repairable, BTDT

来源: 2012-05-13 08:31:35 [博客] [旧帖] [给我悄悄话] 本文已被阅读:

if your deductable is too high and you want to save money while you are good on diy, try these steps:

1) buy a metal screen from hp or body parts store

2) cut the size a little bigger than the hole on bumper cover

3) glue or cold-weld it to inside of open hole on the bumper (this step can be skipped if the hole were small - from your photo you better have it.  the principle of this step is to provide a support for putty, just like the lining screen for stucco walls in your house.  alternatively you can use a sheet metal with punched holes on it). 

4) apply putty (auto parts stores have it)

5) grind and sand it to very smooth (from grit 200 -> 600 -> 1000).  This step is the most important one, the finishing quality is relying on this prep.

6) mask all front including grill/headlights/bumper except the area for paint.

7) spray color paint on (an auto-body-paint-supply-store can match the color for you, about $60; if your car is relatively new, they can do it by your color code).

8) if the quality of surface is good enough, you can go next step.  however in case it does not look smooth, you can sand it off at this step and re-apply the paint until satisfactory.

9) spray clear coat (any auto parts store has the clear paint in can, about $7).

 

Overall if you diy with area repair, the cost would be less than $100. or you can have a body shop do it for about $200-300 (body shop will sand off and repaint entire bumper).

good luck