Front Bumper Crack Repair | FerrariChat
Buy

Front Bumper Crack Repair

Discussion in '360/430' started by Kevin Rev'n, Apr 2, 2022.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #1 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 2, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2022
    Intro: I just ended a long time relationship with my car bra that was very beat up. I know I am an outlier to even use an old school car bra and have been warned repeatedly about using one, but I really liked it. I thought that the flat vented panel of the intake vents made the car look like a GT.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    I finally took the plunge to remove the cover and assess what the cover had done to the paint over the years. I gotta say I was very surprised that the cover from Speed Lingerie did not damage my paint! ...from abrasion! I've had it on there for ~8 years and 9K miles. I did however sustain some damage to my bumper that I wanted to share as a PSA should you want to run this car bra.

    cont...
     
  2. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #2 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 2, 2022
    Over the years the cover took some beatings on speed bumps and steep drives. One day on a Ferrari Rally I made a tight right hander on a very steep incline and the bumper bottom right corner hit the street, low speed, 5 mph, I thought nothing of it. Cover was a little worn from contact and weakened some seems that eventually failed. This was the reason for me removing it. I was going to assess the rubbed paint and consider replacing the cover since mine was shot.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login


    The cover can take a beating...

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    The part that secures it in the wheel well ultimately failed.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    cont...
     
  3. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #3 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 2, 2022
    Purpose of this thread... I discovered that the contact I made with the ground had pulled the cover which put some excessive force on the radiator exhaust port of the bumper!

    The car bra attaches down inside that port with these U channel features.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    This is the port I am having an issue with.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Maybe you can make out the cracks?! I figure the cover tugged too hard and put too much force on the bumper resulting in these cracks.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    They are no too bothersome to me because of where they are but I want to do something to protect the bumper until such a time as I get a bumper respray.

    My plan is to remove the bumper and reinforce the cracks from behind. I'm sure some sort of epoxy is the right choice but can anyone recommend one that works well with our plastic bumpers? Also if I feel the need to put some kind of backing across the crack before coating with epoxy can anyone recommend one? Is there a kevlar woven patch material that is good for this? or something else?

    Thanks for any help with this.
     
  4. Sj_engr

    Sj_engr Formula 3

    Sep 15, 2020
    1,579
    San Jose
    Full Name:
    dc
    #4 Sj_engr, Apr 2, 2022
  5. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #5 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 2, 2022
    I was hopeful someone would chime in with a JB Weld recommendation. I have woven fiberglass handy for surfboard and canoe repairs too!
     
  6. EastMemphis

    EastMemphis Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 25, 2019
    1,822
    Memphis, TN
    Full Name:
    John
    #6 EastMemphis, Apr 2, 2022
    JB weld works well. I suggest mixing the fiberglass and epoxy on a sheet of cardboard first, then glop it on the repair and use an acid brush to tamp it into place. This leaves a very good surface that requires virtually no sanding.

    If I was doing the repair, I'd "V" out (1/2 depth) the crack from behind so that the glass has something to grip on. A dremel works great for this.
     
    RANDY6005 likes this.
  7. AandSC

    AandSC Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 12, 2016
    916
    Jax, FL
    Full Name:
    Allen
    #7 AandSC, Apr 2, 2022

    Attached Files:

    colorfull and Kevin Rev'n like this.
  8. Snapshift

    Snapshift Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 31, 2020
    897
    Centralia IL
    Full Name:
    Lyle D. Pahnke
    #8 Snapshift, Apr 2, 2022
    We did this repair for missing front under panel screw tabs with the U nuts replaced on about four missing tabs.Worked well;l thank you,
     
  9. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #9 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 4, 2022
    Update: Going to go with a traditional epoxy/glass surfboard type repair. I did a test with some JB weld and a new Gorilla Glue product, neither impressed me. So the plan is to make the bumper strong from the back where the cracks appeared so an eventual repaint is easy for the painter. Pulled bumper off today, really easy as long as you have a helper for the last step of slipping it off the attach studs.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    interesting factory workers tagging the inside of my bumper!

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Should be a really straight forward job with all my years of surfboard making and extensive repairs over 30 years of experience.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    EastMemphis likes this.
  10. rizzo308

    rizzo308 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 12, 2004
    2,748
    Perth, Australia
    Full Name:
    riggio
    #10 rizzo308, Apr 4, 2022
    The bumpers are made of some type of plastic f/glass not sure of tech term for it. When i bonded my CS inserts i used megabond it's 2 pack glue farkin good sh#t

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  11. rizzo308

    rizzo308 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 12, 2004
    2,748
    Perth, Australia
    Full Name:
    riggio
    #11 rizzo308, Apr 4, 2022
    Kevin Rev'n likes this.
  12. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #12 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 6, 2022
    Repairs are complete and I reinforced a couple of the tabs that were showing some cracking too.
    I used high quality epoxy resin and woven 6 oz fiberglass strips. I sanded the areas with 100 grit to rough up the surface for a bond and it worked really well.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    The goop on the left tab above was already in place I decided to leave it alone. Now I am waiting for Ricambi to send me the small gasket that seals the windshield washer pump the the reservoir. It seems mine dried out from not using it and developed a leak so I was getting a washer low warning on my dash.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    RonScuderia likes this.
  13. 360Tom

    360Tom Formula 3

    May 9, 2013
    1,396
    Burbank, CA
    Full Name:
    Tom
    #13 360Tom, Apr 7, 2022
    I’ve used surfboard fiberglass to repair my under panel before. Much easier to clean up and paint
     
  14. Kevin Rev'n

    Kevin Rev'n Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 29, 2009
    24,322
    Honolulu
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #14 Kevin Rev'n, Apr 7, 2022
    I had my concerns because I've tried to use it on older Ducati parts too and sometimes the compounds they used to make the original parts does not get along well with the epoxy resin. This went extremely well and exceeded expectations though.
     
    360Tom likes this.
  15. Sj_engr

    Sj_engr Formula 3

    Sep 15, 2020
    1,579
    San Jose
    Full Name:
    dc
    #15 Sj_engr, Apr 8, 2022
    RonScuderia and Kevin Rev'n like this.
  16. 67bmer

    67bmer F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 28, 2015
    2,670
    MD
    #16 67bmer, Nov 24, 2023
  17. EastMemphis

    EastMemphis Formula 3
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    May 25, 2019
    1,822
    Memphis, TN
    Full Name:
    John
    #17 EastMemphis, Nov 24, 2023
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2023
    I did a major repair on my front bumper. The damage was old but poorly corrected so the repair failed. The damage looked like it was from a parking stop that the owner didn't see and just smashed into it. Luckily, my damage was only to the black painted area so paint work was nothing.

    The problem with the bumpers on the 360 and 430 is they are made out of a composite material called "Rangerplast", an "eco" material which as best as I can tell, is made from a mixture of cornstarch and resin. It's very soft and has very little surface strength. Applying a patch of epoxy over Rangerplast is ineffective as the surface will just give and the patch will pop off.

    As far as I can tell, the best and only way to repair the bumpers is to sandwich the repair on both sides. So for a crack like @67bmer has, the outside has to be ground down as well as the inside to the point that a hole is gradually opened with room on both sides for an epoxy patch. Filling it is a matter of spreading the repair on both sides so that as much original material as possible is covered and that glass/epoxy is the only material in the void.

    It's also important to keep the thickness of the bumper constant. A bulge of repair material will not flex in the same way as the bumper and when it doesn't flex, it will either crack itself, or break more of the Rangerplast. So the repair not only has to sandwich the original material, it has to be the same thickness and be flexible.

    That's my opinion anyway.

    Here's my thread on the repair: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/rebuilding-front-bumper-in-the-most-ridiculously-difficult-manner.677580/
     
    anotherred360 likes this.
  18. netsec

    netsec Karting

    May 5, 2022
    101
    Henderson, NV
    #18 netsec, Nov 24, 2023
    I would recommend two products:

    Evercoat SMC epoxy for bumper/skirt/under tray repairs (along w/ fiberglass) for structure/strength
    USC SMC filler to get it “pretty”

    https://www.evercoat.com/product/smc-resin-quart/

    Removing the original PPF on my 360 revealed some surprises…


    Repairs:


    And painted (I painted the bottom black before installing):

     

Share This Page