I am looking at bonding the front and maybe rear bumper and making them seamless. I had to remount the headlight bar in the front because of a poor repair of front end damage. I used Lord Fusor 127 to adhere the headlight bar to the SMC. Will this work to bond the bumpers to the body?

Thanks,
Randy

 

What are the bumpers made out of? If their fiberglass you will have no problem. If they are yellow urethane then it will be a bit tricky.

If it is fiberglass, then Evercoat SMC panel adhesive is your best bet. It will bond the parts together permanently. And then use fiberglass (smc approved) to smooth the lines.

If the bumper covers are urethane, Then I don't know how you could bond and smooth them if even possible. Maybe DUB knows this one.

 

Sorry- they are fiberglass, I didn't specify because I know you can't bond urethane to fiberglass and make it last.

 

Professionally speaking:

Hoping we are talking about fiberglass bumpers. Because if they are urethane....FORGET ABOUT IT...IT WON"T WORK!!!!

I would SERIOUSLY re-think doing away with the seam.

You will have better luck doing the rear...even though I would not advise it. I have done it several times in the past and try to avoid doing it.

The problem with the front is the flexing in the whole area that is going to bond your bumper to the front end. Fusor will work....but you have to make sure that you grind it back to the seam and then fill over it, or laminate it. Fusor works great...and I use it very often. BUT if it were me...and I HAD to do this. I agree with "lushdrunk" the Fiberglass/ Evercoat SMC panel adhesive it the ticket.

Now, I KNOW that there are guys out there that have done this with much success. But I have seen so many that crack...and end up looking like crap.

The main reason I HATE to do the front is a couple of things. First off...the front end is held up by bolts and brackets/braces. Some of these brackets are pop riveted to your front fenders so your can bolt the front cover on and then are bolted to the extension brace that goes through your inner skirt. SO you have point of flex...because the frame will flex behind the wheel...thus causing small changes in the front nose of the car. Also the center of your top hood surround, right under your nose emblem is not supported in any way. Another flex point. AND if the metal bracket that is pop riveted behind the front edge of your top hood surround is slightly loose...another possible issue.

If you plan on doing this...before you do...I have some pictuers of fiberglass bumpers that have been perfectly fitted to the body. The seam is very clean and tight. But if you must have NO SEAM...just be careful. IF you are planning on grinding down the area AFTER you bonded the bumper to the body....so you can laminate it....if you choose to. KEEP this in mind. You will be grinding on the most important part, in terms of strength. That 90 degree bend at the top of the flange where the flange rolls downward so you have some area to bond. IF you grind too much of the fiberglass and or SMC away....you will weaken that bend/roll and now have a possibility for some stress crack. YES I know...you will be adding material back in...so how can it get weaker if you are adding finerglass back in where you ground it. It all depends on how well you apply your fiberglass/resin and work it correctly to make sure that you ratio of fiberglass and resin is correct. You do not want a lot of resin...or it will fail. And you do not want dry fibers...or it will fail. AND you definately do not want air bubbles.

Best of luck...it is do-able.

"DUB"

 

Thanks for the info. I have given some thought to making the seam a really tight fit, maybe thats all I need. I have already bought a fiberglass front bumper and the fit is not great so I was thinking of bonding it in. I am concerned about cracks in the future. I may work on the fit of the front bumper and see how it goes.

Dub, can you post some pics of your work on the seams? Also, what is the best thing to use to bring up the low spots?

Thanks,
Randy