Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while
turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). Is it possible to pop this out? |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
CKH wrote:
> > We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while > turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered > a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front > bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). > Is it possible to pop this out? i have a 2001 civic that my daughter left with a dent in the left front area about the size of a half of football sitting inside the plastic bumper.. i took off the bumper and put it in the grass in the yard and then stood on the dent fron the inside and shoved it out.. i then took two pieces of wood on one side and one piece of wood on the other and wrapped them in old rags so the wood would not scratch the plastic paint.. i then used a very large C-Clamp to squeeze the dent flat and left it like that for a day.. took the clamp off the next day and you could hardly see the dent.. i tried and tried and tried to do it on the car but could not get to the position that i needed to get to.. and No all the hitting with a hand did not do any good at all to get this dent on on the car.... |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
In article <7480c69c.0404131031.3a12a847@posting.google.com >,
cliff@frontier.net (CKH) wrote: > We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while > turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered > a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front > bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). > Is it possible to pop this out? Yes. Those bumper covers are EASILY fixed. Ask your local body shop. |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
Thanks for the info -- I'll try it out. The 2 body shops I took it to
insisted on replacing it anyway -- probably can't make things any worse (famous last words) .... jim <jim@noname.com> wrote in message news:<407C655F.2929@noname.com>... > i have a 2001 civic that my daughter left with a dent in the left front > area about the size of a half of football sitting inside the plastic > bumper.. i took off the bumper and put it in the grass in the yard and > then stood on the dent fron the inside and shoved it out.. i then took > two pieces of wood on one side and one piece of wood on the other and > wrapped them in old rags so the wood would not scratch the plastic > paint.. i then used a very large C-Clamp to squeeze the dent flat and > left it like that for a day.. took the clamp off the next day and you > could hardly see the dent.. i tried and tried and tried to do it on the > car but could not get to the position that i needed to get to.. and No > all the hitting with a hand did not do any good at all to get this dent > on on the car.... |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
I can sort of understand them wanting to replace the bumper, mainly to boost
their profits. But there could be another reason, although unlikely. Behind the very fragile, very expensive plastic bumper, there's high density impact styrofoam (similar to a bicycle helmet). That stuff is only designed to survive a single impact and even if it looks fine to the naked eye, should be replaced. Obviously, since you only hit a snow bank the foam should be fine but considering how lawsuit crazy people are getting these days, they probably don't want to risk it and insist on doing a proper full repair. Can't say I blame them, although paying the bill does suck. "CKH" <cliff@frontier.net> wrote in message news:7480c69c.0404151208.13674938@posting.google.c om... > Thanks for the info -- I'll try it out. The 2 body shops I took it to > insisted on replacing it anyway -- probably can't make things any > worse (famous last words) .... > > jim <jim@noname.com> wrote in message news:<407C655F.2929@noname.com>... > > i have a 2001 civic that my daughter left with a dent in the left front > > area about the size of a half of football sitting inside the plastic > > bumper.. i took off the bumper and put it in the grass in the yard and > > then stood on the dent fron the inside and shoved it out.. i then took > > two pieces of wood on one side and one piece of wood on the other and > > wrapped them in old rags so the wood would not scratch the plastic > > paint.. i then used a very large C-Clamp to squeeze the dent flat and > > left it like that for a day.. took the clamp off the next day and you > > could hardly see the dent.. i tried and tried and tried to do it on the > > car but could not get to the position that i needed to get to.. and No > > all the hitting with a hand did not do any good at all to get this dent > > on on the car.... |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
Sean D wrote:
> I can sort of understand them wanting to replace the bumper, mainly > to boost their profits. But there could be another reason, although > unlikely. Behind the very fragile, very expensive plastic bumper, > there's high density impact styrofoam (similar to a bicycle helmet). > That stuff is only designed to survive a single impact and even if it > looks fine to the naked eye, should be replaced. Obviously, since > you only hit a snow bank the foam should be fine but considering how > lawsuit crazy people are getting these days, they probably don't want > to risk it and insist on doing a proper full repair. Can't say I > blame them, although paying the bill does suck. The dent in the polyurethane weakens the area, so there is no way the shop could warranty their work, as the stresses induced in the PUR cannot be removed (even if the dent can removed), leaving a weakened portion. > > "CKH" <cliff@frontier.net> wrote in message > news:7480c69c.0404151208.13674938@posting.google.c om... >> Thanks for the info -- I'll try it out. The 2 body shops I took it >> to insisted on replacing it anyway -- probably can't make things any >> worse (famous last words) .... >> >> jim <jim@noname.com> wrote in message >> news:<407C655F.2929@noname.com>... >>> i have a 2001 civic that my daughter left with a dent in the left >>> front area about the size of a half of football sitting inside the >>> plastic bumper.. i took off the bumper and put it in the grass in >>> the yard and then stood on the dent fron the inside and shoved it >>> out.. i then took two pieces of wood on one side and one piece of >>> wood on the other and wrapped them in old rags so the wood would >>> not scratch the plastic paint.. i then used a very large C-Clamp to >>> squeeze the dent flat and left it like that for a day.. took the >>> clamp off the next day and you could hardly see the dent.. i tried >>> and tried and tried to do it on the car but could not get to the >>> position that i needed to get to.. and No all the hitting with a >>> hand did not do any good at all to get this dent on on the car.... |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
The easiest way to repair the plastic skirt (and least likely to damage it)
is to use a hair drier. Loosen the skirt enough to get your hand behind the dent. Heat the dented area and slowly and carefully massage the dent out. This sounds silly but it doesn't take much heat to soften the plastic enough to reform it by hand. It worked for a similar dent in my 04 Maxima. You can use the hair dryer on the high setting but I would be very careful with a heat gun and I certainly wouldn't use a torch. "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message news:elmop-418441.19225113042004@news.usenetserver.com... > In article <7480c69c.0404131031.3a12a847@posting.google.com >, > cliff@frontier.net (CKH) wrote: > > > We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while > > turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered > > a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front > > bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). > > Is it possible to pop this out? > > Yes. Those bumper covers are EASILY fixed. Ask your local body shop. > |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
Don wrote:
> The easiest way to repair the plastic skirt (and least likely to > damage it) is to use a hair drier. Loosen the skirt enough to get > your hand behind the dent. Heat the dented area and slowly and > carefully massage the dent out. This sounds silly but it doesn't take > much heat to soften the plastic enough to reform it by hand. It > worked for a similar dent in my 04 Maxima. You can use the hair dryer > on the high setting but I would be very careful with a heat gun and I > certainly wouldn't use a torch. I forgot about doing this in my last response (for some reason I was thinking thermoset not thermoplastic). You will need a temperature of about +300°f. As stated, be sure not to get it too much hotter, or else it will quickly become less viscouis and difficult to form. It needs to be heated uniformly through the profile. Some bumpers are made of polyurethane, some of polypro. Here is some info on thermoplastic polyurethane fyi. http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/urethane.htm > > "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message > news:elmop-418441.19225113042004@news.usenetserver.com... >> In article <7480c69c.0404131031.3a12a847@posting.google.com >, >> cliff@frontier.net (CKH) wrote: >> >>> We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while >>> turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered >>> a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front >>> bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). >>> Is it possible to pop this out? >> >> Yes. Those bumper covers are EASILY fixed. Ask your local body >> shop. |
Re: Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?
I also support the hair dryer method to remove the dent. A few years
back someone left a dent in the front bumper of my wifes Honda Civic at the local mall. It was about the size of a golf ball (from trailer ball hitch?) but it didn't break the paint. I removed the bumper and heated up the back side of the bumper and it came out no problem with a little pressing. Can't even tell it ever happened (unless you REALLY, REALLY look). It sure beat a repair bill from the local body shop. Give it a try! "L Alpert" <alpertl@xxcomcast.net> wrote in message news:<qx2gc.156456$K91.410274@attbi_s02>... > Don wrote: > > The easiest way to repair the plastic skirt (and least likely to > > damage it) is to use a hair drier. Loosen the skirt enough to get > > your hand behind the dent. Heat the dented area and slowly and > > carefully massage the dent out. This sounds silly but it doesn't take > > much heat to soften the plastic enough to reform it by hand. It > > worked for a similar dent in my 04 Maxima. You can use the hair dryer > > on the high setting but I would be very careful with a heat gun and I > > certainly wouldn't use a torch. > > I forgot about doing this in my last response (for some reason I was > thinking thermoset not thermoplastic). You will need a temperature of about > +300°f. As stated, be sure not to get it too much hotter, or else it will > quickly become less viscouis and difficult to form. It needs to be heated > uniformly through the profile. > > Some bumpers are made of polyurethane, some of polypro. Here is some info > on thermoplastic polyurethane fyi. > > http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/urethane.htm > > > > > > "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message > > news:elmop-418441.19225113042004@news.usenetserver.com... > >> In article <7480c69c.0404131031.3a12a847@posting.google.com >, > >> cliff@frontier.net (CKH) wrote: > >> > >>> We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while > >>> turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered > >>> a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front > >>> bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper). > >>> Is it possible to pop this out? > >> > >> Yes. Those bumper covers are EASILY fixed. Ask your local body > >> shop. |
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