In the old days removing a dent in a metal bumper was labor intensive and you need a bit of skill to get the dent out 100%. Most cars today use plastic or composite bumper covers that can get easily dented and traditional methods won’t repair them. If you want to save a dented plastic bumper you may be able to do it yourself at home with limited tools. We show the steps below.
As you can see Scott has already removed the bumper from the car so he can more easily access the damage. Luckily this bumper doesn’t have any major paint damage so we can repair the dent and keep the paint intact. If the paint is splintered around the outside of the dent you won’t be able to save the paint in that area, but you can still repair the dent at home.
Scott starts by setting his Eastwood Digital Heat Gun to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. He then holds the gun about 10″ from the surface and moves the heat gun around the perimeter of the dent slowly heating the plastic. As the plastic heats up Scott uses a glove to push up from behind the dent with his hand to test how pliable the plastic is becoming with the heat. Once the plastic begins to get warm to hot he begins to push up from the inside as he focuses his heat around the perimeter of the dent. As the dent begins to shrink he brings his rotations with the heat gun inwards to match. Once the dent starts to release it will quickly begin to shrink. He continues to heat until the dent is completely gone.
As you can see above the dent is removed in the paint is saved. This entire project took about 15-20 minutes (other than removing the bumper) and required little tools. We suggest taking your time and be mindful that you don’t burn the paint with your heat gun. Scott has done a number of these repairs and has the process down pat and can do it pretty quickly but you may take a little longer on your first repair.