Non-spray bumper repair?

[iammooks]

This is why we can't have nice things...

Brighton is full of a-holes - I've never had so much damage on my car. From scrapes on bumpers to people hitting the driver's side while turning in the road.

This is the latest. Someone drove into the back while the car was parked, splitting the bumper and causing paint damage all the way to the plastic. Thanks for not leaving a note - they knew they'd done it. This is already peeling away and with rain, washing etc, I can only see this getting worse.

I want to fix it, but with people here so cavalier about driving into cars and not giving a damn, I'm convinced that in a couple of weeks' time, someone's just going to drive into it again and cause yet more damage.

Is there any way I can fix this either in a way that just stops it from getting any worse without having to get it glued and sprayed, or if there's something I can do to the bumper to protect it afterwards?

 

[Alexis27]

Easier to buy a bumper off ebay. It's pretty easy to change.

 

[IL Cattivo]

I can see a dash-cam purchase on the horizon... Might actually save you money and grief in the long run if these incidents are so frequent.
I live near Oxford and have friends in Brighton, so will deffo make sure my dual cam is active 24/7 when we go down to visit.

 

[iammooks]

Easier to buy a bumper off ebay. It's pretty easy to change.

I'm starting to think I should go down this line - maybe for when I sell the car though, so I don't end up with two cracked bumpers... I've read a few guides on how to fit them, so if one comes up on eBay I'll probably be there. Bit of an easy one really - a few hundred pounds on a respray, or one from a breaker for less than a hundred.

 

[iammooks]

I can see a dash-cam purchase on the horizon... Might actually save you money and grief in the long run if these incidents are so frequent.
I live near Oxford and have friends in Brighton, so will deffo make sure my dual cam is active 24/7 when we go down to visit.

I've thought about it a lot but never really got round to it, thinking it would be a total pain. I found out yesterday my dad fit one to my mum's car, so if he can do it, it can't be that hard.

Brighton is just the worst though. Parking is pretty much all on street, so you get lots of shunts and scrapes when people are trying (and failing) to parallel park. My last landlady, finding a space was too small for her car, actually got on the accelerator and pushed a car further up the road so she could fit in. It wasn't just the once - she did it all the time - and saw no problem at all with ramming other people's cars to make space.

 

[iammooks]

Thought I'd revive this one to get some advice...

As I haven't done anything to the damage on the bumper for a few months, I've noticed that there's been some water getting in and the flaking has got worse.

If I were to sand it down with some wet and dry - maybe to the primer - but at the least so that it's flat and there's no flaking on the edges, would I be OK just to spray it with a couple of coats of primer just to stop it from getting worse?

 

[Zardoz]

Yeah, I don't see why not. Maybe once you've done that a blast of clear coat might not be that far off the proper finish.

Would stop it getting any worse anyway.

 

[iammooks]

Yeah, I don't see why not. Maybe once you've done that a blast of clear coat might not be that far off the proper finish.

Would stop it getting any worse anyway.

Thanks for this - my logic is that it's probably better being 'flat' rather than being covered in chips and bits where water can get in. Who knows, once I've done the primer, I might just try and rattle can it with the silver - it's only the bumper after all... At the same time, I think that if it shows some sign that I'm trying to repair it, I'm not going to keep getting people driving into me like I don't give a damn about my car...

 

[Zardoz]

Have a go mate. Best advice I can give is take your time. Once it’s sanded back, get some paint prep wipes on it to remove dust and use lots of light coats. Unless you’re taking the bumper off to spray from above it will tend to cause runs if you spray too much at a time if it’s still attached to the car. It’s bound to look better, just think you’re improving it rather than paintshop perfection and it won’t drive you crazy

 

[iammooks]

I think I'm going to give this a shot - thanks for the advice! I won't have a problem getting it off the car, and I've got a sheltered place in the garden where I should be able to spray. All I want is to stop it looking so crappy, and I suppose it can't look any worse than it does now...! I'll keep the thread updated...

 

[iammooks]

Thought I'd revive this after coming across a Cupra R kit on eBay. Silver, so it matches the car colour, and I'm guessing that it'll line up the same on my FR?

What do people think about the price for the condition? I can kind of take it or leave it at the moment as I don't need the front bumper or the sideskirts, but I've always preferred the Cupra R styling over the FR anyway...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/seat-leon-cupra-r-bumper-kit/303302965509

 

[Alexis27]

Go for it. Check the reg though - Arctic Silver changed to Luna Silver in 2005

 

[iammooks]

Go for it. Check the reg though - Arctic Silver changed to Luna Silver in 2005

There's always something, isn't there? I'll try and find out - mine's a 54/2005 so even I'm not sure what colour my own car is... Thanks!

 

[iammooks]

Decided to bite the bullet and repair this myself. I need to fill the crack and will then need to prime, spray and lacquer.

Looking around, I've seen the Isopon Bumper Repair Kit, which looks like it'll do the job, and then I'll sand and prime it before spraying with a colour matched rattle can. As my first paint job, I'll probably spray the whole bumper, as opposed to trying to blend it - does anyone have any advice or tips based on their own experiences? It doesn't have to be perfect, as I'll probably have someone else drive into it in a month's time anyway, but will most likely wet sand between coats to try and get as good a finish as I can.

I'm guessing it's the wrong time of year too?

 

[verbal_kint]

You should try to reinforce the split from the reverse side first, bumper repair kits will rarely have the strength and flexibility to last.

I have a plastic welding kit that should help and I'm due to be in Brighton soon to start scrapping my daughters car so if you have the bumper off and a power supply I'm happy to try to weld the plastic for few beer tokens.

I also have a dash cam due to go on ebay soon.

 

[iammooks]

You should try to reinforce the split from the reverse side first, bumper repair kits will rarely have the strength and flexibility to last.

I have a plastic welding kit that should help and I'm due to be in Brighton soon to start scrapping my daughters car so if you have the bumper off and a power supply I'm happy to try to weld the plastic for few beer tokens.

I also have a dash cam due to go on ebay soon.

Thanks for this - I might be taking it off in the next week or so just to see what the damage looks like from the inside, rather than the outside. I've sanded it down a bit to get the flaking paint off and it doesn't look like it's split, but you never know what it looks like on the other side. It'll be good practice learning how to take it off for when I do a proper job on it anyway.

I'll keep you posted - when were you likely to be in town?

 

[verbal_kint]

Sounds like it should be nicely repairable then if it's only the paint coat cracked.

It is too cold to do a decent paint job but if you get it prepared ready for a half decent day with some warmth and little wind you might be OK.

The seller of this item on the bay 280563395983 has a good range for VAG colours and you get a free clear coat. Might be cheaper to get a rattle can/s from a dealer but now that Halfords have stopped selling paint there are few options about.

I'll be down over the next week but tend to go every few weeks so the wife and daughter can get together.

 

[iammooks]

Sounds like it should be nicely repairable then if it's only the paint coat cracked.

It is too cold to do a decent paint job but if you get it prepared ready for a half decent day with some warmth and little wind you might be OK.

The seller of this item on the bay 280563395983 has a good range for VAG colours and you get a free clear coat. Might be cheaper to get a rattle can/s from a dealer but now that Halfords have stopped selling paint there are few options about.

I'll be down over the next week but tend to go every few weeks so the wife and daughter can get together.

Perfect - I'm probably going to paint the whole bumper, as there are a whole load of little scratches, but all that depends on how much the paint costs and how confident I feel as the time gets nearer. I've got a few smaller parts I can practice on in the meantime.

In terms of prepping, I've been trying to find out how long you can leave something primed before painting - most sites tell you how long you have to leave primer before painting, but not so many tell you how long you can leave the primer sat without throwing some paint on.

Is it better to fill it and leave it at that until I can prime and paint, or should I prime it to protect the filler, and then maybe wet sand before painting?

 

[iammooks]

This is what I'm up against. There are a few areas where the paint is flaking because of the impact, so I'll probably sand it all down before priming. The big long chunky bit I'll fill and sand down, before priming that too. The whole bumper is scuffed in various places so it probably makes sense to spray the whole bumper - but if anyone has any good advice on blending with a rattle can, that'd be a huge help.

It's only a bumper, so it won't matter too much if I don't get it perfect... Famous last words...

 

[BigJase88]

Looks like it has already been repaired once before