Shenandoah
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2008
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley, VA
- TDI
- 2005 Jetta Wagon; 2005 Beetle; 2004 Jetta; 2002 Golf (three of them); 2002 Jetta Wagon; 2000 Audi TT->TDI; 1999 Beetle
Folks,
My daily driver is my Audi TT -> TDI conversion. It's not a "show" car. Last week I came around a corner and a couple turkey buzzards were have "lunch" in the middle of the road. They started to fly but I bumped one as it was taking off (even while braking hard). When I got home I noticed the bumper cover had cracked at the top by the passenger side headlight. Nothing was missing or broken out, just cracked. The lower passenger side of the bumper cover has always been cracked and needed fixing.
I was looking around at options to try to fix the bumper cover without it cracking further or actually breaking and loosing a piece. In the past I've used Lord Fusor plastic epoxy with so-so success. JB Weld also has several epoxy and adhesives for plastic (I haven't tried any of those). I noticed at walmart they had a can of Bondo Hair. It's long strands of fiberglass in filler. You mix in a hardener to activate the filler. It was $14 for a quart can. I figured, what the heck......
I pulled the bumper cover off the Audi and taped the cracked pieces together so they were flush with each other. Flipped it over and wire wheeled the area with the crack going out about 2". I then wiped everything down with acetone. This is the back side of the bumper cover, not the front painted side.
I opened up the can of Bondo Hair. The fiberglass/filller is in a clump in the can. I fished out a blob of it that filled an empty tuna fish can about half way. I squeezed out a strip of hardener across the diameter of the can. Used a plastic spoon to fold/mix the hardener in. Used the plastic spoon to scoop out and spread the Bondo Hair over the area of the crack and about 2" in either side of the crack. The filler set up in about 20 minutes (it was 50 degrees outside). I did both areas that were cracked on the bumper cover.
I have to say I am impressed with how strong the filler is and how well it adhered to the bumper cover. Yes you can see the crack outline on the painted side of the bumper, BUT I don't have to worry about the crack getting worse or a piece breaking off. With the fiberglass strands in the filler, it really holds everything together.
Eric
My daily driver is my Audi TT -> TDI conversion. It's not a "show" car. Last week I came around a corner and a couple turkey buzzards were have "lunch" in the middle of the road. They started to fly but I bumped one as it was taking off (even while braking hard). When I got home I noticed the bumper cover had cracked at the top by the passenger side headlight. Nothing was missing or broken out, just cracked. The lower passenger side of the bumper cover has always been cracked and needed fixing.
I was looking around at options to try to fix the bumper cover without it cracking further or actually breaking and loosing a piece. In the past I've used Lord Fusor plastic epoxy with so-so success. JB Weld also has several epoxy and adhesives for plastic (I haven't tried any of those). I noticed at walmart they had a can of Bondo Hair. It's long strands of fiberglass in filler. You mix in a hardener to activate the filler. It was $14 for a quart can. I figured, what the heck......
I pulled the bumper cover off the Audi and taped the cracked pieces together so they were flush with each other. Flipped it over and wire wheeled the area with the crack going out about 2". I then wiped everything down with acetone. This is the back side of the bumper cover, not the front painted side.
I opened up the can of Bondo Hair. The fiberglass/filller is in a clump in the can. I fished out a blob of it that filled an empty tuna fish can about half way. I squeezed out a strip of hardener across the diameter of the can. Used a plastic spoon to fold/mix the hardener in. Used the plastic spoon to scoop out and spread the Bondo Hair over the area of the crack and about 2" in either side of the crack. The filler set up in about 20 minutes (it was 50 degrees outside). I did both areas that were cracked on the bumper cover.
I have to say I am impressed with how strong the filler is and how well it adhered to the bumper cover. Yes you can see the crack outline on the painted side of the bumper, BUT I don't have to worry about the crack getting worse or a piece breaking off. With the fiberglass strands in the filler, it really holds everything together.
Eric
