Alternate exterior plastic parts repair

[IPM]

I bought and used the cheap plastic welder from harbor freight. I used it to repair the plastic bumper surrounds on my '81 motorhome which were badly damaged including missing chunks.
The rods which came with the welder were not useful but I discovered that plastic caps from spray cans(paint, bug, lube,etc) melt, stick, and fuse well. Add excess "cap" plastic and then remove down close to original with very rough grit. Switch to 80 grit and finer as you sand flush. Use autobody puddy to fill in dips, small imperfections, and then body glazing compound for pin holes. It helps to prime paint and sand several times to get best surface smoothness. Tool box grey, spray can paint, from sears matches original color well for final coat.

Just thought I'd pass the tip on for a cheap, effective repair.

[overlander63]

Old milk cartons are also useful for plastic welding, I used this on my black water tank, and had great success.
Terry

[N2XBW]

Thanks for the information here. I've been fretting over exactly this repair and now see a course of action that doesn't involve bondo and tiger hair.
Thanks again!

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by IPM

I bought and used the cheap plastic welder from harbor freight. I used it to repair the plastic bumper surrounds on my '81 motorhome which were badly damaged including missing chunks.
The rods which came with the welder were not useful but I discovered that plastic caps from spray cans(paint, bug, lube,etc) melt, stick, and fuse well. Add excess "cap" plastic and then remove down close to original with very rough grit. Switch to 80 grit and finer as you sand flush. Use autobody puddy to fill in dips, small imperfections, and then body glazing compound for pin holes. It helps to prime paint and sand several times to get best surface smoothness. Tool box grey, spray can paint, from sears matches original color well for final coat.

Just thought I'd pass the tip on for a cheap, effective repair.

IPM,
After 10 years, can you tell me if your bumper repair held up?

Originally Posted by overlander63

Old milk cartons are also useful for plastic welding, I used this on my black water tank, and had great success.
Terry

Terry,
Have you seen any repairs of bumper covers, that you could share some information on how to do it?


Anybody,
I sure could use some advice on how to repair this. Help!

I am trying to figure out how I can repair the bumper cover on my 99 Excella. The guys at the ODM parts desk called JC to see if they had a replacement parts. They said those bumper covers are no longer available.

These photos show what I need to repair. The plastic around the rivets is broken and some is missing. The portion over the pull out storage drawer is cracked. The white stuff is adhesive residue and fibers from duct tape I removed where the PO had place it over the crack. The horizontal surfaces are warped from excessive heat. I can live with that, but it would be nice to put it back level.