Exhaust cut out repair...

[guysy]

Thinking of filling in an exhaust cut out on a bumper, The bumper is in good condition, And in the right colour.. The cut out is at the bottom, So i am thinking of DIY-ing it out.

Im very handy with a spray can, So the plan is, Credit card behind the cut out (what glue? Or plastic weld with a soldering iron?)

Possibly fibre glass matting over the back, Or some strong glue/filler?

Then on the outside thats seen, Body filler... Already got some normal body shop filler, Do i need plastic filler? Key the plastic and fill... In my head i cant see it sticking well, Flexible filler?

Then primer > colour > 2k aerosol.

Any good sites that mix colours to aerosols please?

 

[jesus]

www.auto-paint.co.uk are the best.

 

[Greeny.]

www.auto-paint.co.uk are the best.

Ive used these, decent.

 

[richy22]

Or...

http://www.paints4u.com/

 

[JCC]

Fibreglass on the front and back if you're going to do it that way. Sand it down smooth on the outside then filler over that.

 

[guysy]

Cheers lads, Good plan JCC, I think i may attempt to melt the card to the bumper then fiberglass and re inforce the back... Then as said resin over the front?

But that will be a mare to sand?.. Then filler and primer it...

 

[JCC]

It'll be tough to sand yes, but you're going to be there a long time anyway sanding the filler, may aswell make the extra effort to try and ensure it doesn't crack/sag.

 

[AlexG]

Fibreglass the back. Resin and a good 4 layers of fibreglass.
Skim p40 over the front to fill the hole then skim p38 across it.
Sand and paint.

 

[guysy]

Cheers, I have easy sand isopon, So i think ill use that, then filler primer it.

 

[AlexG]

If you can. Once you have fillered it. Leave it for a week for the filler to sink. Then have another skim of it before painting.

 

[rich-6]

Personally i'd be cutting a piece of plastic from an old bumper that would fit the hole, then chamfer the edges on the cutout and the piece to replace, Getting some mesh and 2k glueing it inplace behind the cutout to reinforce it all, bit in the gaps on the front too.

Sand that down and skim filler over the front as needed, It'l be better than fibreglassing it.

Putting a credit card at the back and fibreglassing it on, leaves you with a nice chunk of filler on the front, filler on a plastic bumper generally isnt the best and will crack in time.

as an example usually for bumper scuffs etc in plastic depending how bad it is i sand them out!

 

[JCC]

Rich's idea is a better option.

If you're just going to fibreglass you'll need to do the front and the back of the bumper. If you just fibreglass the rear you won't be able to "skim" across anything, bumpers aren't wafer thin and you'll end up putting on a lump of filler a few mm thick to fill the hole in. Which will likely crack.

 

[guysy]

Trouble is it will be a sport bumper with cutouts, i cant afford two of them im trying to keep costs down.

Alex G yeah sounds like more good advice, Im still thinking i will credit card the cutouts, Slightly plastic weld it, Fiberglass the black, Slightly fiberglass the front, Skim the front and sand...

Leave it a few days in the warm to sink, Re filler then continue.. Seeing as the gap between the card and the surface will be 1mm ish will it sink that much?

Suppose it will just cause a outline in the paint, Also seeing as its the bottom of the bumper and black... It wont stand out amazingly i hope.

 

[guysy]

There was someone doing the same thing on a black sport bumper with two cutouts, Can anyone remeber who it was?