Bodywork question - hard plastic bumpers
 

I know there's a few on here that know a thing or two on bodywork so I thought I'd throw this out there.

My buddy has a 2007 Jeep Wrangler with the hard black plastic bumpers.

Someone hit it in a parking lot (didn't leave a note) and now the rear bumper has a large dent right on the corner. It's like the plastic is just inverted there, but it is such a hard material there is no give to try to pop it back out.

He has heard rumors from various people (who supposedly have heard from bodyshops, etc) that with plastic bumpers all you have to do is heat it up with a heat gun, and the bumper will pop right back out due to its "memory".

Anyone have experience with this?

Re: Bodywork question - hard plastic bumpers
 

Sometimes in "thin" plastic bumpers (1997 Ford Festiva, 1998 Honda Accord as examples of that kind of bumpers) heating the zone (sometimes leaving the car in direct sunlight in a hot day can do the trick) causes the bumpers to pop out due of their "memory" but the sign of damage will never dissapear, in other cases if the bumper is too thick it will not pop out without taking the bumper out.

Re: Bodywork question - hard plastic bumpers
 

You certainly can use a heat gun to soften the material of a plastic bumper cover then 'massage' it back into a closer approximation of its original shape. I say closer because inevitably part of the bumper will be stretched and distorted from the inital impact and just won't go 100% back to original. I have generally used my long pry bar (2ft) by holding the shaft and using the handle to re-shape the bumper sinnce the handle is rounded and won't leave a divit and I can keep my hand far enough away from the heat source. Take your time and work it slowly from the outside inward and likley you'll end up with something close enough to the original shape.

However, since you did say it was a Jeep, if a little scar is left over it might not seem so out of place. (" a Jeep thing" we're not supposed to understand? - whatever)

Of course, I suspect if you priced out the end cap cover you'd find since it's a common body shop part and there would be a good supply, and likely it would even be under $50.00 for a new one.

Good luck to you, but certainly have your buddy check the replacement price first, may not even be worth the effort to try repairing versus replacing.