Bought a used fender that colormatched my car for $30. It was a good deal, but it has a tear in it. How do I fix it?

Also, is there any directions on how to put it on?

One more question, my front bumper cover has an 8" tear in with no plastic missing. Can it be fixed or do I need a new bumper cover. I am doing most of the work myself since I'm a poor little college student.

I'm not an idiot, so I can tackle just about anything with the right instructions without many major f**kups.

Thanx
Joe

 

Superglue. Seriously. It all depends on the size of the tear and the curvature of the surface it's on...because if its on a really curvy area, you may not be able to get it just right to where it's back to normal...at least...not unless your a body man. Me, I just replaced my fenders and bumper cover when they got torn.

Anyways...here's the superglue technique...regular liquid superglue in the hold, (or in your case, tear) and then sand with 320 grit sandpaper. The sand created by that sanding and the glue makes a compound that will fill that in and be pretty darn strong. it'll work as long as the damage isn't too bad. Of course that's just patchwork...when you do the painting...you'll have to prep the panel/sand like you normally would. Hope this helps.

-Mike

 

You can get the bumper repair kits at auto parts stores. Basically they contain epoxy and window screen. First you remove the panel, ruff up the back side of the tear with some coarse grit sandpaper, 80 grit will do, (36 is my personal fav though) mix up the epoxy and smear it across the sanded area about 1" on either side of the tear, also work the epoxy into the crack/tear itself, don't worry about 'ooze' getting on your paint on the other side, it hasn't set yet. Next take a piece of screen about 1" wide and a little longer than the tear and place it on the epoxy, being certain to center it over the repair. Next smear more epoxy over the screen to 'sandwich' it. And finally use some rubbing alcohol on the other side to clean up any epoxy that oozed onto your paint. Be gental, you don't want to dislodge your repair on the other side before it sets. After it is all cured and installed it should be hard to detect the repair, except for the hairline where the tear was

 

It seems like these are very realistic fixes. I can't seem to find a bumper cover for my car, so I thought it could be fixed. One other question. What is the product I am looking for? What's the name of it or is it just bumper repair in general?

How will I keep the two sides of the bumper together while this stuff is setting up. My bumper is around an 8-10 inch tear?

Keep in mind that I do have to paint. I was just lucky that no plastic was missing when the d**k hit me.

later
Joe

 

Ok...that's a BIG tear!!! if you want a good aftermarket bumper cover, go to www.autobodypartsonline.com They have GREAT prices...how does 50-70% off gm price sound? And they'll definitely have it in stock. That's where I got my front bumper cover that I have on my car right now...you can see the pics in my sig...the fit was dead on. and it was 135 bucks. So for about 200 bucks with shipping, you have a new cover. With a 8-10 inch tear...you may need it.

-Mike