Well thought id make a guide for everyone who wants to smooth there bumpers, but doesnt want to pay bodyshop prices (A.K.A TIGHT) like me...

Step 1.

Remove front bumper, pretty easy, remove indicators, grill, 2x torx screws under the grill, then remove the centre lowere grill, 2 more screws, then the 2 outer grills, 1 screw behind each, and finaly, 2 or 3 screws each side on the wheel liners

Step 2.

Sand paint around area to be filled, I'm doing it by plastic welding pieces of an old 8v bumper with a soldering iron, cut the pices so there tight in the hole, and recess them back abit so you can fill it, the welding technique requires abit of practice, but pretty simple

Step 3.

All filled in and part sanded a little

Step 4.

Sanded further and then a light coat off fiberglass filler to fill the big gaps

Step 5.

Apply body filler

step 6.

Sand until smooth

Step 7.

Plastic weld tow eye cover in place and slight skim of fibreglass

Step 8.

Key up recess, then apply thin layer of fibreglass filler, and push and rock plastic to fill number plate recces

Step 9.

Anothe thin coat of fibreglass ontop (after last coat has dried) of numberplate to fill rest

What do people think so far?

Edited 18 June, 200818 yr by big4244

good effort mate, your brave

good effort mate, your brave

Brave or mad??? undecided on that one

nice one mate...got to congratulate you for doing it yourself...I'm useless on stuff like this :(

nice one mate...got to congratulate you for doing it yourself...I'm useless on stuff like this :(

Cheers mate, I'm no good at bodywork! you just goto be patient

cool mate, I'm doing my 8V front soon (shortened recess) so this should come in handy

cool mate, I'm doing my 8V front soon (shortened recess) so this should come in handy

Cheers, I'm going to figure out how to get rid of my recees soon, so when i do il post it up!

Good job m8. Glad to see some people trying things themselfs

Good effort keep the thread updated....

hahaha the home diy keeps on coming, 90% of the car is your handywork which is amazing lol!

you still driving around with it like that??

hahaha the home diy keeps on coming, 90% of the car is your handywork which is amazing lol!

you still driving around with it like that??

You know it! na i just drive without the bumper!

Id like to see more when you paint it lool! What you using, just rattle cans?

Id like to see more when you paint it lool! What you using, just rattle cans?

Na, I'm pretty good with a can, but my next door neighour has a bodyshop at the back of his garden

Any updates? I'm thinking about doing my sills, would fibre glass be suitable to skim the jacking points?

^^ a weld in the hole or a hole or something for the fibreglass to stick too but ideally weld the hole up then a skim of filler. not sure how long fibreglass would last

Nice writeup.

How did you cut the pieces of plastic? In one whole piece then jus solders around the edges?

Little more detail would be great.

Nice writeup.

How did you cut the pieces of plastic? In one whole piece then jus solders around the edges?

Little more detail would be great.

I cut them with a hack saw, in one piece, then just soldered it to the umper

looking good! what technique do you use to make sure it is completly smooth before spraying? i find this the hardest part of the job!

looking good! what technique do you use to make sure it is completly smooth before spraying? i find this the hardest part of the job!

Cheers mate, just use my hand raly nothing better than feeling it, then my next door neighbour whos does my spraying checks it, usualy its pretty good?

looking good! what technique do you use to make sure it is completly smooth before spraying? i find this the hardest part of the job!

Cheers mate, just use my hand raly nothing better than feeling it, then my next door neighbour whos does my spraying checks it, usualy its pretty good?

dont wanna hijack, but a really good tip for seeing if its smooth, is dust over it with a different coloured paint.

e.g, if its primered in yellow, spray some black over as a dust, then sand it back a bit, and where the indentations are the black will not come off.

looking good! what technique do you use to make sure it is completly smooth before spraying? i find this the hardest part of the job!

Cheers mate, just use my hand raly nothing better than feeling it, then my next door neighbour whos does my spraying checks it, usualy its pretty good?

dont wanna hijack, but a really good tip for seeing if its smooth, is dust over it with a different coloured paint.

e.g, if its primered in yellow, spray some black over as a dust, then sand it back a bit, and where the indentations are the black will not come off.

That not a hijack, thats avery useful tip, cheers

Nice guide, appreciated. How exactly do you do plastic wielding? :)

This is one hell of a handy write up.

doesnt look like welding to me just melting

its not realy 'welding' its the joining of 2 plastic pieces using a red hot soldering iron melt both bits, put them together when it drys its one piece