TIL a wet towel and a heat gun can save a dent repair on plastic bumpers

I was working on this 2018 Civic rear bumper last Tuesday, had a nasty crease right near the taillight pocket. Tried my usual slide hammer and plastic welder tricks, nothing was pulling clean. Then my old shop foreman walks by and says 'damp a rag, heat it from behind, and push from the front.' I thought he was messing with me but I gave it a shot. Heated the plastic to about 180 degrees with the rag on it, pressed from the inside and the crease popped right out like magic. Saved me from having to fill and respray that whole panel. Anyone else use heat like this for tricky bumper dents?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_miles1mo ago

Started using this trick after a buddy showed me on his old Ford Taurus bumper. It works because most plastics soften at a lower temp than paint, so you can flex the panel without wrecking the clear coat. Noticed the same principle shows up in a lot of other things too like heating up a stuck jar lid under hot water to break the seal. Plastic just behaves different when it's warm.

carter.jennifer29d ago

180 degrees and it just popped out clean with no melting or warping? I've had plastic panels that looked like they were going to turn into a puddle at half that temp. You must have some kind of thermal sixth sense or something.