Fixing dent in 2003 Accord front bumper?

We nudged a snowbank with our 2003 Accord LX sedan while
turning into our drive this winter, and later discovered
a dent about 10 inches across in the passenger side front
bumper (actually, the plastic skirt below the bumper proper).
Is it possible to pop this out?

 

i have a 2001 civic that my daughter left with a dent in the left front
area about the size of a half of football sitting inside the plastic
bumper.. i took off the bumper and put it in the grass in the yard and
then stood on the dent fron the inside and shoved it out.. i then took
two pieces of wood on one side and one piece of wood on the other and
wrapped them in old rags so the wood would not scratch the plastic
paint.. i then used a very large C-Clamp to squeeze the dent flat and
left it like that for a day.. took the clamp off the next day and you
could hardly see the dent.. i tried and tried and tried to do it on the
car but could not get to the position that i needed to get to.. and No
all the hitting with a hand did not do any good at all to get this dent
on on the car....

 

Yes. Those bumper covers are EASILY fixed. Ask your local body shop.

 

Thanks for the info -- I'll try it out. The 2 body shops I took it to
insisted on replacing it anyway -- probably can't make things any
worse (famous last words) ....

 

I can sort of understand them wanting to replace the bumper, mainly to boost
their profits. But there could be another reason, although unlikely.
Behind the very fragile, very expensive plastic bumper, there's high density
impact styrofoam (similar to a bicycle helmet). That stuff is only designed
to survive a single impact and even if it looks fine to the naked eye,
should be replaced. Obviously, since you only hit a snow bank the foam
should be fine but considering how lawsuit crazy people are getting these
days, they probably don't want to risk it and insist on doing a proper full
repair. Can't say I blame them, although paying the bill does suck.

 

The dent in the polyurethane weakens the area, so there is no way the shop
could warranty their work, as the stresses induced in the PUR cannot be
removed (even if the dent can removed), leaving a weakened portion.

 

The easiest way to repair the plastic skirt (and least likely to damage it)
is to use a hair drier. Loosen the skirt enough to get your hand behind the
dent. Heat the dented area and slowly and carefully massage the dent out.
This sounds silly but it doesn't take much heat to soften the plastic enough
to reform it by hand. It worked for a similar dent in my 04 Maxima. You can
use the hair dryer on the high setting but I would be very careful with a
heat gun and I certainly wouldn't use a torch.

 

I forgot about doing this in my last response (for some reason I was
thinking thermoset not thermoplastic). You will need a temperature of about
+300°f. As stated, be sure not to get it too much hotter, or else it will
quickly become less viscouis and difficult to form. It needs to be heated
uniformly through the profile.

Some bumpers are made of polyurethane, some of polypro. Here is some info
on thermoplastic polyurethane fyi.

http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/urethane.htm

 

I also support the hair dryer method to remove the dent. A few years
back someone left a dent in the front bumper of my wifes Honda Civic
at the local mall. It was about the size of a golf ball (from trailer
ball hitch?) but it didn't break the paint. I removed the bumper and
heated up the back side of the bumper and it came out no problem with
a little pressing. Can't even tell it ever happened (unless you
REALLY, REALLY look). It sure beat a repair bill from the local body
shop.

Give it a try!