Car bumper rear and front

Bumpers are in any car. They are situated in front and back parts of the car and serve to reduce blow power in case of an accident. The previous name “buffer” doesn’t fit modern cars any more. Classical buffers were made of metal, but today bumpers are made of polyfoam. Bumper’s purpose didn’t change. The material changes its shape and in such a way energy is absorbed. The bumper cushions the blow and as a result reduces collision impact.

Bumper protects not only passengers. This auto part also can protect bicyclist or pedestrian in case of an accident. The buffer can harm bicyclist and pedestrian, but the bumper significantly cushions the blows. One more advantage of the bumper is that in case of colliding it often remains without damage. And vice versa, in case of not serious colliding buffers have dents. After colliding you need to examine the bumper. If its structure is damaged, this lowers protection effectiveness in case of the next colliding. It may happen so that hardly visible outward damage can hide a serious inside problem.

If there is not a serious damage, in majority of cases you can repair the bumper. First you need to putty scratches and dents and then again to lacquer the bumper. Any car owner can replace the bumper. To replace it you need to disassemble the headlamps. If you search for spare parts for your car, we offer you to visit our online store. Here you will find oil pumps, brake cylinders, transmission bearings, pulse-schemes, poly-V belts, fuel tanks and many other car parts at reasonable prices.

How to detect bumper defect

Usually it is easy to detect bumper defect at simple visual inspection. So professional diagnostics of the component is performed rather for estimation of the damage degree and repair works specifics, than for statement of the fact of the damage itself.

You can notice that the bumper requires diagnostics by the following signs:

• driving is accompanied with strange noises;
• the bumper vibrates too much during driving;
• the gap between the component and the car body is increased;
• the part lost its integrity.

Causes of bumper defects

The most common bumper defects are mechanical damages, chips, scratches, cracks and breaks. They appear because of impacts with other vehicles, at obstacle run-over, for example during parking, and because of hitting by stones and other solid objects during driving on the roads with the poor-quality surface. Risk of bumper damage also increases in case when you prefer aggressive driving style. Cold season driving poses a threat: there is a possibility that heavy snowball will fly from under the wheels of ahead vehicle.

Moreover, the bumper is significantly exposed to environmental aggressive influence. Variations of temperature, dirt, moisture, direct sun rays and thawing reagents in course of time may lead to destruction of the material, the component is made of. Ignoring of small scratches and paintwork chips is dangerous: such defects significantly increase corrosion risk (actual for the metal bumpers). The plastic bumpers can melt under the influence of extremely high temperature, for example at fire. The poorly fixed or loosened fastenings elevate the risk of component breakage; so it is important to regularly inspect bolts tightening and fastenings condition.

Repair of the bumper

• If there are small scratches and minor damages to the paint surface, you can get rid of such defects with the help of the polishing products. If needed, the surface is also covered with the enamel of the matching color. If the bumper was significantly scratched, then before polishing and painting, you must fill up and prime the damaged parts and then you should dry them.

• To eliminate the dents on the plastic component, you must warm up the surface with the heat gun, and then restore its original shape using special tools. When the bumper temperature lowers to a regular value, you will need to perform filling up and painting. For defects elimination on the metal component a punch and a hammer are used or a flattening equipment.

• If the bumper was produced using the cold moulding technology, a special glue is used for defect removing, in most cases a polyurethane one. First the surface must be cleaned and degreased.

• Components, produced using the hot moulding technology, are repaired with the help of thermal welding. This allows efficiently delete the cracks, breakages and chips.

• Breakages of components made of polyester resin, can be eliminated by a lamination method. For repair of damages, a special reinforced mesh with a layer of glue is placed inside, and lost elements are replaced by similar ones. You must fill up the surface after hardening.  

Replacement of the bumper

If it is impossible to perform repairs, the bumper replacement is required. Some car owners try to replace the part on their own in order to save budget. But often replacement takes a lot of time and does not lead to desired results due to lack of experience, tools and understanding of specifics of the fastening. Therefore, it is recommended to ask for experts’ help.