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      04-11-2024, 04:13 PM   #1
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Just posting this here because I was actually surprised at the outcome of my first ever attempted bumper repair. I did this for my uncle ‘s car using a hot air gun at high-speed.

It certainly worth a try if you ever have something like this happen to you and want to leave out insurance.

I had to replace the tail light, got that on eBay for $75.
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      04-11-2024, 04:56 PM   #2
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I did the same on my wife's E90, but I had to take the bumper off and push from the inside. Did you do that in-place?
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      04-11-2024, 05:20 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by BMWCCA1 View Post
I did the same on my wife's E90, but I had to take the bumper off and push from the inside. Did you do that in-place?
Yes, I was able to do it in place by first pushing it out first with the curved handle of a plier, And then get the remaining shallow dent out with my hand. Got lucky in that aspect that didn’t have to take the whole bumper off, but I would definitely take it off if can’t get to it properly.
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      04-12-2024, 04:04 AM   #4
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Looks like a great job, well done.

As someone who has worked as a professional dent repairer in the past (on metal panels) I was occasionally asked to improve dents in plastic bumpers, as an alternative to putting them through the bodyshop. I used exactly the same method with a heat gun and pressure from behind.

You did exactly the right thing by moving the heat gun really fast, as a word of caution to anyone else trying this make sure not to get the plastic too hot as the paint will crack and bubble pretty easily, as I've found to my cost on more than one occasion!
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      04-12-2024, 04:10 AM   #5
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Looks like a great job, well done.

As someone who has worked as a professional dent repairer in the past (on metal panels) I was occasionally asked to improve dents in plastic bumpers, as an alternative to putting them through the bodyshop. I used exactly the same method with a heat gun and pressure from behind.

You did exactly the right thing by moving the heat gun really fast, as a word of caution to anyone else trying this make sure not to get the plastic too hot as the paint will crack and bubble pretty easily, as I've found to my cost on more than one occasion!
You are very correct. I should’ve mentioned that you have to move the heat gun quite fast and not only over the dent but a bit outside its perimeter as well.
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      04-14-2024, 10:33 AM   #6
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Nice Job!!!

Looks Great!!!
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      04-14-2024, 12:02 PM   #7
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Excellent work! You can barely tell that this corner of the car had a decided dent and cracked paint. Looks great.
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      04-14-2024, 02:28 PM   #8
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Excellent work! You can barely tell that this corner of the car had a decided dent and cracked paint. Looks great.
Thank you. I ordered on EBay a paint match kit with clear coat and will try to fix where the paint cracked. I think this part will be more difficult not messing up. But it does not have to look OEM, just should pass the 2-3 feet test.
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Last edited by fe7565; 04-14-2024 at 02:44 PM..
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      04-15-2024, 09:12 AM   #9
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OP, that's some great work there.
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