remove my bumper, fix it and respray the whole thing, see pic, but yeh your quote seems quite high.

I think I will have to try a few different places and see if there is a big difference in prices if I don't get around to trying anything else myself.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Jarrod]

Does auto bog stick / attach to bumper material (not sure what it is actually made out of) strong enough for a good finish, compared to normal metals etc?

I didn't realize silvers were harder to paint, interesting.

Yes, so long as the surface is dull (IE: sanded back with like and 80grit sandpaper) autobog will stick to it. I dont know what its made out of either but once you have mixed it with hardener and it sets, Ive hit the stuff with a hammer and it hasnt cracked!

And yes silvers are hard to paint believe it or not and one of the colours that show a lot (Like black). Also can be difficult to colour match so do your homework on reputable suppliers ( paint suppliers or panel shops) before you spray or it can come out looking completely different.