Your car’s bumper is usually the first part to get damaged in a car accident, no matter how small or large the accident happens to be. Bumpers are typically the first point of contact between the car and the object it hits, assuming we’re not talking about an accident involving a side collision.
Even the slowest of car accidents that happen below 10 miles per hour will typically result in some minor bumper damage, which is why these types of accidents are often called ‘fender benders’. The bumpers play an important role in minimizing damage and absorbing a significant portion of the impact during a collision, which is why they’re so notoriously easy to damage and crack.
If you’ve recently been involved in a collision and want to fix your damaged bumper, or if you simply want to take care of scratches and dents in your bumper caused by road debris such as rocks and stones, this article will help you better understand bumper damage and how to fix it. We’ll go over what the bumper does in more detail, discuss the different types of bumper damage, and outline possible fixes for each one.
How Important is it to Have a Bumper?
The bumper doesn’t just serve an aesthetic purpose, but also a functional one. The bumpers on most modern cars are built from flexible materials such as plastic and polypropylene, both of which can bend and absorb impacts without damaging or cracking, eventually returning to their original form – assuming the impact wasn’t too large.
The bumpers act as a shock absorber in a way, minimizing damage to mechanical and expensive structural components in a collision. If every minor impact resulted in damage to the structure of the car, a fender bender would cause the car to be a total write-off, which obviously isn’t ideal.
Since bumpers are much easier to fix or replace than an entire car or an expensive engine component, you can clearly see why modern bumpers are intentionally made to be flexible as opposed to the steel bumpers cars had in the 60s, 70s, and even part of the 80s.
Flexible bumpers are also better for pedestrian safety compared to solid metal bumpers. In fact, a car with metal bumpers wouldn’t even pass most modern safety standards because of the danger it would pose to pedestrians in a potential accidental collision.
What Types of Bumper Damage Can be Repaired?
Small scratches, scrapes, and scuffs caused by low-speed impacts or even when the car is stationary – if you hit your bumper with a shopping cart for instance – are almost always 100% repairable. If the scratch only damaged the clear coat, you won’t even have to repaint the bumper. Simply polishing the clear coat using a rubbing compound will remove the damaged layer and make your bumper look as good as new.
A slightly deeper scratch that damages the paint underneath the clear coat might require sanding and repainting, provided the scratch is deep and wide enough. Most professional body shops will be able to make your bumper look as good as new and fix any scratches or scrapes.
Dents are more difficult to fix since you’ll first have to pop the dent out and bring the bumper back to its original form. Assuming the dent hasn’t caused the paint to crack or caused any deep cuts, a simple pop might be all it takes to make your bumper look almost as good as new.
If your bumper has a puncture, crack, or tear, fixing the damage will require more than simply sanding the affected area down. First, the damage will need to be sanitized by trimming any protruding edges, after which you can sand the area down and apply plastic filler.
Once everything’s dry, it’s time to sand it down again and, finally, paint it. Making the painted area neatly blend with the original color of the bumper is arguably the most difficult part of the entire process, but any decent body shop should be able to do it with ease.
If a large piece of the bumper has been completely torn off, it might not be worth it to attempt “gluing” it back together since it’ll never look like it did before and you might not be able to match it up with other body panels correctly.
How to Know When it’s Time to Replace Your Bumper
If your bumper is severely damaged, the cost to fix it may far outweigh the cost of buying a replacement one. More to the point, if your bumper sustained dents or scratches that are nearly irreparable, attempting to repair it might be a waste of time since it’ll never look like it did before and it won’t properly align with other body panels.
Most competent auto body shops can tell you whether the damage is repairable or if you’re better off buying a new bumper and replacing it. A plastic welder is great when it comes to fixing damaged modern plastic bumpers, but even that has its limits.
Another point you need to consider is whether your bumper has damaged airbag sensors or lights that only come with the bumper and can’t be bought independently. If your car has integrated parking assist or blind spot monitoring, for instance, you might not be able to order the sensors separately from the bumper. Even if you manage to order them individually, the damage to the bumper might cause them to malfunction or throw incorrect readings, effectively rendering them useless.
In all of these cases, you might be better off getting a brand-new bumper and replacing it. If you’re buying a new bumper, just know that you’ll probably have to repaint it to match your factory color. Very rarely can you find bumpers available in a factory color since most manufacturers sell them in a black gel coat which has to be painted over unless you prefer the way black bumpers look of course.
If you don’t want to deal with a damaged bumper yourself, take it to a reputable auto body shop where they will happily help you fix it or replace it if it’s beyond repair. And if you need to replace your bumper, consider one of the high-quality aftermarket replacements offered at 4 Wheel Parts!
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