How do you panel beat plastic?

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alan s
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How do you panel beat plastic?

Post by alan s »

I gotta a job I intend tackling later today that looks a bit of a challenge.
My sons TZi had a hit in the rear driving side bumper; right on the corner, before we got it so instead of the bumper turning at right angles towards the front of the car, it is pushed in; almost inverted, & then carries on in the direction it should. Basically, it was hit right on the point of the bend. It's one of those black top/coloured botton types of bumpers & gived the impression that if it was hit with a bit of heat in the right spot, that it would just pop out.
Anyone ever done this job?
Before anyone suggests just going to a wrecker & picking one up; I don't know if there is even one in a wreckers in this country & the price to get a new one or one sent from over your way makes the cost of the Gulf War pale into insignificance, so that's not an option.
Alan S
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Post by tomsheppard »

There is a special filler available for crunched bumpers but the technique here is to fix the cracks with a sort of enhanced glue gun and a filler stick first.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

Got it done; what a job but it worked out OK.
Will post some pics somewhere as soon as I get it fully completed & show the before & after as well as the "tricks" involved.
Being BX or Cit owners as it is these days, I think 'plastic bashing' is something we should all learn.
Alan S
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Post by JohnD »

I made a right mess of my roof box by driving under a height restriction bar at my local refuse tip. Silly b***** forgot the box was still on the roof after returning from holiday. By using a B&D heat gun and some pressure, I got it back into reasonable shape.
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Post by MW »

I can beat that. While driving a Rover 200 in France, I reverse parked over a round-topped concrete bollard, which popped right under the bumper and left the car wedged fast. I had to get the French rugby team out to lift the car off the bollard - and the bumper now had a swelling like a giant gumboil, the size of a football (or indeed, a concrete bollard).[:D][:p][:D]
I said a lot of bad words. Then a miracle happened. Before my eyes, the gumboil shrank and the bumper "remembered" its correct shape. After two more weeks in a sweltering Mediterranean sun it was completely back to normal.
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Post by Linegeist »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by MW</i>
Then a miracle happened. Before my eyes, the gumboil shrank and the bumper "remembered" its correct shape. After two more weeks in a sweltering Mediterranean sun it was completely back to normal.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Some plastics do that don't they? My BX made a bid for freedom a few weeks back, despite the handbrake being full-on, with the result that the RHF corner was pushed back by about 5", the bumper taking all the initial impact.
After welding in a new front panel and fitting a new headlamp (Boy! they're expensive, aren't they??? [:D]) I was left with the badly twisted/dented plastic 'bumper' panel............
To my surprise, 20 minutes with a hot air gun saw the whole thing writhe back to its original shape, requiring minimal work with some 600 wet & dry to remove scuff marks! [^]
The only problem I have left is a 2" "bite" out of the bonnet (which appears to be fibreglass - I thought it was plastic!!) which I'm undecided on how to tackle...............[:(]
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Post by AndersDK »

Yes - the BX bonnet is fibreglass - though limited production series had metal bonnets.
The fibreglass is repaired using the same techniques wellknown amongst boat/sail people. Try ask around -
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Post by Linegeist »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by AndersDK</i>

Yes - the BX bonnet is fibreglass - though limited production series had metal bonnets.
The fibreglass is repaired using the same techniques wellknown amongst boat/sail people. Try ask around -
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Thanks Anders - it's not the FG that's the problem, it's touching-up the paint afterwards. My car's a metallic Silver and will be a pain to match up after repairing the damage. Respraying the whole bonnet in 2-pack metallic in my garage? Er, no thanks, I'd rather stick hot pins under my fingernails.........[:p]
I'm tempted to mask off the front edge of the headlamp surrounds and spray them a different silver and make it a "feature" ... [:D][:D] "Accident? Of couse not - it's that limited edition 'anti stonechip' coating they used in '86................"
alan s
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Post by alan s »

Ah yes; BX Silver [:p][:p][:p]
I walk into the local auto paint shop...."Could I have a half a litre of this colour" (knowledgeably dropping the number I'd found stencilled on the strut mount & fluttering the eyelashes to emphasise my skill at finding it) "preferrably in Acrylic with a flex additive" (thinking to myself 'that should impress 'em' whereupon he delves into his book of tricks & declares..."can't be done!!" [:0]
Great!! both bumpers off, one stripped back to black plastic due to dead paint falling off and the other sanded back & he tells me this.
"What's the options?" says I, losing the air of self confidence that followed me into the place.
It seems that for reasons best known to themselves (sounds familiar...after all, it is a Citroen) the type of silver they use won't work in acrylic so....you're stuck with two pack base coat & clear over coat so, if you've got a touch up on a silver BX; baby, you got problems!! It's either the lot or nothing so you are 100% correct...2 pack it is without a choice.[:o)]
Alan S
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Post by Linegeist »

Aaaaaarrrrggghhhhhhhhh!!!! [:D][:D][:D][}:)]
I can see a matt black respray project coming up.......[:D]
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Post by DLM »

Or a scrapyard bonnet?
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Post by Linegeist »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DLM</i>

Or a scrapyard bonnet?
David
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
A nice thought David - however I live in France. By the time a car's reached a scrapyard over here, there's not much salvageable[:D][:D][:D] Besides, we're talking about a <i>body panel</i> here! Anything over 5 years old has either been repaired with Isopon, been badly dented or has an urgent appointment with something immovable in the near future.
The French have a curious attitude towards their cars - they just keep flogging 'em until they drop......then flog 'em some more.
You'll often see a small car in its death throes, trundling smokily along while it gently digests its own internals. Makes me want to trot over and put it out of its misery with a 7.62 through the head ....... [:D][:D][:D][;)]
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Post by DLM »

Actually, I thought you might say that .....I've seen bx-shaped bundles of green mould that once were white (and might still be underneath that thick surface layer) trundling along French roads. But then I seem to remember that one of the briefs for the designer of the 2CV was to make it sturdy enough to withstand both the mistreatment of the French populace AND ploughed fields.
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alan s
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Post by alan s »

Can I make a suggestion here based on my observations of what life is really like for a car in France? [:p][:p]
Working on the assumption that the damaged bit is at the front of the bonnet possibly in that turned down area above the grille, have you thought of fixing it with fibreglass, puttying & priming & then giving it a coat of hammertone grey followed by a protective coat of clear? By that I mean as a strip right along the front from say the bend to the top of the grille. Even the battleship grey in Hammertone as a contrast could look OK.
I did something similar on my TRs with those stupid dark blue panels in the rear pillars. Mine were cracked & crazed & someone had spent a month of Sundays trying to make them look right which they never will. I sanded & primed them & hit them with a coat of black two pack. Result; everyone reckoned it was the most impressive looking red BX they'd ever seen.
Just a thought..[:D]
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Post by Linegeist »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by alans</i>

Can I make a suggestion here based on my observations of what life is really like for a car in France? [:p][:p]
......... have you thought of fixing it with fibreglass, puttying & priming & then giving it a coat of hammertone grey followed by a protective coat of clear? :D]
Alan S
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My thoughts exactly Alan! Fill the damage then paint it in a colour that can, at a pinch, be fobbed off as an "Exercise in aesthetics!!!!
Damn! I <i><b>LIKE</b></i> this guy!!!!!!! [:D][:D][:D]
Now, where's that can of cellulose dayglo?..........[xx(]
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