Bumper repair?

[Rocket]

My mother has a 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Yesterday she had my brother drive (just got his learners permit) and they had a incident. He came off a curb and scraped the front bumper. It broke the edge/lip that bolts down to hold the bumper in place on the passenger side.

I don`t have pics but think of an upside down L the small portion bolts under the headlight to hold the side in place. That portion broke off. Not sure it can be repaired but even if it can I it will need to be repainted. Any suggestions on what I need to ask or say when I go to the body shop? I want to make sure a good job is done and in the end it`s undetectable.

[RTexasF]

Replace the entire part with new. Job is well done and undetectable.

[Rocket]

I checked prices and it`s only $250 for a whole new cover. The shop I used for my TA does restoration work and the job they did was good on my car. Looking back there are things I would have asked for specifically to make it amazing.

I`ll give them a call tomorrow. I`m a little upset because I worked hard to keep her car maintained and the paint was really nice. I hope they can match the metallic paint well. It`s some blue that looks purplish in different light

[Old Pirate]

Yes, agree with RF that it needs to replace. Shop prices to see it will fit your budget if you have one.

[Concours.John]

I can agree here with everyone. I had an extremely rare 89 "R" Mirage 2.0 Turbo same as the TSI Talon but tiny. (US was 1.8) it was a grey market car. Insurance would only pay for repair when someone else caused the accident. It was plasitic welded and I could always see the repair. You could not get the brake ducted bumper in the US because of crash standards. The vehicle was not supposed to be in the states was their response. Go with the new one at that price. The welded repair will show eventually.

[Stokdgs]

Sorry this had to happen to your Mom`s car.

When you talk to the body shop, tell them you want the Factory Pack paint Including any special pearl, etc., undercoat that gives the paint that special look you mentioned. If they replace the entire bumper assembly, it will be way easier for them to paint this piece off the car, and sparing the car of overspray, etc...
Insist on getting the Factory brand paint that matches the paint code that is on the vehicle.
Tell them that the color has to absolutely match the rest of the vehicle or you will not sign off on it. Tell them you will not accept any swirling of the paint finish, and you want them to check the paint under a variety of light conditions to insure its swirl-free..

Good luck with this !
Dan F

[Rocket]

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering if plastic welding would be worth looking into. I was surprised I could get a new factory bumper so cheap. For now I`m going to put some tape on the bumper to hold it in place. All I need is for it to be driven and cause more damage.

I`ll be sure to stress how exact I want the paint to match and how the paint needs to be. I`m also going to really look it over inch by inch once it`s done.

[Stokdgs]

In my experience with trying to glue plastic in vehicles, the results are most of the time only temporary especially if the repair is outside the vehicle where it is subject to heat, cold, and moisture, not to mention flexing, bumping, scraping, etc...

I hope that you can have better results !
Dan F

[Rocket]

I`ll talk with the shop and get my options laid out. I`ll talk to my mother and see how she wants to handle the repair.

Plastic welding is suppose to make the repair stronger than original. I have a plastic welder but not the skills to do this. I used it on a door panel that cracked. Worked ok but took a while to get it done since I didn`t really know what I was doing.I had a bumper repaired once and it came out fine. The repair was on the bottom so you never saw it.

[ca.detailchick]

Metallic paints are very hard to match especially bumpers because they are flush up to the fenders or quarter panels (also because its plastic and flex agents added) so it may need to be blended into the fender/s.Not that its bad but just to insure the paint matches.......

Just make sure they cover the rest of the vehicle so its not oversprayed.

Good luck!

[Rocket]

That`s my concern. The car has pinstripe that will need to be removed along with Xpel film on the fenders. I have a friend that does both pinstripe and he did the film install so thats a one stop thing. I really don`t want the fenders blended and if they have to do it then I want them pulled from the car. All I need is a mess or a missed spot along the body seam. I will be going Saturday to see (I think)

[Rocket]

I will say the shop that redid my hood and bumper only had to reclear the fenders and they match perfectly which is difficult with red. They do have some skills

[ca.detailchick]

I will say the shop that redid my hood and bumper only had to reclear the fenders and they match perfectly which is difficult with red. They do have some skills

Im glad you feel its in a good shop .

Just know if they cant match it perfectly off the car its not really their fault. Even the most skilled painters almost always will have to blend metallics.

It may look ok until you look at it in the sun.

Also you would be surprised how many brand new cars that have never been repaired have bumpers that dont match perfectly. Its just most people dont even notice it.

Hope I havent discouraged you but you may not be able to have the bumper done off the car and have it match perfectly too

Unless you dont have a critical eye for color you may be expecting too much from a body shop.

[Rocket]

Thanks DC. I know it`s always hard to get exact. It`s impossible to get the same conditions when the factory painted it. Too may variables affect the way the color looks when finished.

I know when it doesn`t match it`s really my brothers fault. He is partially color blind so he won`t notice. My mother probably won`t either. If its close but hard to tell I will be happy.