Distorted Urethane Front Bumper

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Oct 29, 2014 | 05:52 AM

AB_in_AUS

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From: Sydney NSW

Distorted Urethane Front Bumper

MY car is originally from Arizona so I guess there has been some heat over the years that has caused the Urethane front bumper to distort.

My front bumper has a depression each side of the centre of the nose. The rest of the bumper is straight (no ripples). The current suggestion is to replace it with a fibreglass bumper .. are there any other suggestions?

Oct 29, 2014 | 06:39 AM

Easy Mike

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From: Southbound

Cruise-In II Veteran

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB_in_AUS

...are there any other suggestions?...

Can you live with what you have? A replacement cover will mean fitting and painting to match. Not impossible, but one of those jobs you need to think about before jumping into it.

Oct 29, 2014 | 08:49 AM

jimvette999

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From: Florida

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB_in_AUS

I believe the flexible urethane bumpers all warple over time and even a new one may do so again. I went with fiberglass replacements from Eckler's and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Using fiberglass also gets rid of the color shift between fiberglass and urethane parts when painting... the flexible additive used in paint, needed when using the urethane bumpers causes the color to mismatch in shade.....a good paint man can compensate for that though along with the fade of the cars body paint. Hopefully more members will chime in for opinions.
Jim

Oct 29, 2014 | 09:48 AM

gbvette62

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From: Shamong, NJ

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimvette999

I believe the flexible urethane bumpers all warple over time and even a new one may do so again.

It makes no difference where a car was from, urethane gets wavy and warps. You really only have two choices, live with it, or replace them with fiberglass.

The fiberglass bumpers will never get wavy, but if you bumper something with them, they will crack, even the so called "flexible" fiberglass ones. Also, if a new fiberglass bumper doesn't fit well, you can fill or sand it, to fit it properly. A urethane bumper that doesn't fit, will require body work to the car.

Oct 30, 2014 | 06:02 AM

AB_in_AUS

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From: Sydney NSW

does anyone have an opinion or can share their experiences on the "off the shelf" fiberglass products available in the US?

Oct 30, 2014 | 06:52 AM

Shovels and Vettes

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2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Modified

Trueflex

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB_in_AUS

does anyone have an opinion or can share their experiences on the "off the shelf" fiberglass products available in the US?

I put Truflex bumpers on my 77. Both front and back took a fair amount of hours by my painter to get to fit perfectly. If I had to do it again, I would go with full fiberglass, because the Trueflex bumpers still have a small amount of waviness, a very small amount. They are way better than original, but when I talked to ACI at Carlisle this year, I asked if the straight fiberglass were thicker, and they said yes. I think the Trueflex bumper is just too thin, and of course the resin is meant to be flexible.

Bottom line, a straight fiberglass bumper, not Trueflex, can look as solid as the rest of the car. Urethane and Trueflex both can have waviness that the rest of the car does not. And expect there to be bodywork required with either fiberglass or Trueflex. Every Corvette is slightly different and no bumper will fit the same.

Oct 30, 2014 | 09:52 PM

Joe Papa

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Joined: Dec 2013

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From: Pacifica CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by AB_in_AUS

I have been able to fix deformities in urethane bumpers with a heat gun.

You can look up videos on Youtube on how to do this.

Oct 30, 2014 | 10:22 PM

Aumie

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I put truflex on the front of mine. Like was said they are kind of thin and do require mod to fit your lines. I've never painted urethane so can't comment on the color variation but it makes sense that the paint will appear differently. If your on a budget and can repair the urethane ones like joe said that's what I'd do just cause I'm cheap.