Rear Bumper flexing/waves
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 203
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From: new jersey new jersey
Rear Bumper flexing/waves
Hi all.
I have an 89. the rear bumper was nice and flat then all of a sudden over winter it developed a bump right behind the gas door. is there a way to smooth this out some how? like putting weight on it or using a wood clamp to lightly push down on it and leave it for a while does anyone have any experience with this? or done it? or is this just something you need to live with because it is inherent with urethane bumpers.
thank for the input.
I have an 89. the rear bumper was nice and flat then all of a sudden over winter it developed a bump right behind the gas door. is there a way to smooth this out some how? like putting weight on it or using a wood clamp to lightly push down on it and leave it for a while does anyone have any experience with this? or done it? or is this just something you need to live with because it is inherent with urethane bumpers.
thank for the input.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,427
Likes: 603
From: Minneapolis Mn
Waves in urethane bumpers
Characteristic - yes IMO, fixable - maybe.
Something I did a while back to the kids car was she got bumped in a parking lot and left a dimple in her's. I got some of that 'foam insulation in can' stuff. I was able to get enough room to squirt some in the void (don't overdo it as it can expand alot) and then braced a board against it while it expanded and hardened. It raised the dimple in the bumper cover and looked very good when it was hardened.
It works just like glue also, so if you can get a little in there then clamp something on it while it blows and hardens I would suspect it would stick the urethane down to whatever's below it hopefully flattening out the area.
Biggest issue I see with trying this is how to get the whole bubble coated so it sticks the whole thing down. Too much or too little could make it worse.
Obviously it's a 'do it at your own risk' if you want to try this but it's an idea that might work for you.
This stuff sticks onto things so if you ever need to remove the cover it may be an issue getting everything off easily and undamaged, but that's one of the risks.
I suppose it might be possible to use heat instead but I don't know of anything that might heat up one spot without risking paint damage. Only idea on that might be very hot towels with a board on top till it cools but I've never tried anything like that so I don't know if it's a good idea or not.
Good luck
Something I did a while back to the kids car was she got bumped in a parking lot and left a dimple in her's. I got some of that 'foam insulation in can' stuff. I was able to get enough room to squirt some in the void (don't overdo it as it can expand alot) and then braced a board against it while it expanded and hardened. It raised the dimple in the bumper cover and looked very good when it was hardened.
It works just like glue also, so if you can get a little in there then clamp something on it while it blows and hardens I would suspect it would stick the urethane down to whatever's below it hopefully flattening out the area.
Biggest issue I see with trying this is how to get the whole bubble coated so it sticks the whole thing down. Too much or too little could make it worse.
Obviously it's a 'do it at your own risk' if you want to try this but it's an idea that might work for you.
This stuff sticks onto things so if you ever need to remove the cover it may be an issue getting everything off easily and undamaged, but that's one of the risks.
I suppose it might be possible to use heat instead but I don't know of anything that might heat up one spot without risking paint damage. Only idea on that might be very hot towels with a board on top till it cools but I've never tried anything like that so I don't know if it's a good idea or not.
Good luck
Last edited by hcbph; May 15, 2014 at 09:40 AM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: new jersey new jersey
Characteristic - yes IMO, fixable - maybe.
Something I did a while back to the kids car was she got bumped in a parking lot and left a dimple in her's. I got some of that 'foam insulation in can' stuff. I was able to get enough room to squirt some in the void (don't overdo it as it can expand alot) and then braced a board against it while it expanded and hardened. It raised the dimple in the bumper cover and looked very good when it was hardened.
It works just like glue also, so if you can get a little in there then clamp something on it while it blows and hardens I would suspect it would stick the urethane down to whatever's below it hopefully flattening out the area.
Biggest issue I see with trying this is how to get the whole bubble coated so it sticks the whole thing down. Too much or too little could make it worse.
Obviously it's a 'do it at your own risk' if you want to try this but it's an idea that might work for you.
This stuff sticks onto things so if you ever need to remove the cover it may be an issue getting everything off easily and undamaged, but that's one of the risks.
I suppose it might be possible to use heat instead but I don't know of anything that might heat up one spot without risking paint damage. Only idea on that might be very hot towels with a board on top till it cools but I've never tried anything like that so I don't know if it's a good idea or not.
Good luck
Something I did a while back to the kids car was she got bumped in a parking lot and left a dimple in her's. I got some of that 'foam insulation in can' stuff. I was able to get enough room to squirt some in the void (don't overdo it as it can expand alot) and then braced a board against it while it expanded and hardened. It raised the dimple in the bumper cover and looked very good when it was hardened.
It works just like glue also, so if you can get a little in there then clamp something on it while it blows and hardens I would suspect it would stick the urethane down to whatever's below it hopefully flattening out the area.
Biggest issue I see with trying this is how to get the whole bubble coated so it sticks the whole thing down. Too much or too little could make it worse.
Obviously it's a 'do it at your own risk' if you want to try this but it's an idea that might work for you.
This stuff sticks onto things so if you ever need to remove the cover it may be an issue getting everything off easily and undamaged, but that's one of the risks.
I suppose it might be possible to use heat instead but I don't know of anything that might heat up one spot without risking paint damage. Only idea on that might be very hot towels with a board on top till it cools but I've never tried anything like that so I don't know if it's a good idea or not.
Good luck
Thank you for the reply. that sounds workable although that foam stuff is super sticky and messy. im not sure how to get under there maybe from the license plate area? and yes if it expands to much it could bump it out more. if I can get good access I can try. perhaps if i can get a block of wood in there with some construction adhesive or silicone and then clamp it it may work. is there access under there?
