tw2

Just wondering if you think my bumper can be fixed or whether I need a new one? Do OEM bumpers come painted?

This I know is beyond repair and they are pretty expensive for 3 ounces of aluminum. Has anyone made a better replacement for the stock mesh? Carbon fiber fog light surround?




I know nothing of bodywork. I don't know if this could be bonded, sanded, prepped and painted again. Structurally it is hanging together quite solidly, just looks terrible.




Unfortunately this broke also, the fog light plastic mount. I guess this is also very expensive... and probably doesn't come with the bumper.

Rudeney

Your bumper can definitely be repaired. Any good body shop should be able to handle that.

betrezra

I have the fog lights and mesh for sale I'd you want it.

I just changed my bumper to facelift so I have those parts if you want them for a lower price than new.

betrezra

If you are careful I have hand bent those mesh parts back into shape as well. Gl

tw2

I am going to try but it is looking pretty toast. The outer metal bar is fine but the mesh has broken the welds where it joins the bar. It might need solder and paint which probably means time to buy a replacement or try and make a new custom one.

As for the plastic bracket inside, I am even tempted to ghetto rig it since it will be hidden well out of sight and just needs to be functional. Some plastic bonding agent along the break, a couple of drill holes with a couple of small cable ties should hold it together well. I hate not having perfect oem replacements but I would hate to think how much they would cost, many hundreds $$ for a piece of plastic.

ian270d

Well trying won't damage the mesh any more than it is, and the plastic can be repaired no problem, MB will tell you in all probability that it can't, hey on the one hand a thousand bucks for a new part that cost them about 1/2 that. so for maybe a reasonable price you can get yours repaired and repainted. Good luck.

betrezra

Jb weld is your friend. )

Rudeney

^+1 and ^^+1 - JBWeld or even soldering the mesh might work. And a soldering iron with a plastic melting attachment might help with the bracket. And, if you screw it up, you're in the same situation as you are today.

I am in a similar situation with my front bumper. It's not broken, but due to (stupidly!) working in an industrial area for a year, the clear coat on my bumper is all chipped from rocks. There's nothing deep into the plastic, just missing chips of clear coat. I am actually thinking about trying to re-coat it myself. I have a very high quality gravity pneumatic feed sprayer. And again, if I screw it up, no loss (other than the cost of the clear coat).

tw2

^ Yeah you might as well give it a go. I'm sure it will look great but even if it doesn't turn out quite so well just take it to a shop before even putting it back on the car.

Thanks for the advice, I managed to more or less straighten the mesh out. Its quality stuff so its actually reasonably strong and bends back into shape well. Some of the little links are broken but you can hardly tell. A couple of the small clips that hold it to the bumper are broken so I will see if the dealer can order some more. Maybe the shop can spray the mesh also since the broken links expose the grey core- make it 95% perfect instead of 90%.

Just need to get the bumper repaired and painted. I will also have some small clear coat chips repaired on the hood and around the lights and it should be looking as good as new. There is a certified auto body shop around the corner doing mostly euros so that will be my best bet.

Anyone recommend the 3M stoneguard? They are $$ but might be worth it long term especially when it comes to removing pieces of insects.

tw2

The repair shop didn't even want to touch it. Apparently a new bumper would cost $3500 here. The guy at the shop knows of a good repairer who can have a look at it. Then he will paint it afterwards and do some touch ups on the front and the wheels. All in all it shouldn't cost too much. I can't think of anything worse than getting a brand new bumper and having someone back into it etc.

clydem

Check youtube. there's lots of posts for fixing plastic bumpers from plastic welding equipment to simple plastic filler(not body bondo).

And of course, try & glue the lamp enclosure. I'd try crazy glue or contact cement or of course, JBWeld.

The mesh...I seriously doubt soldering would help. But a tac weld might. But welding is not my forte.

Fix then respray.

Rudeney

I have seen much worse damage repaired. Get a bumper guy to look at this. Ask the service advisor or parts counter guys at your dealership for one - they usually come around to work on the pre-owned cars. However, don't let them repaint it - their paint jobs don't last. Get it fixed the have the body shop do the paint work.

Oh, and by the way, you might find places that sell pre-painted bumpers. I am going to order one for the kid's C240 fro $420 from a seller on eBay. She let her boyfriend drive her car and he bumped a pickup truck trailer hitch and knocked a hole in it. Of course an AMG bumper might be harder to find.