How to Fix a Ford Escort Bumper

Urethane Supply Company has everything needed to repair and refinish plastics. From plastic welders to instant glues to epoxy fillers to paints to primers, you name it. Some of our products that you may be familiar with are: Mini-Weld Airless Plastic Welder, Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter, PlatiFix plastic repair kit (not to be confused with Plastex plastic repair kit), Bumper and Trim Black (not to be confused with Forever Black), Wax Blaster wax remover, Flex Filler (not to be confused with Duramix), Black Cat primer (not to be confused with Transtar Hydroflex), Insta-Weld adhesives (not to be confused with Crazy Glue or LocTite), Bumper and Cladding Coat, ATV Fender Welder, Kayak and Canoe Welder for Pelican canoes, FiberFlex welding rods, Uni-Weld welding rods, EZ Weld Hot Air Plastic Welder, Steinel hot air plastic welder. We also carry a complete line of plastic welding rods. For example, we manufacture ABS welding rods, Polypropylene welding rods, Polyethylene welding rods, TPO (TEO) plastic welding rods, Polyurethane welding rods. In addition to the products you need to repair plastic, we also have detailed instructions and tutorials with step-by-step instructions on how to repair plastic.

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Repairing a "Living Hinge" Bumper Tab
on a Ford Escort Rear Bumper

One of the most difficult tabs to repair are the ones that are designed to flex along a "hinge" line. We now offer the 5010-1 PP sheet to perform such repairs on TPO bumpers. This product was developed and created by Jim Stults of Collins Collision Products who wanted to dub it the "JS-3000 Super Turbo Tab Repair System." Although the name was too long for our computer system to take, kudos to Jim, regardless for creating this outstanding new problem-solving technique.

Step 1. Hopefully, you have one good tab left to trace. This bumper has two living hinge tabs... one torn off, and the other good.
Step 2. Hold the 5010-1 PP sheet up to the good tab and trace the outline using a marker or a razor knife. This tab has a 90° bend in the bottom with the mount hole in it. Cut the tab out of the sheet using a jigsaw.
Step 3. Place the plastic into a vise and bend sharply along the hinge line. Bend the hinge back and forth several times to make it flexible. Only bend the hook one way to keep it stiff.
Step 4. Here's the tab roughed out after the vise. Note the flange where my hand is holding it. This is where we'll splice it into the bumper.
Step 5. Cut the flange on the tab to the shape to fit the bumper, then cut a notch in the bumper to match the tab. Rough grind and bevel both the tab and the bumper for welding.
Step 6. Hold the tab in place with 6481-2 aluminum body tape. Weld the tab onto the bumper using the R13-W PP strip welding rod and the hot air welder.
Step 7. Immediately after hot air welding, burnish the PP strip with the 6028RT tip on the airless welder. Let it cool and repeat the process on the other side of the tab.
Step 8. Once the repair has cooled down, the tab is at least as strong as the original. Finish the cosmetic appearance by grinding slightly flush and melting 5003r10 FiberFlex onto the surface, cool, then finish sand.