theNomad
New member
After all the work I figured I'd share my adventure in plastic welding.
When I bought my Jeep it had a few punched in dents in the plastic bumper. I wanted to fix this and also improve the look of the Jeep but didn't want to spend much money.
On Craigslist I came across a set of factory bumpers that were no longer needed and the gentleman offered them to me for free.
Sweet! Project time!
My goals were:
1) replace the damaged plastic bumper parts
2) give it a stubby bumper look
3) maintain a quality looking result
4) do it as cheaply as possible
I'm far from the first to do this but figured I'd chronicle my efforts once again. I chose to try the plastic welding method I'd seen others use (while not investing in the tools, because I like a challenge ha!)
Tools used:
Heat Gun
Soldering Iron (cheapo)
Dremel
Razor knife
Tape measure
I took the bumper and carefully measured the areas to cut out. I wanted to keep the bumper bolt tab and fold the bumper back on itself to form the endcap.
I used a Dremel to cut it and it was fairly messy. I began to use a razor later on after warming it with a heat gun first. That ended up being a better solution. Just go slow and be careful.
After cutting the unneeded materials I got it soft with the heat gun and bent it back into a clean fold.
The process of matching up the edges and welding them together was much more tedious and while I tried to be as careful as I could be it still got a bit messy. I regret not buying the plastic weld kit... just a bit.
All bonded and feels strong but still messy. I sanded it down with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out the chunky spots. I'll get some plastic epoxy to reinforce the backside and I sprayed it with bedliner to hide imperfections.
Today I got out before the temps hit 116 degrees again and took off the factory bumper.
I chopped about 4 inches off both sides of the steel bumper reinforcement. I transferred the fogs and the painted center section to the stubby cover.
I also trimmed a section of the air dam undertray as I am reinstalling it.
The project wasn't "easy" but it was cheap! (Under $20 for the paint and primer)
When I bought my Jeep it had a few punched in dents in the plastic bumper. I wanted to fix this and also improve the look of the Jeep but didn't want to spend much money.
On Craigslist I came across a set of factory bumpers that were no longer needed and the gentleman offered them to me for free.
Sweet! Project time!
My goals were:
1) replace the damaged plastic bumper parts
2) give it a stubby bumper look
3) maintain a quality looking result
4) do it as cheaply as possible
I'm far from the first to do this but figured I'd chronicle my efforts once again. I chose to try the plastic welding method I'd seen others use (while not investing in the tools, because I like a challenge ha!)
Tools used:
Heat Gun
Soldering Iron (cheapo)
Dremel
Razor knife
Tape measure
I took the bumper and carefully measured the areas to cut out. I wanted to keep the bumper bolt tab and fold the bumper back on itself to form the endcap.
I used a Dremel to cut it and it was fairly messy. I began to use a razor later on after warming it with a heat gun first. That ended up being a better solution. Just go slow and be careful.
After cutting the unneeded materials I got it soft with the heat gun and bent it back into a clean fold.
The process of matching up the edges and welding them together was much more tedious and while I tried to be as careful as I could be it still got a bit messy. I regret not buying the plastic weld kit... just a bit.
All bonded and feels strong but still messy. I sanded it down with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out the chunky spots. I'll get some plastic epoxy to reinforce the backside and I sprayed it with bedliner to hide imperfections.
Today I got out before the temps hit 116 degrees again and took off the factory bumper.
I chopped about 4 inches off both sides of the steel bumper reinforcement. I transferred the fogs and the painted center section to the stubby cover.
I also trimmed a section of the air dam undertray as I am reinstalling it.
The project wasn't "easy" but it was cheap! (Under $20 for the paint and primer)
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