Having explored all the possibilities; how do I go about getting my rear bumper and anni valance smoothed into one..materials involved please and also pics, no one has submitted any yet! This is bearing in mind that two bodyshops have said NO due to weather conditions and the smoothing breaking away from the bumper.I want a smooth rear and already have the anni valance so it could all be blended in surely??

I thought there might be a smoothed style bumper available but not for my milltek Anni cat back...

Anyone had this done professionally\\\\\\\\/

 

N
 

No offence, but if bodyshops have shyed away from doing this, it is probably for a good reason, as in it's a pain to do and can crack. Just take a look on barryboys.co.uk to see what can happen if you go for the smooved look and it goes wrong

 I would just get an R-line rear bumper as they're pretty smooth and won't fall apart.

 

Hi you can buy smooth front and rear bumpers for a golf made from ABS plastic so no need to smooth or worry about cracks. I have seen them on here just do a search for it. I am waiting for them to produce smooth Bora bumpers and i will be first in the que.

jonnyfatman:

No offence, but if bodyshops have shyed away from doing this, it is probably for a good reason, as in it's a pain to do and can crack. Just take a look on barryboys.co.uk to see what can happen if you go for the smooved look and it goes wrong

 I would just get an R-line rear bumper as they're pretty smooth and won't fall apart.

 

If it is a route that you really want to go down, then as long as you secure the splitter to the bumper so its nice and tight and doesn't move. Then you should be able to use a skim of decent filler to smooth the line out, if it is done properly you shouldnt have a problem.

I've got a smooth rear bumper on the corsa and its been on there for nearly a year and it hasn't started to crack anywhere even with bone shattering coilovers!

As long as its done properly it will last.

nd1.8t:

jonnyfatman:

No offence, but if bodyshops have shyed away from doing this, it is probably for a good reason, as in it's a pain to do and can crack. Just take a look on barryboys.co.uk to see what can happen if you go for the smooved look and it goes wrong

 I would just get an R-line rear bumper as they're pretty smooth and won't fall apart.

 

 lol!! Only thing is I have a milltek Anniversary cat back  so as far as I know this wont fit the R-Line - i think..anyone got any photos of R Line rear with Milltek Anniversary cat back then?

It will fit straight on.

Don't have any pics but i've seen a few on here over the years.

TBH it doesnt sound like your bodyshop want to undertake this type of job.

AS stated above, if the splitter is secured properly onto your bumper with metal brackets so there is no movement, then the filler will not crack or sink, when you get a dent on your car and the bodyshop fill it, it is very rare that it sinks or cracks, although this is on a none moving part, as stated, as long as your  splitter is secured properly it wont be a problem, provding of course u dont smash it on a speed bump! lol

You need to find a decent bodyshop that is handy with a plastic welder rather than approaching monkey's that will load it with filler.

Smoothing the rub strips or the groove between the the valance and bumper cover for that matter with filler is a hill billy mod no matter how well secured the two parts are.

You'll get people telling you that the cost of plastic welding is prohibitive, however if you're going to modify your stock bumper it's the only way to do it properly. Do it once and do it right.

Ewan

 

second that, plastic weld all the way, will hardly need any filler then, if at all, maybe just to fill any nicks etc, not big spaces

i've got a spare set of bumpers i'm trying diy plastic welding on, not actually got round to it yet though!

Completely forgot about plastic welding, would reccommend that over user filler definately!

Plastic weld??? Never heard of it, where's it available and does anyone have any post up with pics etc.,?? Just to recap i'm trying to get a rear to match the look of the R32 front, i have anni valance colour coded and i'd like to remove the bump strips and fill them /smooth them or whatever anyone higly recommends. I like the look of the R Line rear but understand this is scarce for Anni milltek

I have a smoothed rear bumper, plastic welded, the 4motion valance has been blended in also to look smoother. Mine hasnt shown any signs of cracking or anything, definately plastic weld, not filler.

Looks good lil_sham. Ive seen plastic welders on ebay, it'll only take a bit of practice, we have one at work, I did my 106GTi bumpers with it.

Another option is to tape plastic bags over the corners when the bumper inserts are removed and spray expanding foam in there. When this stuff goes hard you can just simply trim it level and just skim with filler. I saw someone use this technique on here a while ago, it might come up if you do a search, I thought it looked quite an effective way.

joN

ps. FUSOR make filler that is specificly for filling bumper repairs, we have it at work. It has flexibilty and bends and flexes with the plasic, we have it at work, its very good stuff. Check them out:

http://www.lord.com/Home/ProductsServices/Adhesives/FusorAutomotiveAftermarketProducts/Products/PlasticAdhesives/tabid/3401/Default.aspx  

114 is the stuff we have at work, really good stuff.

Heres a very cut down version of a quickish how to...

 

Normal bumper...

 

Fill with expanding foam... looks like this

 

then leave to harden so you can cut down the excess..

now sand down with a 120 grit sand paper..

heres how it looks after the sanding

now put some p38 filler but would be better to use p40 filler instead..

now sand down flat to get the contours bang on..

 

now any slight blemishes use a filler primer all over the bumper.. and then sand down to get the contours flat... should look something like this..

 

after a wipe down

now one final sand wet sand.. 800 then 1200 and read for primer.. finished product ready for final prep before spraying..

once sprayed..

and once fitted on the car...

 

hope that helps

 

Sat
 

 hth

 

p.s. also in regards to the anni lip you would have to plastic weld it n all honesty as if it flexes slightly it will crack 

 

 

Thats what I was on about, lol

Great `How To' 

 

awesome how to, will be defiently trying this now. and then get my valances plastic welded.

rob

Thanks for the positive comments.. was always saying me and my brother need to do a more detailed how to in regards to smoothing as it was me n bro that tested it this way.. well if i get another mk4 which may well be happining i will be smoothing it so il take some detailed pics during and a make a write up when it comes round to it..

 

Sat  

 do halfords sell plastic filler?

Satnam:

Thanks for the positive comments.. was always saying me and my brother need to do a more detailed how to in regards to smoothing as it was me n bro that tested it this way.. well if i get another mk4 which may well be happining i will be smoothing it so il take some detailed pics during and a make a write up when it comes round to it..

 

Sat  

feel free to do one using my rear bumper lol

i smoothed my front before i crashed the car and turned it into a bolf and it took me weeks of doing it in the evening before it was ready, making sure the there were no waves in it was impossible. hoping the rear will be a bit easier when i get round to doing it

Top notch, cheers Sat