Help with front bumper cover body work?

[CKYlndSpd21]

Hey guys I'm trying to do body work on my 87 5.0 with t-tops but I got a question. The guy who owned my car before me did not like the car. I have no idea what he painted the car with but i've got some real bad chips and pin holes and cracks and peeling going on on the front bumper. I've got a picture of the worst of it. Anyway I want to know whats the best way to go about this. Should I just sand the crap out of the bumper or should I put body filler or spot putty on it and make it flat? Also i'm not sure if I should use body filler on the bumpers. I've read that JB weld works good on working with bumpers and so does spot putty. Any suggestions on what to do/use?

 

[Darkwriter77]

FWIW, Bondo sells a flexible bumper repair kit that you might consider using. Only place I've seen it available at thus far is Checker/O'Reilly Auto Parts, but you might also find it or something similar at NAPA.

I wouldn't recommend using any kind of regular body filler because it's going to dry hard and rigid, so it won't flex with the bumper. You'll most likely wind up with a cracked-up mess again if you do.

 

[IApony]

Your best bet is going to be to strip down to the bare bumper( with sand paper or urethane same stripper. Next you need to clean it very well. If there is deep scratches or nicks in the cover you can buy flexible filler. Then use a adhesive promoter and flexible primer.

 

[MahFiVeOh]

I'm in the process of getting my car ready for paint and i completely stripped my front and rear bumpers.I used a small detail sander, i started out sanding by hand and after 10 mins of that i said F that. Like IApony said get yourself some adhesive promoter and flexible primer and you should be good to go.

PS Did i mention i 'm tired of doing body work?

 

[CKYlndSpd21]

Thanks guys that sounds good. Anyone care to let me know how to get the front bumper off?

 

[Darkwriter77]

Thanks guys that sounds good. Anyone care to let me know how to get the front bumper off?

It's pretty simple, actually. The front bumper cover is mostly held onto the fenders and radiator support by a few 7/16" head bolts around the perimeter. You don't even have to jack up the car, really. First, go ahead and unplug all of your lights (headlamps, parking lamps, and turn signals). Then lay on your back under the nose and undo the four bolts going through the bumper cover and (assuming yours is still there) the airdam; next, while you're there, slide over to one side or the other and reach up under the splash guard where the fender and bumper cover meet, and there should be about five bolts per side holding it there. Lastly, there's at least a couple of bolts hanging the top end from the radiator support (on either side of the hood latch), maybe four (can't remember), and then there's a couple of nuts holding the studs that poke through the header panel behind the head lights. At that point, you should be free and clear to start pulling on the bumper and lifting up slightly as you wiggle the sucker off. Don't worry, it's not heavy at all - the whole assembly weighs maybe 20 lbs. at the most.

The actual bumper behind it stays bolted to the frame, unless you're inclined to pull that off for some reason while you're at it. From there, if you want to pull off the headlamps and corner lenses to do your painting (rather than masking them off), it's easier to take them off with the bumper already removed than it is to try to fit your hands in that little narrow space between the header panel and the radiator support with the whole assembly mounted.