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Appreciation post: my 1998 Corolla's rear bumper looked like a crumpled receipt, then a $38 heat gun made it almost new
I backed into a parking bollard outside a Kroger in Dayton 14 months ago and put a dinner plate sized dent plus a spiderweb of cracks in the plastic cover. A body shop quoted me $650, so I let it sit there looking sad until a neighbor mentioned heating the panel and pushing from behind. Took me about 20 minutes with a $38 heat gun from Harbor Freight, a gloved hand, and some cold water to set it. The difference between the before and after photos on my phone is honestly weird to look at. Has anyone else fixed a plastic bumper this way, and did yours stay put through a summer or two?
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zara_hill463d ago
That line about the before and after photos looking weird is so real, my buddy had the exact same reaction with his old Civic. He hit a concrete post at a gas station and the rear corner was folded in bad, and he was quoted around $700 by a shop near us. A guy at his work told him about the heat gun trick, so he grabbed one for like 40 bucks and spent a Saturday afternoon on it. He used a hair dryer at first and it did nothing, then the real heat gun softened the plastic enough to push most of it out from behind. He said the hardest part was not rushing it and keeping the heat moving so he didn't burn the paint. It held up fine through two summers and a winter, though you could still see faint marks if you looked close. Best money he ever spent on that car honestly.
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