How To Fix A Crease In A Plastic Bumper

BigDaddyinBigD

OK, my daughter just had a minor fender bender in our 2011JK. No one was hurt and no damage to the other vehicle, but the plastic cover on our front bumper is pushed in, right in front of the passenger side tow hook (see photo).

I'm hoping we can just pop it out somehow. I have various diameters of wooden dowels that I could round off to use as pushIng tools. Lots of stuff in my tool box, too, like a long extension for a 1/2" ratchet.

Not sure if we can reach It, though, from either under the bumper or thru the opening around the tow hook. Otherwise, how hard is it to remove the plastic bumper cover? I realize, there may still be some wrinkles in the plastic, but hopefully not overtly noticeable.

Your ideas and experience with a similar scenario, would be greatly appreciated. Also, if this proves to not be possible, does anyone sell just the stock plastic bumper cover? Thanks guys! BD

Anybodyhome

Someone dented one of my rear bumper knobs a few years back. Didn't look as severe as yours, but I left it out in the sun for a couple hours, used a bunch of hot water and my hands to basically massage the plastic back into shape. There remains a small crease, but you have to look for it to see it. I suppose you could use a hair dryer or a heat gun used for paint removal.
The thing is, that knob is "hollow," there's nothing behind it. The actual steel bumper is straight across the front. I suppose if you had to drill a hole to get a ratchet extension or something inside to push it out, I'd recommend doing it from the bottom.

BigDaddyinBigD

Oh man, I don't see any way to repair that, honestly. The dent is so bad with those creases that there is no way I can see to easily fix it. You'd have to cut a huge section of metal out, then bend a new piece of metal in multiple ways to make it fit, weld it, sand it down, and re-powder coat.

Not even close to being worth the time or effort, especially when you can get stock takeoff JK bumpers like that for $100 or less.

Wow. Am I not supposed to ask questions about stock Jeeps?

BigDaddyinBigD

here's what you can do, it wont be perfect but it will be better, I don't remember if you can get to that part of the bumper, but take it off heat it up with some flame or a heat gun but then with a tool, (flat iron,crow bar push it out, heat it enough to make it pliable, for the part that's cut you can buy a heating rod used to burn wood its a $5 tool at harbor freight.. slowly from behind the bumper weld the plastic together as its flat. I've fixed plenty of these dents in bumpers, some without even painting, some not so good. but if your gonna try it do it asap as the plastic will get stiffer to that form. sorry i cant explain it better, or now you have a awesome excuse to get a aftermarket bumper!!! ya for that

Thanks. Very helpful.

BigDaddyinBigD

Not upset, but he was clearly being sarcastic. Regardless, I've found some videos on YT, where people have had success with a heat gun and a couple course threaded screws.

Anybodyhome

Ease up, guys. I think there was some misunderstanding to the extent of the damage. It seems the only part of the bumper damaged in this minor incident was the plastic. No worries, we're all here with a common interest and a common cause.

By the way, this is what my rear bumper looks like today after I got mine mashed in and I repaired it:

It'll never be perfect, but, hey, it's a plastic bumper cover on a Jeep, not the chrome grille on a '59 Caddy, ffs.

BigDaddyinBigD

Ease up, guys. I think there was some misunderstanding to the extent of the damage. It seems the only part of the bumper damaged in this minor incident was the plastic. No worries, we're all here with a common interest and a common cause.

By the way, this is what my rear bumper looks like today after I got mine mashed in and I repaired it:
It'll never be perfect, but, hey, it's a plastic bumper cover on a Jeep, not the chrome grille on a '59 Caddy, ffs.

Thanks, you're spot on. This is my daughter's first fender bender and she's a really good driver. Just the day before, she and her mother spent quite a bit of time applying some of that expensive black plastic restoration stuff to the bumpers and flares. She was really proud of the accomplishment and we all loved how it turned out. So combone the two and this is really traumatic to her. I was trying to find a quick fix for the plastic, because in-class school started today and she loves that Jeep.

Anyhow, I have a plan of attach to try to fix it. If that doesn't work, I've found some replacement covers on eBay for $80 and will have our mechanic switch them around. Thanks again for you info.

ON AN ASIDE: I'm really disappointed had how fragile some of this stuff is on "modern" Jeeps. Jeeps are supposed to be badass and tough, right from the factory. In college I had a 1980 Jeeps CJ5 (very close to this one) and afternoon I graduated, I had 1987 Jeep Wranger (very close to the other one). See those from bumpers? They're steel. I remember taking them off and straightening them in The shop at my buddy's construction company. Shot a coat of flat black spray paint on them then bolted them on.

Last edited: Sep 3, 2020

Anybodyhome

And you'll find something fairly close to that under the plastic- a relatively simple steel beam. Heck, you might even prefer the look of the bumper without the plastic cover on it over the current version. Just a thought.

BigDaddyinBigD

Yeah, I know what the steel bumper looks like, underneath. We're trying to keep this relatively stock, so I'll repair or replace the cover.

Back on Jeep, though, their engineers had to know these plastic parts would dent, with the slightest push, so it would have been nice it they had at least made them removable, without removing the whole bumper.

I'll get off my stump now. Thanks again.

BigDaddyinBigD

Law, regulations and crash test requirements are why everything is not made of steel anymore. Both here and in the EU, as most companies will only make a single vehicle and sell in both markets.

It's been years since I looked it up, but I believe the law says the vehicle's bumpers have to be able withstand something like a 5mph impact. Not trying to be disagreeable, but I'm pretty sure putting a hollow plastic cover over a steel bumper is for cosmetic reasons.

BigDaddyinBigD

For anyone interested, there are several videos on YT that show how to do a quick fix on this type of thing. With a couple modifications, this is how I plan to proceed...