'75 Bumper Repair help please
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: Phoenix AZ
'75 Bumper Repair help please
Good evening,
I'm getting ready to paint my '75 convertible and I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on my front bumper. I've started sanding it down and I am pleased with the progress I am making so far. At the front center of the bumper, there are a lot of "dimples", for lack of a better word, in the rubber. Is there some type of filler I should use on this or should I continue to sand it down until it is smooth?
Also,
I have a crack on the side. Any recommendations on how I should repair this? Or should I just forget it and get a new one.
Thanks,
James
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,399
Likes: 278
From: Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Re: '75 Bumper Repair help please (poncho_1119)
You probably still have the original polyurethene bumper.
You are aware that the paint for the soft front/rear bumpers will require a flex-agent added to the paint.
Fact of life: They are wavy and after 29 years they are brittle and tend to crack very easily.
If it's smooth you want you'll have to replace it with a fiberglass bumper as even a new polyurethene bumper will be wavy in a short time.
[Modified by KenSny, 8:28 AM 12/7/2003]
You are aware that the paint for the soft front/rear bumpers will require a flex-agent added to the paint.
Fact of life: They are wavy and after 29 years they are brittle and tend to crack very easily.
If it's smooth you want you'll have to replace it with a fiberglass bumper as even a new polyurethene bumper will be wavy in a short time.
[Modified by KenSny, 8:28 AM 12/7/2003]
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11,872
Likes: 12
From: Waterloo ontario Canada
Re: '75 Bumper Repair help please (poncho_1119)
I would replace it with fiberglass. Once you get a crack it is a sure sign it is getting brittle and deteriating. Mine cracked one year and the next you could tear it apart with your bare hands.
If you are preparing the car for painting now is the time to blend a new bumper into the front.
I fit the bumper then take a layer of bondo and go over the seam covering about 2 inches on the bumper and 2 inches on the front clip. I then take a razor blade and cut a new parting line, let the bondo dry then sand as a unit, filling, bondoing but always cutting the parting line with the razor blade. When finished the bumper will still come off and a light sand of the parting line and you have a perfect thin parting line.
Good luck.
If you are preparing the car for painting now is the time to blend a new bumper into the front.
I fit the bumper then take a layer of bondo and go over the seam covering about 2 inches on the bumper and 2 inches on the front clip. I then take a razor blade and cut a new parting line, let the bondo dry then sand as a unit, filling, bondoing but always cutting the parting line with the razor blade. When finished the bumper will still come off and a light sand of the parting line and you have a perfect thin parting line.
Good luck.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 236
Likes: 0
From: Spring Lake mi
Re: '75 Bumper Repair help please (poncho_1119)
Replace it! your at the point where you could repair but more cracks are sure come---I replace with glass----but I heard the Flex-glass is a good choice also--
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,107
Likes: 14
From: Lancaster PA
Re: '75 Bumper Repair help please (TheVin)
Replace it! your at the point where you could repair but more cracks are sure come---I replace with glass----but I heard the Flex-glass is a good choice also--
:iagree: Craig
