Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Bought a facelift bumper that is cracked with a view to attempting to weld the crac with a soldering iron.
Has anyone attempted this before if so how did it go or was it a total disaster?

prodriverules

iTrader: (52)

Easy mate but id solder from the back and gently v the front side of the crack and fill with some good quality[plastic padding]plastic filler which can flex abit without cracking and jobs a good one

BLU

iTrader: (27)

I split the bottom of my bumper in half and plastic welded a 1.5inch piece in to make it slightly lower but look oem. To plastic weld it together I used an old soldering iron and strips of old bumper to use as filler rod. Make sure you weld both back and front and grind the weld off the front so its a little bit under the height of the bumper so you have some space to add a little skim of filler! Very cheap and very effective!!

Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Cheers,
Stage 1 complete welded from the rear with a cheap soldering iron and the cut offs removed for the fmic, surprised how easy its been the finish isn't great which is why I never took it to the front. I did however manage to refabricate the damaged mounting holes which had plastic missing (from when it was crashed I guess), hopefully it all holds seems pretty strong though.
Now to get myself a bit of plastic filler sort the front of the crack and fill in the headlight washer mount holes.

BLU

iTrader: (27)

Excellent you really need to weld the front otherwise the filler WILL crack. Doesn't matter if its rough, just grind/sand down before skimming over.

Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Aye I just started sanding back the front of the crack an it's full of filler & another unknown tacky substance where it had been repaired previously, once I remove that I'll weld the front of the crack an get the plastic filler down.
Hoping this is going to come out alright now as theres been a lot of filler used in the area an I think the paint had been filling cracks in it & holding most of it together.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Jeez, where are you lot coming from? Plastic welding has nowt to do with heat. It uses a solvent, not heat.

Get hold of some styrene sheet and some plastic weld from a model shop, aka Methyl ethyl ketone, or Mekpak, , or butanone and place the styrene sheet over the join from the back, before flooding with the solvent, pushing firmly into place and allowing to dry.

Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Why do they sell plastic welders which operate using heat which appear to be advertised specifically for repairing things like car bumpers then?

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Dunno, mate, but my method works 100% and is CHEAP

Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Fair play it seems to have worked very well though so for a £9.99 soldering iron & £6.49 for bumper fill I can't grumble

StickyMicky

Seen loads of people do it with a soldering iron, not tried it yet myself although i was planning on giving it a go.

Basically you are melting the 2 halfs back together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuA6d49Z7Rc

Scoobdogg

iTrader: (2)

Aye Micky I just did as described by blu-scoob I used the offcuts I had cut off when modifying the bumper for the fmic to repair the crack. Just held the crac together and heated it and the offcut I wa using as filler rod at the same time to allow them to bond together properly did this on both sides of the crac (put a little extra onto the back once it was joined for peace of mind) then sanded it back on the top and used some bumper filler which is flexible http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...itxta&istBid=t
to smooth it all off. Overall it seems pretty strong have given it a bend around an all seems fine hopefully get it off for painting and on the car to freshen up the front end soon.