Repairing a Long Tear on a Bumper Cover

If you spend a lot of time in a body shop, chances are great that, at some point in time, you’ve encountered a bumper cover with a long tear. Damage like this may even be forked in several different directions, leading many technicians to consider it to be “beyond repair”. In reality, this is the kind of repair that technicians will look forward to repairing with the help of Polyvance's nitrogen plastic welder and other plastic repair tools.

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Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXtyDzAsAq4

Products Used:

Note: This is a list of the Polyvance products that can be used to make this repair. This list does not include sanders, grinders, or other common tools you will need. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call technical support at 800-633-3047.

• 6204 Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler
• Aluminum Body Tape (several options available)
• 6125 Tapered Burr
• Nitrogen Plastic Welder (several options available)
• Welding rod (several options available)
  Note: Identify the plastic and choose the rod that matches the plastic you need for your repair.
• 1000 Super Prep Plastic Cleaner (several options available) OR 1001-4 EcoPrep Plastic Cleaner
• Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter (several options available)
• Waterborne Primer Surfacer (several options available)

Video Notes:

• The 6203 Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler has been discontinued and replaced with the 6204 Hot Spot Cordless Rechargable Plastic Stapler.
• English Closed Captions have been provided for this video. Click on the CC button to turn them on or off.
• The length of this video is in no way representative of the actual time required to perform a complete repair and therefore should not be used for estimating purposes.

English Transcript:

The length of this video is in no way indicative of the amount of time it takes to perform this procedure. It should therefore not be used for estimating purposes.

This bumper has a long tear that many would consider to be beyond repair. In reality, this is the type of repair that technicians will look forward to tackling with the help of an arsenal loaded with tools and supplies from Polyvance.

Begin by stapling the tear back together using a 6203 cordless plastic stapler. If the plastic isn't perfectly flush, you may need to shave it down using a razor knife. Then apply additional staples as necessary. Apply aluminum tape. Because we'll be performing a backside weld for the first part of this repair, we will tape the front.

Grind v-grooves along the cracks using a 6125 tapered burr. Rough up the plastic surrounding the crack using a 36 grit Roloc disc. You may now begin welding. Here, we're using a one-eighth inch round welding rod. Continue welding. As you move on, be sure to use your best judgement. For tears such as this, it is not uncommon to need to apply additional plastic. As many as second or third passes with rods varying in width may be necessary to cap this repair. Adding a "T" to the outermost points of the crack will provide a great deal of extra strength. Smooth the welded area using hot nitrogen gas and the airless welder. After the weld is completed, it should look something like this. We are now ready to begin our finish work.

Spray the front side with 1000-A Super Prep Plastic Cleaner and scrape off the adhesive residue left behind by the aluminum tape. You'll have to repeat this process as many as three or four times to get the plastic completely clean. Now it's time to remove the staples. Carefully heat each staple using the nitrogen welder and then gently pull them from the plastic using pliers. Take care not to overheat and distort the plastic. V-groove the front side of the bumper again using the 6125 tapered burr. Repeat the welding process. Rough sand to profile using 36 grit sandpaper on an 8 inch sander. Then again using 80 grit.

Now we'll remove the fuzz that was left over from the sanding process. Using a torch, carefully singe the sanded area. Keep the torch in constant motion so you don't overheat the plastic. In addition to removing the fuzz, this method also drastically increases the adhesion of coatings to the bumper. Apply 1050 Plastic Magic adhesion promoter and allowed to dry. Apply flexible polyester glaze and allow to cure.

Sand the filler down using 80 grit sandpaper. Block sand using 80 grit, and then sand again using 180 grit. Spray the entire repair area again with 1050 Plastic Magic adhesion promoter. Prime. Hand sand using 320 grit sandpaper, and then add a final coat of primer.

As you can see, intense tears like this may be intimidating but are well within the means of any technician using tools and supplies from Polyvance.

Look to Polyvance for all of your plastic repair product and training needs. We offer I-CAR Industry Training Alliance courses as well as other hands-on classes in addition to the video resources you can find on our website and on our YouTube channel.