Repairing a small mishap

chenderson1965

chenderson1965

Free Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2019
Posts
327
Likes collected
274
Location
Nottingham
Funster No
62,953
MH
N+B Arto 79R A Class
Exp
10 years with hires, Newbie owner
On our recent trip I managed to scrape the rear bumper on or 2012 N+B Arto (white). It’s plastic so no risk of corrosion and it’s not bad enough to compromise the integrity. It’s a bit unsightly so I’d like to repair it but don’t think it’s worth the cost of a professional respray (who I expect would do the whole bumper).

I’m ok with prepping and filling it to get the gouges smooth and would like to just touch up/cover over the repair with a rattle can. I suspect there are hundreds of shades of white though so I’m wondering what type of paint I need for a plastic bumper and how to get the best colour match.

I know I could get the shade from N+B but that may not be a great match since the paintowork is 8 years old.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks
 
Can't help with the colour code. However, if you are using a rattle can, make sure you buy a trigger handle for it. Much better control over flow.
 
I took my van to our local branch of Fleet Factors who sell vehicle parts and paints, the guy came out with a hand held device, put it against the required paintwork, pressed a button and got a printout of the paint required.
You might have something similar near you ?
 
As Jockaneezer says, have the paint scanned for a colour match, this will generate a paint code and the relevant colour on a swatch card to do a final side by side comparison.
The paint colour is mixed by hand in a small pot before being forced into the rattle can, just make sure to ask for a very thorough mixing because the small amounts of some colours are crucial to the final colour and if it's not mixed properly the colour will not be an accurate match......ask me how I know.....😁

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Try your local dent repair guy, they are good and can blend in bumpers no trouble.
 
M-J said:
On a £60k ish motorhome? makes perfect sense to do a diy repair to save a few pounds 🤔
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It depends on whether you are confident to do the repair yourself, if not, then sure, get a pro to do it for you.

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I have the same problem in that I have cracked the GRP bumper on the nearside rear corner after discovering a hidden metal post in long verge grass, whilst doing a U turn on a narrow Dorset road.
It will need removing and the cracks repaired & reinforced at the rear with fibreglass matting, then filled with filler and smoothed down. The bumper will then need priming and sprayed with Gel Coat.
I could take it to the most inconvenient location on Canvey Island to A W Marine Bumper Repairs that currently have a 2/3 month waiting list, or order a new bumper for £4/500....decisions, decisions?
All I do know, to my disappointment, is that the existing GRP bumper "to save weight" is eggshell thin, as are all the rear GRP rear side uprights & top rear section.
I was gutted to have this incident occur whilst away, it could have caught anyone out I guess, just unlucky to say the least.
In the meantime, I have bigger things in life to worry about, so it will have to be put on the back burner for now.
Good luck to all in a similar position, but "Bumpers" are not what they should be referred to as they are just very expensive decorative trims.
LES
 
M-J said:
Confident or not I wouldn’t call it a quality repair with a rattle can and definitely not worth the small saving.
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Ok, horses for courses and all that. 😉
 
Used a local paint guy who looked old enough to be Noah's first mate on the boat.
I asked "could you scan to get the code and mix up for me"?
"Don't be silly I'll do it the proper way" he replies.
So he wipes down an area with alcohol and out comes the white colour sample cards (hundreds of them!).
An hour or so later we head off with the rattle can.
A real expert tradesman!
I defy anyone to identify the area I resprayed and it was only part of the rear valance.
 
copy from f b
Unit 19 sycamore farm old Romney. TN29 9SY. Jason is the body repair man on 07410130254

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TinaL said:
I have the same problem in that I have cracked the GRP bumper on the nearside rear corner after discovering a hidden metal post in long verge grass, whilst doing a U turn on a narrow Dorset road.
It will need removing and the cracks repaired & reinforced at the rear with fibreglass matting, then filled with filler and smoothed down. The bumper will then need priming and sprayed with Gel Coat.
I could take it to the most inconvenient location on Canvey Island to A W Marine Bumper Repairs that currently have a 2/3 month waiting list, or order a new bumper for £4/500....decisions, decisions?
All I do know, to my disappointment, is that the existing GRP bumper "to save weight" is eggshell thin, as are all the rear GRP rear side uprights & top rear section.
I was gutted to have this incident occur whilst away, it could have caught anyone out I guess, just unlucky to say the least.
In the meantime, I have bigger things in life to worry about, so it will have to be put on the back burner for now.
Good luck to all in a similar position, but "Bumpers" are not what they should be referred to as they are just very expensive decorative trims.
LES
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Les from experience, I would wait for the busy guy. There are loads of fibreglass boat repair specialists round here, but not many high quality guys. We used to use a guy called Mosses, another old Mo, as long as I knew him he looked ancient, but he was a true artist with fibreglass and quick too. You would book him up and he would turn up on his rusty old bike with buckets on the handlebars. First thought by new customers was likely being uncomfortable letting this scruffy old man near their pride and joy. By the time it got to paying him, they knew he was the man for the job

You want to ask around the local commercial fishing boats rather than marinas full of weekend sailers. Every area "near the sea" has a local go to guy for such repairs
 
If it is GRP, unless you really understand the material, do not repair it yourself. Cracked Gel coat is not straightforward to repair as spider-like cracks will have occurred and holes would need drilling to stop them continuing to develop. There are hundreds of small mobile repairmen with names like 'Chips away', Plastic bumper repair etc.
 
I acquired a battle scar in Cornwall a few weeks back - a guy in van drove at me - his mirrors rubbed all along the side of my van (which fortunately just polished out) and then he managed to catch my rear bumper corner. He then just drove off, even though he was well aware that he’d hit me.

Had witnesses, reported to Police and Insurance. Police now decided not to prosecute for failing to stop. Insurance say they can chase his insurance but likely to be 50/50 claim as Police aren’t pressing charges against him.

Insurance quote for repair ….. new bumper in silver, supplied by Hymer £2395 plus fitting. !!!!

My guy at the paintshop …. ‘if you can bring the bumper in, it’ll be £120 to fill and spray’. He hasn't got the room to have the Hymer in his shop but he can match the paint colour with his scanning tech thingy.

My insurance excess is £200 so no brainer to go with my printshop guy.

My next post will be along the lines of “ how do you remove the bumper”....
Hymer - 1.jpg
 

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In my very limited experience, it is a nightmare to get this type of thing right; to match the colour and blend it in with the rest of the panel/bumper and therefore, quite a skill for which we pay for as has been suggested above. If you do go down the DIY route, ensuring you have done all the paint prep and repair correctly is paramount, then I think rattle can the entire panel/bumper.
 
M-J said:
On a £60k ish motorhome? makes perfect sense to do a diy repair to save a few pounds 🤔
Click to expand...
Hardly worth it . bound to be hit again even in a car park.Migt as well wait & get it done before moving it on.

Al Bondigas said:
Had witnesses, reported to Police and Insurance. Police now decided not to prosecute for failing to stop. Insurance say they can chase his insurance but likely to be 50/50 claim as Police aren’t pressing charges against him.

Insurance quote for repair ….. new bumper in silver, supplied by Hymer £2395 plus fitting. !!!!
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Either insist police prosecute or attempt to bring it yourself, failing that insist that the police supply his name & address , & then small claims court or knock on the door.
usually if I get a half wit who looks like he is going to run down the side of me or isn't dragging the hedge is side te I move rigt over to force them to stop or have a head on.
If they do hit & fail to stop I always go after them.

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TinaL said:
is that the existing GRP bumper "to save weight" is eggshell thin,
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I'm gonna be honest here , if it really is that thin i would question whether or not it's actually grp . Fibreglass can be laid up thin , but would be very weak and brittle , hence the introduction of kevar , and you don't wanna go there . Grp is only as strong as the weave behind it , which lead to some very over built boats in the early 60's and 70's . The weave comes in different weights , which is actually a measure of strength , but the finish moulding would be far thicker than any plastic moulding would achieve , and probably heavier too My guess would be , if it really is that thin , it's probably plastic .
Check the bumper , if the inside finish is as smooth and even as the out , then it's 80% certain to be plastic . Grp will be uneven and have a rough finish to it , though it will be smooth to the touch . You may even be able to see the weave in the layup .
I recently spent 3 days repairing a plastic bumper on my Hymer , it's actually finished and awaiting paint , but i've got bogged down with something else . I found one indicator recess had completely disintegrated due to it being so thin , and the other badly cracked . And we are talking proper paper thin here , literally . I had to air an ancient scratch building hobby , to cut the old out and let a new piece in . I've also got an offside spat waiting with the bumper , but the nearside is still left to do . This has evidence a previous owner has also performed a repair in the past , and i found the same in a couple of places on the bumper . They had failed due to him using standard body filler , with no reinforcement .
Had i taken this little lot to a professional , they would probably have written them off , there and then , and i would be footing a bill , probably exceeding a grand . As it was i learnt to weld plastic myself , and so managed to repair them . Todate the repair has cost a total of 140 quid , but i need some more fibreflex , and finish colour , so i would expect that estimate to rise , to just over the 200 mark .
A single non original , pattern spat , painted , retails for around 180 , bumper is unknown ! .

Just as a postscript the yanks call them bumper covers , which is more what they are !
 
I have a full Rapido rear bumper in storage if anyone needs one to repair an older van. It can easily be cut and adjusted to fit other coach built or A class vans
 
Thanks for that info airwave.
Good luck with your repairs/restoration hope all goes well and you get the finish you desire.
One question maybe would be if my bumper is indeed plastic, and not very thin GRP, would it be possible to reinforce behind the cracks with some fibreglass strips, bonded with resin if a suitable roughed up key was achieved?
Thanks for sharing your experience.(y)
My heart goes out to Al Bondigas, this could happen to any one of us, the fact you had all the other drivers details, witnesses, and that he failed to stop, should have been enough for the police to act, but alas they dont seem to have the numbers or the time to chase after any wrong doer these days, including burglars, and every other crime that they would term "petty" infringement, regardless how it affect you personally or financially, like future insurance premium hikes etc.
LES
 
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TinaL said:
One question maybe would be if my bumper is indeed plastic, and not very thin GRP, would it be possible to reinforce behind the cracks with some fibreglass strips, bonded with resin if a suitable roughed up key was achieved?
LES
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Repaired this
1599660749418.png


using fibreglass reinforcing mesh tape and resin. Roughed up (on the rear) with sandpaper and cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.

1599661175546.png


Once hardened sanded down the cracks and resprayed.
And ended up with this.

1599661242321.png
 
Well it depends how fussy you are. If the van is newish then I’d get a smart repair every day. Anything less, no matter how well intentioned could potentially reduce the value of your van. Once you ‘put up’ with an attempt at self-repair, what’s the next thing you’re going to ‘ put up’ with - slightly scuffed alloy, slightly chipped windscreen, cheaper tyre option, do your own habitation service, use the guy down the road for your engine service??? I’m sure you get my drift.

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TinaL said:
One question maybe would be if my bumper is indeed plastic, and not very thin GRP, would it be possible to reinforce behind the cracks with some fibreglass strips, bonded with resin if a suitable roughed up key was achieved?
Click to expand...
There is a self adhesive fibre reinforced tape that is widely used for such repairs, sorry the name escapes me right now, but it is super strong stuff
 
TinaL said:
Thanks for that info airwave.
Good luck with your repairs/restoration hope all goes well and you get the finish you desire.
One question maybe would be if my bumper is indeed plastic, and not very thin GRP, would it be possible to reinforce behind the cracks with some fibreglass strips, bonded with resin if a suitable roughed up key was achieved?
Thanks for sharing your experience.(y)
My heart goes out to Al Bondigas, this could happen to any one of us, the fact you had all the other drivers details, witnesses, and that he failed to stop, should have been enough for the police to act, but alas they dont seem to have the numbers or the time to chase after any wrong doer these days, including burglars, and every other crime that they would term "petty" infringement, regardless how it affect you personally or financially, like future insurance premium hikes etc.
LES
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Hi Les

You should be able to tell if its fibreglass or plastic, plastic will be a clean broken edge, fibreglass will be all raggy and splintered with bits of fibre showing.

Have you a photo.

Martin
 
funflair said:
Did you use an epoxy resin? as polyesters don't like sticking to a lot of plastics.

Looks good BTW (y)

Martin
Click to expand...
Isopon Fastglas Resin.
www.isopon.com

Isopon - U-Pol

The new ISOPON range has been specially developed so car enthusiasts can repair and restore their vehicles quickly and easily at home.
www.isopon.com www.isopon.com
Thanks, however it was only the trial run (whacked the other side a few weeks later!) :doh: :crying:

Before
1599670507414.png


1599670526740.png


The joint between the panels still needed a little tidying up.

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