anyone have any luck plastic welding front bumper?

[LakeSurfer]

I'm thinking about shaving the headlight washers and the side markers but I'm curious if anyone has had any luck doing this? is it just regular ABS plastic? does it melt well or burn?

I have a "plastic Welder" and I've done this type of stuff before with great results, however, some plastics are very temperamental and don't "weld" to well or at all.

Its not important enough for me to buy a euro bumper so we can skip that reply. Id also paint it myself.

[Vuu]

Can't comment on the DIY, but I know a lot of people who have their bumpers shaved down. They do that instead of buying a Euro bumper.

[Three Pedal Steve]

Front fascia is not ABS plastic but it is a thermoplastic material that can be welded. The material is a TPO/TPU resin that is olefin type thermoplastic similar to polypropylene. It will have quicker melting point than ABS. Paint adhesion could be an issue so get the right primer.

[djsilverjohnson]

SEM paints advertise paint specifically for plastics, but I’ve also had good results using Krylon plastic paint on polypropylene interior panels. PP is good for interior parts since it’s very unreactive and not affected by most solvents. Also no open sites on its molecule so you can’t even get duct tape to stick. The specialty plastic paints contain a little specialty solvent that helps it bond with the PP.

[Ubersmooth]

Just dropped my car off for a bumper respray at one of the best shops in the DMV area. When I brought up shaving the reflectors, they were hesitant and said they wouldn't be able to warranty the work since it could flex and damage the paint. I didn't know plastic welding was an option until I started looking into it this morning, seems like if you can find a shop that's good at it, it's a good way to go

[LakeSurfer]

its really not to difficult of a task but I could see why a shop wouldn't want to do it let alone warranty it.

the hardest part is finding the correct filler material. normally, for example, I would cut off chunks of whatever part i was "welding" and use that, but filling the reflectors and the headlight washer holes is a lot of material.

in a way its similar to Tig welding, were you have a heat source that melts the filler material. you need to make sure that the filler material and the part that you are repairing are homogenies. on a larger hole you would melt something into the repair to make it stronger. normally you would use a metal mesh material imbedded into the area. Done right you shouldn't need to much Filler putty but they do make a flexible "bondo" type filler that is specifically for bumpers.

painting is a separate issue that ill face if I find filler material. maybe ill stop by a body shop and see if they'll let me cut some chunks off a BMW bumper?

[LakeSurfer]

Looks like the bumper is made from PP (Polypropylene).

[tbuck]

The PO of my car had the reflectors and washers shaved. When I looked at the inside they had cut a piece to fill the hole and then used the plastic "welder" to seal around it. For the most part it looks quite good, but at certain angles you are able to see where the washer holes originally were, likely due to the curve on the top surface of the bumper. The reflectors seem to be covered better. I asked my local shop and they also said they do plastic welding for things such as this.

Personally I think I would rather get a Euro bumper as I am not sure how this will fare over a long term, whether it will crack or split at some point. I guess time will tell