Bumper gouge repair.
 

After only 6 weeks, my beautiful silver P5 is no longer new. I just noticed a gouge on the plastic front bumper. This is my very first new car so I don't have any experience with cosmetic repairs, any advice?

Thanks

Try to post a pic as it would help us determine the best course of action.

Plastic Repair
 

If you have not ever used a Plastic welder or SEM plastic repair process, As with all plastics they are made from many different types of Plastics and you will need to determine what type of palstic the bumper is made of. I would not suggest to attempt to repair any plastic as it has a Process that begins with first cleaning the area with a Plastic cleaner then a conditioner. Once you get to the actual meat of this process you will then determine by the way the gauge is made what type of repair is needed. If the flap of the gauge needs more meat I would grind out the area that needs more plastic and weld in more plastic at the same time filling in the rips along the entire gauge. You will need to clean the weld be fore painting with the same cleaners and your paint will need a plastic elastive additive to keep the primer and paint durable after drying.
The SEM process is similar to the Plastic welding, although with the SEM product you are combing two parts of plastic repair material that will need to be mixed and sanded to a final finish and then cleaned again and primered and painted.

It can be done but I would not try tackling this project by your self the first time.

I have a gouge that sounds similar in my rear bumper. I have painted it with touch-up paint to reduce the visibility of it.

I'll try to remember to post a pic later today, because I am also interested in knowing how it can be fixed.

See My Gouge!
 

Here is the picture of my gouge. It is appoximately beneath the license plate, near the top of the rear bumper.

http://www.craytech.com/drew/gouge1.jpg

I don't know how it got there. I think somebody whacked it while they were loading the cargo area.

http://www.craytech.com/drew/gouge2.jpg

Dewey
Definantly for that type of gauge without any type of rip you would need to clean before sanding the area smooth on the top of the gauge and then you will have to clear out the guts of the cut to keep the inner area clean.
Once you have this done I would use the SEM product two part system as you have a gauge and dont really want to spend the money to get the Plastic welder.
After you have it smooth as you want use a real primer (you have to mix the catalyst and the primer) not spray can. dont tape of the edges smooth as that makes other problems when you want to paint it.
If you want to go into detail about painting methods let me know and I can help you thru email or even on this if you want.

Kosmicride,

Thanks for the info, but I think you've convinced me to take it to a professional. How much do you think a good body shop will charge to fix it up?

Hey, Radiation Dave -- you gonna try fixin' your gouge?

Maybe if you have good luck with yours, I'll try it myself.

Thanks for the advice...

I think that I may try to do the repair myself. I will post a pic tomorrow, but the gouge on my bumper is about 4 cm (about 1 cm gouge and 3 cm of scratch) - fortunately, most of the gouge is located on the underside of the bumper and is not visible (still bugs me though...)

Dewey - that gouge is small, I would just leave it. Or wait until you have more than 1 repair to do.

Any idea what the body shops charge for this kind of work?

Thanks again.

Being that the gauge on Dewey's bumper is in the middle of the bumper and the car is black it should not cost more then $300.00
It may even be worth your while to pull the bumper off and take it to the shop to have it fixed as black is black unless there is a pearl or flake in it.

Good Luck Radiation Dave

Just remember unless you have a good qualty paint gun that can apply the primer, sealer, base coat, clear coat then you may not want to do it yourself,
on another note it may be cheaper to actually do the repair yourself and take it to someone to paint it as a Pint of paint and probably a QT of clear may cost you an arm and leg after buying the plastic repair material.

NOTE: DO NOT USE BONDO ON YOUR PLASTIC BUMPER OR IT WILL JUST FLAKE OFF. ALSO WHEN CLEANING IT MAKE SURE TO KEEP CONTACT IF USING A ALCOHOL BASED PRODUCT.
I have seen small explosions from the vapors and electricity in your body or touch.