Help..need to fix 2 inch crack on car body

[Soujiro]

Can anyone help me? Some punk hit my parents 98 toyata avalon in the front right bumper in a hit and run. Now there's is a small crack in the metal about 2 inches long.

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^^ about that long. The top part is pushed in verrry slightly. I'm afraid the metal will rust and cause more problems later. I got a small vial of touch up paint for the metal so it won't rust or anything, but is there anyway I can seal the crack somehow? I don't have much experience with repairing body damage, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[Soybomb]

Plastic or metal? I assume plastic since metal bumpers dont really crack, but then again they dont rust either. Is it a plastic or a metal part?

 

[Spoooon]

Bondo and a little sanding. Then paint over it.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

Umm yes

torch it and collect the insurance.



Need more info please.

 

[Soujiro]

hehe, I don't tihnk my parents will like it if I torch it.

Yeah, it's metal. It's really strange how it got cracked instead of dented, but it was a hit and run so they didn't see. Yeah a lot of people say sand it and bondo, but I'm not really clear on how to do that. Know any good websites, or what if there is any proper technique?

 

[Soujiro]

Perhaps crack is the wrong word. It's more like a tear in the metal.

 

[Sluggo]

I'm not sure if Bondo and sanding is quite gonna do the trick on the plastic/urethane bumper cover.

I think there are specialty machines that can "weld" the plastic on a small crack, otherwise you just replace them.

Is it on metal, or the flexible bumper??

 

[Soujiro]

Oh, and I wanted to repair in because it costs wayy to much to get a new bumper and such. If you've ever seen an Avalon, the bumpers on the front and back are integrated into the car frame, so you can just rip off the bumper and put on a new one easily. I think the shop quoted my mom at like $600 or some ridicoulous price.

I figured heck, my fellow ATOTers will be able to help me do a better job for cheaper. Lets hope I can fix this thing. :frown:

Hey, spooon, what's a good brand of Bondo and how much does it cost?

 

[SuperTool]

Find a new bumper on wreck yard, and put it in.
Find a car that was hit from behind or side: try
Copartfinder

 

[Zucchini]

hm, you might awnt to bring that in for inspection. You want the bumper working optimally next time it gets hit

 

[Soujiro]

Sorry for the confusion. It is METAL. The cut is pretty clean, but it is straight through the side of the metal bumper. (front right corner).

 

[Soujiro]

Thanks for the site supertool, but I don't think the crack is so bad that it warrents me to get an entirely new bumper. Seems like a lot more work + money than I can afford to spend.

From the site it doesn't look like there are any bumpers the same color as mine (like copper beige or something), so I'd have to paint them over again. No fun at all.

 

[Soybomb]

Bondo is a brand. You don't want to use bondo as you'll make a mess and its not a situation when bondo is needed. Bondo is a plastic body filler. If you've got a dent in metal or roughness you put bondo in the valley and sand it smooth with the rest of it. There is nothing behind the crack so nothing for the bondo to be put on. The only way to fix this right that would look at all decent is to have teh crack welded shut and painted. The only thing you can do on your own is paint it.

 

[Soujiro]

Hmm, guess there isn't much I can do then. Thanks Soybomb. Thanks to everyone else too.

 

[Soujiro]

I'll probably just paint the edges of the metal and leave it at that. Maybe I can tell people we got the crack while stopping a speeding car from running over a small child or something.

 

[SuperTool]

Hmm dunno how hard it is to change bumper on Avalon.
Also, be prepared for paint job not to match perfectly, especially if you have a fancy color.
Also, changing the whole bumper will make it easier to hide that there was ever an accident, which is good for resale.

 

[Spoooon]

Dude, you can still use bondo. Yes, it's meant to fill in a dent, but you ought to be able to use it to fill a small crack. Just like you can use glue to fill a hole. Glue isn't meant to be used like that, but you can still do it. If you get a chance, see if you can play around with some bondo before you actually do something to your car with it. You'll probably still have to sand it, but if you do it right it shouldn't look too bad.

edit: don't know how accesible the crack is, but you can put a strip of tape on the other side of the bumper behind the crack. Now, you have a small "dent". Fill that with bondo. When it dries, sand it till it's even, then paint it.