How and what to glue a bumper with your own hands at home

Mechanical impact to a car bumper from an accident or collision with a high curb requires repair. In order not to spend money on car maintenance services, many car owners prefer to do the repair themselves. Detailed instructions on how to properly glue the bumper with your own hands at home will help to avoid mistakes.

Methods for sealing cracks in plastic bumpers

To eliminate damage to a plastic car bumper, you can use different methods, which differ in the material used, the degree of complexity of the work, the costs of materials and labor. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with all the options and choose the one that suits you best, taking into account your own preferences and available capabilities.

Polypropylene

When using polypropylene to eliminate cracks, you need to take into account a number of nuances. Including:

• for carrying out restoration work, polypropylene electrodes with a width of about 3-4 mm are suitable;
• the material must be melted on the surface of the cracks by heating with a construction hair dryer equipped with a nozzle of 4-6 mm in diameter;
• when heated, it is important that polypropylene electrodes melt quickly, but not overheat too much, as they may lose their original properties;
• Before starting work, V-shaped recesses are formed in the bumper for further placement of the composite material.

Direct repair consists of resurfacing the material over the deformed areas. For convenience, it is worth starting work from the central part of the defect, especially for large-scale fractures. After closing the middle of the defect, you need to move to the middle of the remaining halves, then direct the polypropylene electrodes to the free areas.

Polyurethane

A distinctive feature of polyurethane is a softer structure. Therefore, when repairing a car bumper, it is better to additionally strengthen the defect site with furniture supports. The surfacing of polyurethane electrodes is carried out above the staples so that they reliably hold the divided surface.

To repair the bumper, use 8-10 mm wide electrode strips. These polyurethane electrodes will hold staples better. To process the surface of the material, you will need a suitable 10 mm nozzle for an industrial hair dryer.

The melting point of polyurethane is around 220 degrees, and when melting the material to a cracked bumper, you don't need to exceed that mark.

Otherwise, the structure of the material will collapse, and it will gradually evaporate.

Look at Also

Features of the best types of glue for linoleum and which one to choose for seams

Refractory materials

If the bumper of the car is made of hard plastic with a high melting point, it is unlikely that it will be possible to do it in a garage. For this reason, parts made of this material are repaired by gluing. To carry out the work, you will need: a sander, a grinder, adhesive tape, fiberglass mat and polyester resin. The repair procedure is as follows:

1. The edges of the damaged area are processed with a sander, since after cracking microscopic threads remain there, which interferes with reliable adhesion.
2. Parts of the crack are connected and glued with tape from above.
3. Prepare the polyester resin to be used according to the instructions on the packaging with the material. The resin is then spread over the back of the deformed area, covering an area of ​​50mm around the defect.
4. A thin layer of fiberglass is applied over the polyester resin. In the event of a major defect, several coats will be necessary until the thickness of the fiberglass patch reaches the thickness of the bumper in the damaged area.
5. When the applied polyester resin is dry, proceed to work outdoors. With a grinder, recesses are made at the place of the crack so that its ends converge at the location of the patch inside.
6. The resulting grooves are filled with fiberglass, which is first coated with polyester resin.

It is important to take into account that processing a car bumper with refractory materials, polyurethane and polypropylene electrodes involves only direct elimination of the defect. To completely eliminate the consequences of mechanical stress and restore the appearance of the part, additional work must be carried out - surface cleaning, putty, primer and painting.

What damage to the bumper can be glued to the house

Without the help of car service specialists, it is possible to eliminate different types of bumper defects. The easiest way to restore the restoration is to scratch, which can be almost imperceptible, superficial or deep, reaching the inner layer of the part. Repair in the second situation will be more difficult, since deep scratches often turn into cracks. In case of through cracking of the bumper, it is not recommended to use the car until the problem is completely eliminated, because while the car is moving, a vibration load is applied to the front bodywork, which can cause the crack to expand. This will affect the condition of the entire case and its performance.

In addition to scratches and cracks, dents, punctures and chips can form on parts. Dents appear as a result of strong external influence and need to be corrected. Breaks and chips are often caused by a collision with an oblique obstacle.

Look at Also

Best DIY Glue Gun Craft Ideas and Things To Do

How to choose a glue for gluing a car

You can glue the damaged bumper using adhesive solutions from different manufacturers. When choosing the right glue, you need to familiarize yourself with all the suitable products and decide based on the characteristics of the solutions.

Weicon build

Weicon Construction's adhesives are suitable for bonding a wide range of materials including coated metal, plastic and composites.The advantages of this adhesive solution are:

• strong adhesion of large surfaces;
• elasticity and impact resistance of the joint formed;
• resistance to extremely high temperatures and preservation of the structure when heated;
• the ability to glue different materials to each other;
• economical consumption;
• lack of solvents in the composition;
• Fast setting and hardening at room temperature.

Weicon Structural Adhesive is available in two forms. A no-mix option is suitable for automotive applications. Such a product is applied to one of the glued parts, and the activator to the other.

The hardening process only begins during assembly, which is convenient for working with tight-fitting parts.

AKFIX

AKFIX glue solution contains cyanoacrylate, which gives the substance viscosity. Due to its structure, the mortar is suitable for use on a vertical plane. After application to the surface, the adhesive does not flow, run off and immediately forms a strong bond. It is permissible to use AKFIX glue for repairing automotive materials with a porous structure or a rough coating. To speed up the process of gluing bumper parts, it is recommended to additionally use an activator spray.

power plastic

Power Plast's primary focus is to repair and refurbish automotive and household plastic parts. The solution is used in situations where the use of simple glue or solder was ineffective. The composition of the Power Plast solution ensures ease of use, quick drying of the applied mass and strong bonding of the treated parts of the car bumper. The solution is suitable for repairing plastic parts, whatever their shape. Power Plast can also be used to restore missing items.

"Moment"

Moment adhesive composition is a product of a domestic manufacturer. Distinctive features are the versatility of use and the reliability of the formed joint. "Moment" is very resistant to low temperatures and humidity, which improves the strength of the connection even when using the car in less than ideal conditions. Before using Moment Glue to restore a car bumper, careful preparation of the work surface is required.

Look at Also

How and with what to glue a frame pool at home

Instructions for gluing a car bumper with your own hands

When you start repairing a bumper, you need to perform a number of step-by-step steps. Following the instructions will help to avoid common mistakes and achieve the desired result with minimal time and effort. The basic bonding process consists of preparation, assembly of parts and work to restore the appearance.

Preparatory work

The first step in the repair is to prepare the work surface. The bumper is inspected, washed off from accumulated dirt, edges and edges are treated with abrasive material or a cutter. Then, with the help of special chemicals, degreasing is carried out.

If there are chemical additives in the structure of the bumper which may adversely affect adhesive adhesion, they should be removed by treatment with an appropriate compound.

Bonding cracks on the bumper of a car

When gluing cracks to a cracked bumper, it is necessary that the amount of adhesive solution on the parts is optimal. Insufficient thickness of the adhesive layer will lead to the fact that after drying the solution, the materials will not obtain identical physical characteristics.Differences in rigidity lead to the destruction of the paintwork after the completion of all work, even with a slight external impact.

The glue is applied in an even layer on two parts, which will be connected to each other. To strengthen the seam from the inside, the crack can be sealed with a metal or synthetic mesh. The final hardening of the solution occurs over a different period of time, depending on the characteristics of the substance. To prevent the parts from moving after gluing, it is necessary to first ensure that they are firmly held in place, and to carry out the work without removing the additional fasteners.

Primer and paint

After gluing the damaged bumper, it remains to carry out the final work to restore the correct appearance of the part. First, for restoration, the excessively applied amount of material is removed by cutting or processing with a grinder. Then the entire surface of the bumper is cleaned and the resulting irregularities are eliminated, using a sealant if necessary.

After leveling the surface of the bumper, proceed to painting the part.The procedure is carried out according to standard plastic painting technology. In this case, it is allowed to use enamel and paint in works that are not intended for plastic, but in this case you will need to add a plasticizer. To give the surface of your car's bumper a rough finish, it's best to use structural paint. If the task is to paint the bumper in the body color, you must first apply another additional coat of primer and then move on to painting.