Most recently I started dealing with the Chevy Dealer installed Front License Plate mount on my 2006 Coupe I recently purchased in December. The car has just 14.3k miles on it. The car has been covered in my Pole Barn since I brought it home being the weather here in NJ is nothing to brag about. It snowed the very next day. Our season here is basically 6 months that can possibly be stretched out to 8 months. The car is part of my collection of 3 other Vettes a C2,C3 and C5 all Coupes so I don't get to drive them all that much. There are not many Vette's on the road here in January or February or March for that matter.

Anyway I didn't like the look of the dealer installed front license plate mount it sits so high up on the nose and purchased a aftermarket mount that will bring it down into the center of the Grill from Corvette Mod's. Looks like it will work out fine. Problem is the Idiot Chevy Dealer where the car was purchased in NJ put 3 metal screws right into the bumper and they over tightened it to the bumper so that when I disassembled it from the car not only do I have 3 holes to deal with I also have 3 Outty dents around the holes that seem to expand outwards. I had no idea the bumper was metal. What is funny is that GM added 3M double sided tape in the back of the mounting points on the license plate mount. That mount wasn't going anywhere. I had to use a heat gun to get the license mount off of the bumper. I know if I take it to a body shop to redo that area of the bumper it would cost me a mint but I can't live with the factory mount on the car. Here in NJ you need to have 2 plates. The Corvette Mods mount is made to stay on with Velcro mounted under the bumper center to the car but will look good on the car mounted permanently if I care to do so. Its made so you can take the mount and plate off when you want.

Just curious to what some others have done in the same situation. I figure there has to be someone else who has dealt with the same issue. I have done body work in the past but not everyday. Even worked for a body shop part time when I was younger. There is not much to do. I was hoping I only had to deal with 3 holes and nothing else and was going to fill them,lighting sand use some spot putty which is basically a thick primer, sand and then rattle can the area after masking it off keeping it small and put a wheel to it to see how it would look maybe adding a little clear. I know I couldn't make it any worse. What I don't know is dent-less body repair very well. It might be a good idea to have one of those dent-less guys come over and work that outty dent back down to where I just see 3 holes. I just want to try something before I send it out. Any thoughts out there?

 

I had no idea the bumper was metal either ?? Are you sure ? Regardless, sounds like you just have some simple body repair that needs to be done that any reputable shop should be able to take care of. Putting a rattle can to it may not get you the results you desire depending on how visible the area is. Touching up a damaged clear coat area isn't as simple as spraying a little on the spot with a can and being done with it. The prep work getting the area smooth enough to shoot and not notice the difference in level can sometimes be a PITA. Good Luck.

 

The body work doesn't scare me as I mentioned I did plenty in the past. I just wasn't looking to expand the area much pass the holes in the bumper and yes that bumper is metal. I haven't address it as of yet so I am not sure what kind of metal it is but it is not thick. Looks to be the thickness of sheet metal from what I can see. Will be pointing a magnet up to it this afternoon to see if it is aluminum or steel. Its hollow looking into the screw holes from what I am able to tell. Going to put it up on my lift today to get a better view of my situation.

 

I started a thread about this here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ing-holes.html There are probably others.

I don't know about your vette, but the front bumper on my 11 GS is not metal - plastic or fiberglass probably. I've attached a picture of the hole. It was hard to get the camera to focus that close up, but you can probably see that the thickness of the bumper material seems to be around 3/16". The slightly raised area around the holes was caused by the action of the screw as it was inserted. The raised area could probably be removed by careful use of a countersink. I was thinking to do the repair myself using JB Waterweld to fill the hole, and then carefully painting and wet-sanding the 3 small areas. However, Dr. Color Chip put me onto a specialist who repairs damaged bumpers (most for new car dealers) and for around $160, he said he would come to my place and fix it so that no one would be able to tell it had been drilled. He said he's done quite a few of this type of repair - it's a fairly common situation. While I could probably do an OK job myself, for the $$, I'm going to let a pro do it when the temps come back up. I'd like more than OK.

The hole:

 

Heck for $160 I would pay to have someone else do it before I even start but I doubt I can get it done in my area of the country for that kind of money. Something kicked up in the wheel well of my daughters 1 year old Camaro probably ice and pulled maybe a 2"x 3/8" area of paint off above the wheel well on the driver side. She took it to a body shop here that does real nice work and they told her they need to paint the whole fender and gave her a estimate of $650. To me it looks like it could be spotted in. There is no dent to deal with. I told her to hold off and check around. I still haven't gone out to my Pole Barn but I could of swore it was metal.

 

I apologize I was wrong. That bumper isn't metal. I must be getting old. Had to put my reading glasses on to see better. Heck I will be 67 next month. It must be carbon fiber or some sort of plastic. It is not metal for sure. I am going to try to deal with it on my own. Based on my minor body skills from years back I know I won't make it any worst that is for sure. I have nothing to lose. First off I will need a little warmer weather but will eventually report back here to how it went and will probably take some pictures before and after.

 

Sorry but there's no way to fix that and make it unnoticeable with a rattle can, i would either bring it to a body shop and have it repaired and painted or put the license plate back on.

 

I'm not sure how big of spots you are needing to repair, but if they are small heres an old geezers trick that works fairly well. Mix up some two part epoxy (works great on plastic & f-glass parts) and smear it in the holes or cracks and smooth it out to contour the best you can before it sets. It stays in place good and it sands pretty easy. Paint to match and a couple a coats a clear and you're back in business.

 

No, the rattle can approach probably won't work well. But if you can get rid of the raised area (like with a counter sink), and then fill with epoxy putty to just below the surface, you end up with what amounts to 3 largish paint chips. That's something that Dr. Color Chip probably could fix, or you could try to use one of their kits to do it yourself. As I have posted, I had a plan to do this myself, but I'd rather get a pro to do it, if his price holds as he said. It's not worth the time, when I could be driving it IMHO.

 

I am pretty picky with my collector cars and I have done somethings that have amazed me at times. I am not new to doing things similar to this and working with fiberglass or metal. I built my Street Rod from the ground up and did plenty of fiberglass work to it. This repair is simple. 2 part Epoxy like PC-7 as Windy C6 mentioned will fill those small holes well. Going to try to keep the body work no larger then the size of a dime or penny. Will finish it off with Bondo glazing spot putty and wet sand it probably using 1200. Purchased a can of Duplicolor Victory Red and a can of Clearcoat which I believe is lacquer not base/clear of course although they make that also in rattle cans at most body paint shops. When I get it done I will come back to this post be it a month or so maybe sooner if I can get some warm weather here in the Northeast. Have the car sitting on my lift at working level being I am not using it for anything else in this cold weather. As I mentioned earlier I have nothing to lose and all to gain if it comes out right. If not the repair will be done and all it would take a pro to do is wet sand it and shoot the bumper not much else to make it right.

Quick question while I am here. How are members posting pictures here lately? I have plenty of pictures on the net that I had shared through Photobucket in the past and all those photo's are now lost. Even had photo's on this forum posted through Photobucket and they are all gone. Looking for another source to use the next time I decide to post pictures. Any suggestions?

 

When posting a reply to a thread you can upload a photo from your computer directly to the thread. Click on the attachment link (next to the smiley face above the box you type your message.

 

Thanks. I haven't posted pictures in awhile because of the move by photo bucket. Glad to see everything that is needed is now here in the forum and I don't have to depend on Photo Bucket anymore.

 

Well it has been a long Winter where I couldn't get to this repair because of the cold and to top it off on Jan.31st I went in for a checkup and my EKG didn't read right. 2 weeks later after more tests I found out I had blockage to my heart. Less then a week later when they could not do anything for me looking to do a Angioplasty I was brought up to another hospital for Open Heart surgery. Spent 10 days total in 2 different hospitals. Well Spring didn't start here until late in April and I had plenty of time to heal. I finally got to my project repairing the holes from the factory license plate bracket some dealer dummy decided to screw into the bumper on my 2006 Coupe I picked up in December when new but the fix came out really well using Duplicolor Victory Red/Clear rattle cans. Looking to share some pictures below. Filled the holes after prep with Bondo 280 Bumper Repair Kit made by 3m. Plenty of block sanding with a squeegee and 2000 wet sandpaper. Used some 220 in the initial steps of sanding the Bumper Repair material down.

 

Nice work! It looks like you did a great job fixing that dealer mess with the LP. I hope your heart condition is on the mend. Best of luck to you sir.

 

Sure looks like I was wrong about the rattle-can not working. Nice work. Glad you're recovering from the heart stuff.

I also admit that when it came down to it, I wimped out and as I type, the vette is at the body shop. The front bumper cover is coming off so that they can reinforce the holes from the back AND to install the ZR1 brace and splitter that I got from RPI. Should be getting it back Thursday/Friday. I'll post some pics.

 

Great job. Wish I had the skill and patience. I paid almost 800 to have my bumper made plate free and repainted. The tri-coat didn't help any.