Best glue for plastic bumpers?

olias

Hi all,

those that read the praise vent and warnings forum will know that some idiot decided to drive into my parked Discovery and drive off without leaving details. The bumper is badly cracked, but is intact with no pieces missing. I'm not going through the insurance (old car - high excess), and due to it being an unusual colour, I don't think I can source a used part.

I am hoping that I can 'click' cracked bits back together, and with glue, leave a reasonably invisible repair, but am unsure as to what the best glue to use is. I know some glues can melt plastic. Anyone got any suggestions? I can also probably get to the rear to bung something accross the crack to hold it, but again, am not sure what best to use. Any advice gratefully recieved. Thanks.

Olias

Limey

These guys do kits on ebay for bumper repair but you will need to remove the bumper skin to use the glue and mesh patch:

http://www.waysideadhesives.com/index.php

Have ordered from them off ebay and it's good sticky stuff. :-D

colino

Ring your local bodyshop/dentmaster to see if they do plastic welding. Bumpers can be made to look as good as new for not very much.

andygb

colino wrote: »

Ring your local bodyshop/dentmaster to see if they do plastic welding. Bumpers can be made to look as good as new for not very much.

That is probably the best idea.
Going off slightly at a tangent, when I was a youngster, some of the plastic footballs used to come with reapir kits and adaptors, and I became quite adept at mending them. You had a little, flat headed soldering iron, which you heated on a gas burner (remember, I was only about 8 - 10 when I did this - no "elf and safety:D), and then carefully held the iron against the puncture on the football - too much pressure and heat and you destroyed it, but get it just right and all you could see was a tiny swirl on the surface - happy days:)
I wonder if you could use an electric soldering iron with a special attachment to do this on the bumper?

NeededToChooseAUsername

Anything wrong with using Araldite?

facade

You need to look at the inside of the bumper where it will be marked with the type of plastic used, most likely ABS. If it is ABS, plumbers sell an ABS cement for bonding pipes that will work, but likely it will take paint off round the crackline.

Araldite/fibreglass resin will not stay stuck to ABS, but if you roughen the surface with the soldering iron, and put a big enough patch on the inside it will work after a fashion.

The commercial kits contain the right bonding agents, but they are not cheap.

olias

Limey wrote: »

These guys do kits on ebay for bumper repair but you will need to remove the bumper skin to use the glue and mesh patch:

http://www.waysideadhesives.com/index.php

Have ordered from them off ebay and it's good sticky stuff. :-D

Thanks for the link - I think this sounds like the way to go. Just hope I can do it without having to take the bumper off!

Thanks to everyone else for your suggestions.

Olias

red_eye

colino wrote: »

Ring your local bodyshop/dentmaster to see if they do plastic welding. Bumpers can be made to look as good as new for not very much.

or somewhere where they repair motor bikes.

or fiber glass on the inside of the bumper skin

both would need filler and paint

colino

Yeh redeye, a great repair would be a piece of checker plate pop-riveted over the top, don't bother cutting it to size, just hammer down the edges.
The last similar repair I had done the guy stitch welded it (to me it was just a high rated soldering iron), rubbed it down, filler, rubbed down again, knifing putty, rubbed down, base/colour/lacquer blend over the top and all for £25. Almost indistinguishable from the rest of the bumper and under an hour.

olias

Can I have his number!

Olias

Daz2009

If you want to go down the glue route just pop down down to Poundland and get a pack of their epoxy,it's cracking stuff....excuse the pun