I'm fixin to get my car repainted and im trying to determine whether i need a new front bumper or not. I would take a picture but it would be very hard to see. Anyways on the top of the bumper right underneath where the hood and bumper would meet if you had the hood shut there are 4 or 5 indentions in the bumper, from side to side of the bumper. When you run your hand across it, it feels real wavy. I know the front bumper is fiberglass so im not sure how this happened. Could this be repaired or would i be better off just finding a used one on here? thanks guys.

 

Mine is the same way. I was told that the foam behind the bumper compresses after time and pulls the bumper down with it. I've heard of some people just spraying some new foam in there and popping it back out, I dunno how i'd feel about that, but it might work well if you take out the old foam first. I'm not sure I havn't messed with it myself though...i'm just waiting til I can afford a 99 bumper.

 

I have one indentation that did not come out. When I had my bumper painted the body guy said that some of those come out upon applying heat. i think there has to be a better way. Maybe working with heat and cooling to get the fiberglass to move in a desired direction, much like a glass blower. Or maybe laying down extra fiberglass to the spot and sanding smooth. Is there a body filler that affords enough flex?

Maybe a fiberglass boat repair person has some answers.

 

If you have a stock bumper, it is not fiberglass. It is made from ABS plastic, which is much more flexible. I've never worked with ABS plastic as far as bodywork for painting, but I don't think there are sandable fillers that will stick to it.

 

There are specialized fillers just for the polyurethane but generally only used for scratchs or small repairs. Tears or badly stretched covers (something he might be dealing with) usually just get replaced. There are also flex additives for the paint and IIRC, specialized additives to aid adhesion. Like repairing any other panel, there is threshold for whether it makes sense to repair or replace. In the case of bumper covers, I think it's a little lower. But my experience isn't extensive.

 

The foam under the front bumper is nothing more than cheap styofoam about 4 inches in width, @ 1 to 1 1/2 feet long and @ 2 inches in height. I ran into the same thing when I had my car painted. Went with a new bumper - no waves and no regrets!!!

Super 77

 

The bumper can be repaired easily. There are plenty of flexible fillers that will adhere just fine. I would save the cash and just let them fix it.

 

The stock bumper is not made out of fiberglass or abs plastic. It's polyurethane like sgtblue mentioned. You can use a heat gun on the underside or the flexible filler mentioned or, check on a 99 spec bumper to see if it's made of a combination of fiberglass and polyurethane. This combination allows the bumper to flex but not sag.