Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Hey whats up guys. I tried doing a Google search but didn't find that very helpful. I want to learn how to shave the front bump on my del Sol. And I want to make it as OEMish as possible (as far as quality goes). I want to go from this....

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._3816222_n.jpg

to this


http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._3892779_n.jpg


So this would require me shaving the aux holes, the license plate holes, the bumper reflectors and while I am at it I want to mold on my lip. So I was looking for tips on what products to use and how to go about it.

-Mark-

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

del sols came out with bumpers with no fog light holes, i think they came on the 1997 del sols

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Yea I know that but the bumper still has the reflector lights and the license plate lights and the bumpers cause they are rare go for around $150 used and $250 new. Since this looks different and I am pretty sure could be done cheaper I was leaning towards this way.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

are thoes shotguns on that del sol?

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

..i dont know if you noticed this, but the grill opening is also different between those 2 bumpers. i would NOT recomend shaving those aux light holes, just get the bumper that doesnt have them and shave the rest. it will NEVER last patching a hole that large, plastic welded or not. i ESPECIALLY wouldnt recommend this as a first plastic welding project. as soon as you tap something with that it will crack. the license plate holes and bummper lenses will be easier to do, and should last, but imho those aux light holes are way too big for a proper repair. think of it this way....even if it looks good when your finished, you get it painted. when it cracks, you have to get a new bumper and have it shaved and painted anyway. sell the bumper you have and get the right one to start with. spend the extra money now and save the hassle of having to do this twice.

also...the jdm del sol bumpers come with no bumper reflectors, maybe you can find a jdm sol bumper with no aux lights, and no reflectors and only have to shave the license plate holes.

EDIT:: "done cheaper" and "done correctly" are often NOT THE SAME. aftermarket bumpers can be had for half the price of an oem, but almost never fit correctly. as they say, you get what you pay for, if honda made a bumper thats almost teh way you want it, get that and go from there, all the work that honda did will last a lifetime and you will never have to think about it cracking.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

sem, duramix, and 3m make adhesives that will do what you want.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Those are great products and my friend just shaved the bumper on his gti using the duramix. Turned out nice and if done right you shouldn't have many problems.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Yea I have seen a lot of the VW guys shave big holes without any problems and that is what I was looking into doing. Where did he learn or does he know of a how-to that he used cause I am looking for the steps of how to do it and want not.

-mark-

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

if you attempt to shave those light holes, your gonna have a tough time, i do custom plastic shaving all the time, the larger the area, the weaker it can become. Most of the plastic repair puttys only reccomend a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick bead AT MAX, Of course you can alway cut a piece of plastic near the size of the circle and make your bead small, thats just a very large hole to make look proper, but is possible. Make sure to use the correct cleansing agent when you start grinding into your plastic. raw plastic is oily and when cut open it will start to seep, i use a product called poly prep which will dry out the oil before applying anytype of plastic repair or doing any welding. A polyurethane glazing putty can be used for a final glaze coat, just go thin with it, bumpers flex alot. I agree with ROE, if this is your first time i would not do it. I would not reccomend this to any customer,without them willing to pay the consequences later.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Yea. I was thinking that would be the only way to do it was to find a sheet of plastic or donner bumper of some sorts and cut out the shapes i need and then just weld or bond them together and then do the whole bondo/paint prep thing. and thanks your post def helped alot i think ill start getting some supplies together and see how it turns out. worst comes to worst i buy a new bumper. thanks again.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

if you want to find a bunch of info on this including some how-to's /walkthrough's you should check this site out, you'll have to do some searching but its on there

www.vwvortex.com

:)

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

thats creative

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

sem actually gives a free 2 day class at there new facility in rock hill sc.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

Any updates? Did you do it??

Im interested in doing this as well.. But I'll get an OEM replica bumper from interstate auto body parts nearby to f**** with... 35 bucks..

LMK if you did this and how.

Re: Plastic Welding / Bumper Shaving
 

LMAO! In 8 years of autobody I have never messed with repairing plastic. However, I did just purchase a cheap plastic welder from harbor freight and have been playing with it, I'm guessing not removing the oily substance is why I haven't been obtaining proper adhesion of the "welding rod." The only thing I have used on bumpers is various solutions to allow the paint to adhere properly to the plastic and flex additive. Thanks for that post, taught an old dog a new trick lol. :thumbup: