It's not a thirdgen, but this car came in today, with paint shattered and peeling.
TO everyone who says, "I used it, and it worked fine for me!!" It WILL fail.
note the splits beginning in the creases...

 

...

 

i see no pictures.

 

It won't fail if you do it right. Bondo doesn't crack and fail unless it's too thick, not adhered to the panel properly, or if there was a hard enough impact to cause the bumper to flex considerably.

 

Sorry, completely untrue, It Will fail, I've seen enough and done enough bumper repairs, The substrates are not compatible. the ONLY way to repair a cover is with the proper materials.
I bring this up because of the recent hot topics on this forum from people asking this question.

Working on photos... am on dial up and would not load...

 

again

 

Agreed, 100%

 

The bondo in that pic looks a foot thick.

My IROC was painted 4 or 5 years ago and still looks 100% perfect. It's got a very thin coat of filler on the lower valance right at the tip where it was gouged from scraping.

My GTA has some too, and that's going on 3 years. It still looks 100% perfect.

My friend's 99 SS has a skim coat of filler here and there around the bumpers of his car. That's been 3 or 4 years. Still looks perfect.

If you're having problems, you're not doing it right.

The substrate compatibility shouldn't be an issue if there's something between the two materials.

I wouldn't put bondo directly over a bare urethane bumper, but between my father and I, we've used it to smooth out imperfections in spider-webbing or over urethane repairs hundreds of times and haven't had a single failure.

 

im just going to point out that every modern car made in the last 10 years has plastic front and rear bumpers... some even have the whole car that way.


they all bondo just fine.



the above pic is how NOT to do it. if theres a "edge" to your bondo, its way too thick to begin with.

 

btw, i hate bondo as much as most of you


the word alone makes me think of ******* hicks

but sometimes, it is the correct, or only tool.



btw, what do you believe the "proper" materials are?


for a tear, i agree with some other stuff, but im very curious how you intend to fix a mildly pitted lower section.




edit: my grammar sucks.

 

Two part epoxy plastic repair material
two part epoxy skim coat plastic repair material.
Sorry, It's less than a sixteenth...
That's correct, because you shouldn't even be using polyester to repair plastic, it's used for a proper metal repair.
All urethane bumpers have a mold release agent that inhibits the ability for polyester to adhere...Hell, it's tough enough sometimes to get the correct stuff to stick. And we all know it will not flex(polyester)... So why use an inferior product for a repair that you would like to last?

 

go ahead and tell that to alot of the custom hot rod guys


Many Many custom guys use bondo. I agree, if it's put on like 1 inch thick or whatever...it is VERY VERY *******ish, but if it's done with some common sense, it's a great product and very few people have any problems with it

 

oh i have.

and they agree.

the word alone has a negitive connotation simply because of the number of people using it improperly.


thats why we dont talk about mudding our cars, even though its done. because no one wants to bring it up.




i suppose the root of the problem is in your second part of your reply


common sense isnt so common anymore.


kevin G, there shouldnt be any mold release on it, peroid. regardless of what you use.

 

what do you mean?,
apparently you misunderstood...ALL plastic parts are manufactured with a mold release agent...It allows them to uh...well...release them from the mold!!!!

Yes I whoeheartedly agree..."bondo" gets a bad rap because it was used by the masses to pack rust holes full o' the s##t!!
If used in a proper repair, on good steel, it wont fail.
I tell all my customers this when they come in screamin' "NO BONDO" "NO BONDO"!!!! It will hold up 100 percent, unless it gets damaged there again.
We actually offer a lifetime guarantee on our workmanship. I know my guys are doing each job correctly and I can back it up.

 

this is on the outside. where it, uhh, touches the mold.

its not internal

and it must be removed from the part before its initally painted.


so while i wont debate the adhesiveness of bondo to the plastic, i can definitively tell you that its not the release agent causing the problem.

 

Plastic parts are pourous and, as such, will wick the mold release and while yes it must be removed at the time of repair, anytime you grind the part more will weep out and cause problems. cleaning is essential.
A few years ago, GM had a problem with the Lumina's and Monte Carlo's and their own paint wouldn't stick...
Research was done by the paint companies and it was discovered that all these covers were manufactured in one plant and sprayed with a black Elpo, that was never fully cured... Each cover that was replaced in an accident had to be washed, cooked in our booth, re-washed, and electrostatic washed,(basically a denatured alcohol), prepped, washed again, then sealed and shot.

 

bondo is not *******, it can be your best friend when prepping a car for paint! that and a dent puller/popper .

 

Ive used bondo a number of times, hell i used it to hold my broken headliner together on my fiero. But yes I have never used it on a bumper cover.

Dont plan on it, bumper covers are usually not too terribly expensive.

We may all despise bondo, but its a kinda ductape of the automotive world. Body work really couldnt exist without bondo, unless you always buy new panels.

 

Agreed. My dad and I used JB Weld, same, same, used just enough in the pits, and then sanded it to smooth it. Looks pretty good, and doesn't crack or anything from stress. I wouldn't put bondo on a plastic/eurethane piece, but, sometimes, if done correctly, can look good on metal.

Gilley

 

I really wish that were a true statement too!!! I can't tell you the number of brand new panels we get in that are damged!!!

 

Sorry to go a little off topic here, but the Mustang Saleen in 2 Fast 2 Furious that was crushed was a 95 V6 Rustang with LOTS of bondo. FYI

 

Yes, it is sad to say that GM is not on top of it's game when it comes to shipping out replacement parts. How many times have we seen a damaged panel come out of a perfect box?? Worse than that is the rash from rubbing the cardboard box. They are just now coming to realize they had a fisheye problem in their ELPO. Ford and chrysler both put a sheet of bubble wrap on the face of their parts where they will contact the box, and they always arrive in much better shape than GM.
On a side note, Evercoat makes a flexible glazing putty for repairing bumper covers, the trick is to try and not sand through the paint and expose the bumper substrate. And not all GM bumpers are cheap, either....Monte Carlo SS with the "High sport" appearance package, bumpers list for more than $1000 each.

 

unfourtunatly for me $585 isn't cheap for a new bumper cover so repairing the cracks in mine is the way to go. When you say using bondo correctly does that mean thin layers, cleaning the metal area really well, allowing more then enough time for it to dry before working on it and primering it before painting? I'm just wondering because I've already repaired 1 rust spot with bondo, just bondo'ed another that needs to be sanded and painted and plan on doing quite a few more and would like the repairs to last.

 

We're talking about two different things here, your first part we're talking about PLASTIC bumper covers...
you're right the prices are outrageous , Aftermarket is another route, and not nearly as much of a problem in plastic parts as in sheetmetal.

Second...Yes polyester is OK when used in the context that it was made. FOR METAL!!! Yes to all of the above on this question.