Yet another bumper dent... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

I didn't do this - in fact, she was damaged when I bought her, but it tears me up each time I see this dent! I guess the original owner tagged a curb somewhere along the way, and I know the damage is very minor... Nevertheless, it is annoying, mostly because I refuse to pay to get it repaired or replaced, knowing full well I could do the same or worse tomorrow! I've scoured the posts and seen all the DIY fixes, like the hair-dryer and heat gun options or covering it up with a car bra or bolt-on splitters, but nothing really fits what I'm looking for... Is there any sort of low-cost protection for this area that would both cover up these wounds and protect the bumper lip from similar damage? I envision about a 3 mm thick foam or rubber piece (color-matched, of course!) that would just stick on and not be too obtrusive... I tried to fashion one myself the other day without a whole lot of luck... There are curves involved that made it look much too easy than it really was! Thanks!

One option would be to locate a replacement front of the same color from a wreck. If you can find one, which admittedly might take some time, you could simply remove the bumper cover, clean the radiators while you're there, and replace the piece. You could also, upgrade to a different front end or have a stock BC of a different color resprayed, both higher cost options. IMO, I doubt you will press those out without creating some spider cracking, if you decide to attempt repair, I would definitely remove the cover, then you can work with the piece from both sides.

Just get it fixed, you can roll with the "what ifs" all day long. But, what if you got it fixed and never got too close to a curb? The Boxster as small as it is and the parking spaces being designed for huge trucks and Expeditions, I have no problem being in the space and more than a foot away from the curb. Low cost fix?...It's a Porsche. I don't think it's even proper to use those in the same sentence.

Is that factory bumper? I'm suprised it put a "dent" on it knowing that it's polyurthane? Yeah don't know if there's a way to fix it, other than filling it with bondo and repaint, which I wouldn't recommend.

Poly dents, fiberglass shatters. At a body shop they'd use the heat gun and screwdriver trick and push the dent out. Strip the paint back from that area, put a little filler on, then prime and paint it.

That's not gonna come out with a heat gun. Once there's a crease you are looking at filling and repaint or replacement. The bumper cover is toast. It will never be perfect again. Take that as a given. Here's what i would do - try to fix it myself. if I fail I can always get a replacement cover from a junker or a new aftermarket bumper cover. But first I would try the bondo and repaint option. Not very expensive if I do the labor myself and since its at the bottom of the cover and small if it doesn't come out perfectly no one will really see it. You can look at it as a fun little project and if it doesn't work out you will gain a new appreciation of body shops and what they deal with. If it ends up looking ok, then you will always look at the bumper with pride rather than shame!

Here's a handy link to a site which gives how-to's and can supply the necessary materials to affect a repair - Bumper repair . Good Luck!