repairing chrome bumpers?

[mikejungle]

i've got waves along the bottom of a euro bumper that i've acquired...can i just hammer them out with a rubber mallet? or do i need to take them some chrome place to get it done?

[Edev]

try fixing it yourself, then take it to a shop if it doesnt come out properly.

[mikejungle]

yeah yeah...but what can i use? rubber mallet the right tool?

[der affe]

you are going to have to back up the bumper with something similar to the correct shape. you can use a bodywork dolly, just wrapp it up in duct tape to keep the chrome from being scratched. this is the same thing they will do at a bumper repair shop, except they will just rechrome it as needed after they are done

[der affe]

the hammer needs to be the correct shape too, otherwise you will streach out the metal to the shape of the hammer, not to the shape of the bumper.

[mikejungle]

what would be the correct shape? i can't just use the stock big head rubber mallet?

[der affe]

if there is a curve to where the dent is, then you need a curved headed hammer or something to hit that is curved, if it is a small point then you need a small point, if it is flat then you need a flat headed hammer. does that make sense? you are kind of "restamping" them to the correct shape

[mikejungle]

hm...i tried with a 12 oz. rubber mallet...
and the chrome isn't budging. is it cuz i'm too weak or is the chrome just extremely resistant? should i try heating it up somehow first to induce malleability?

[der affe]

no! in order to heat up metal that thick to make it mailable you will put too much heat into it and ruin the chrome at least!
if you are going to use something with a soft face you will need at least something like this:

http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/toolcatalog.jsp?cattype=T&cat=2113&select=&page=3

the one at the top of the page in the 53 oz size. it's a big mamba jamba!
honestly, and don't take this wrong, with no body or metal working experience, you are more likely to do more harm than good. i would live with it until you can get it fixed by a shop. if you don't have the right tools or the experience to do it with the wrong tools, you will never be happy with the end results.

also it is not the chrome that is strong (it is just a thin coating) it is the steel the bumper is made out of.

[mikejungle]

Thanks for correcting me. haha.
i saw one of those hammers at home depot, but the surface looked more like hard plastic than soft rubber, so i thought it could hurt and scratch up the steel and chrome.

the shop would probably do it better...but maybe i could do a somewhat satisfactory job to hold me over until i can get it professionally done.

would a chrome shop take out the rust before re-chroming?

[der affe]

yep, they are liable for their craftsmanship. if they didn't take out the rust and fill and reshape the holes, the chrome would peel and flake. if that happens then they get to redo it for free. they will completely strip, straighten, and re-chrome the bumper

[mikejungle]

hm...is the whole process usually expensive? if i wanted to do both front and back bumpers? i hope it wouldn't have been cheaper to just buy new ones :(

[JasonC]

Last time i had a bumper rechromed was for my 70 Dodge Dart. It's compairable in size to the e30's front bumper. IIRC it was around $300. It wasn't rusty but had a slight twist in it. But this was quite a few years ago, but i'm pretty sure the prices haven't changed that much.

[MoparJ]

Hey Mike, this is Jason (the one who sold you the bumpers)....like these guys said, you can try to fix them yourself but it is a serious PITA. ;) Like JasonC, I had work done on a pair of early Dart bumpers years ago; it cost me $400 for both, but this was back when EPA regs were not as tough as they are now. My original plan with those bumpers was to straighten them out the best I could and paint them black, or at least have a shop straighten them and paint them to save on the cost of rechroming.

By the way, I'm still looking for that end piece; I'll let you know when I find it.

[AndrewBird]

Do you have pictures of the damage?