Hey guys just a quick run through of my attempt of smoothing my 16V bumper + a little step by step guide that hopefully others can enjoy :)

First things first preperation is key i cannot empshasise this enough, take your time and prep everything, it is worth while.

I had discount on all my equipment as i work for halfords but everything you need is there :)

In order to do this you will need:

-an assortment of sandpaper from harsh to fine grade. around £5

-P38 Fibre glass paste (around £6)

-P40 Finishing body filler (around £6)

-Soldering iron (around £10-15)

-Spare plastic trim

-Cutting tools

Here is a general idea of tools i used:

Right in order for you to start the process you need to remove the bumper, this is done by undoing the torque screws located under the grill surround, under the arches and behind the grill inserts. The bumper should just slide off.

Now you need to prep the area you are going to be working on, start with a harsh grade sandpaper bringing the laquer off the paint work so it is all roughed up and ready to be worked on and use finer grade to bring it up smoother.

Once prepped (remember take your time in order to get a good finish) You need to cut a peice of plastic out in order to "plastic weld" the old grill space. To "plastic weld" you need to find your own technique but the whole idea is to melt the plastic togehter in order to make a rigid base which will mean your filling will not crack later on. TIP Sounds scary but use the bumper in order to melt the two peices together as it makes the bond stronger.

Once welded again it is time to smooth out any bits that will be an issue using the same technique as before. Once prepped again it is time to use our P38 Fibre glass paste, this paste sets in around 20 minutes and is very easy to use. All instructions are in the packaging but a breif description would be take the paste (as much needed) add enough hardner and mix until all streaks of hardner has gone. Apply the paste evenly over the hole and allow to set.

Once set again using the steps before sand down until smooth. Once prepped the next stage is the P40 body filler again the way to use is exactly the same and is explained in the packaging. smooth it over and allow to set again.

Now comes the best bit using the same technique as before sand the filler until flush with the bumper and is ready for painting. If any bumps or whole have appeared use the same application and sand until desired effect is acheived. :)

Primered once and sand smooth, ready for another layer tomorrow :)

I am yet to finish this write up but will complete it soon enough.

Thanks for reading and hope this helps some people :)

Tom

Edited 12 April, 200917 yr by Boss

good effort that batman :)

plastic welding is pretty hard to do!

easy to mess up, LOL at the big knife

sorry but u have done verry well but i belive thats plastic melting not weldin , good end job though

currently doin this myself on my 6n in white well worth the work nice job mate

sorry but u have done verry well but i belive thats plastic melting not weldin , good end job though

sorry but welding refers to the uniting or fusing of pieces by using heat and/or compression so that the pieces form a continuum. therefore i think you will find that it can be deffined as plastic welding

its a fucking soldering iron ffs , people like this give a bad name to skilled fabricators who can repair plastic , in welding u must have a foren material to bond the mating surfaces

good write up mate, will help when I get around to doing mine

its a fucking soldering iron ffs , people like this give a bad name to skilled fabricators who can repair plastic , in welding u must have a foren material to bond the mating surfaces

so what if hes used a soldering iron, thats all a plastic welder is at the end of the day, just a bit bigger and adapted for its purpose. In what way does it give skilled plastic welders a bad name? The guy has clearly made a good job of filling those holes.

you dont always have to have a foriegn material to weld. Ever heard of spot welding, where two pieces of metal are fused together using heat?

I don't see why you have such a bee in your bonnet

any more progress with the bumper yet?

Yes will update original thread in a second :) However only done one side as the ****** council have decided my car has been abandoned even though it is sorn, because my drive, grass verge is still on public highwway, soem asshole must of reported me!!!!

NOTE the bottom picture "council state it was abandoned" Like fuck. and it's not of the public highway??? It never moves and is a project!!! Now i have to move it a mile away in order to keep it from being crushed!! FFS

you drive doesnt even look like its near a road!

Yeah it is, road about 4 foot to the left but it's a dead end road and it's just miserable assholes that have reported me!! It's sorn, it doesn't move. Heck the engine is being ripped out soon!! haha Is there anything i can do?

If you dont mind I 'll add some more pictures with the same process in my front bumber.

Plastic stripe tested.

Plastic stripe partially wielded.

Plastic stripe wielded.

Filler added.

Primer painted.

Final result.

I hope that I helped a little and didnt ruined your topic m8 :-) .

6n Smooth bumper D.I.Y £26

^^^TOP,TOP EFFORT mate thats one of the reasons i like this forum,i have learnt a few things on here from guys like you

sorry but welding refers to the uniting or fusing of pieces by using heat and/or compression so that the pieces form a continuum. therefore i think you will find that it can be deffined as plastic welding g40jon..love reading your posts mate makes me chuckle because when i read your posts i think of wee stewie from family guy..brilliant mate keep up the good work

Nice work on on that mate (Y) top job? Quick question did you get yours proffessionally sprayed or do it you self? Debating whether or not to have a go at it my self :)

Thanks for all you comments. (thats exactly what i did read up on a thread here and thought it was very helpful but needed that lil bit more so did my own in order to give something back to the forum) :)

Car is afe in a mates drive :( although a pain in the arse.

Tom

Edited 8 April, 200917 yr by Boss

Nice work on on that mate (Y) top job? Quick question did you get yours proffessionally sprayed or do it you self? Debating whether or not to have a go at it my self :)

Thanks for all you comments. (thats exactly what i did read up on a thread here and thought it was very helpful but needed that lil bit more so did my own in order to give something back to the forum) :)

Car is afe in a mates drive :( although a pain in the arse.

Tom

It was proffessionally moded and painted, althought after seeing the whole procedure and your post I think that I could have done it myself :-). Upload some pics when you get it done m8 :-).

diy is the way forward!! at 15 i did 2 weeks work experiance in a body shop now a year on i have aplied what little i have learnt to my car and rolled my arches smoothed my boot de handeld the car and smoothed the bumpers on my mk3 coupe it realy is easy i dont know why some of you are soo scared of working on your car.

most dubbers are fine but i know a few who struggle changing a wheel! what is that about come on peeps!

^^^ i dont think its so much scared of working on our cars, but if you mess it up, it can cost more to get it sorted....

tbh though, I'm learning, I've just retrimmed my roof liner & a,b,c pillars, never done anything like it but it looks awesome :-D after reading this thread, am gonna have a go at this too, tell me though, did you cut the strip of plastic to the right size or a little bit bigger, I'm not quite sure how you melted them together

About to whip off to work but i might do a close up of the next one and the techniques i used :)

can someone stick it up please? good effort mate!! i might give it a go after i buy coilovers

top work there fella, i just know id mess it up if i do myself, id just keep to simple things n let the proffesials handle the bodywork lol,

on a dif subject, where did u get those vents where the foggys used to be? they 1 piece or 2? thanks :)

top work there fella, i just know id mess it up if i do myself, id just keep to simple things n let the proffesials handle the bodywork lol,

on a dif subject, where did u get those vents where the foggys used to be? they 1 piece or 2? thanks :)

The vents are one peace each and they are the standard VW vents on the polo if you dont have fog lights, easy to find as spare parts.

Fantastic filler work mate And well done for emphasising the importance of prep! It's important to keep in mind that the painting is pretty much 5% of the whole job :-) Are you from the motor trade originally?

And a note to veedub123: Zip it. n00b.

Erm no, i'm not from the motor trade, however i am very mechanically minded and can generally pick things up quite easily. I tend to watch alot of other people do thing, get some techniques, have a bash if it goes wrong i try again and if i absolutely suck then give up but 9/10 it's just practice :)

A good ole saying i live by:

" If you learn by mistakes, you will never do that mistake again."

Tom

P.s thanks for all you comments.

Bump primered, ready for next layer of primer then off to get sprayed :)