So I've had my 2012 IS-F for a week and a half...and some idiot decided to do a hit and run and dented my back bumper while my car was parked. Trying to figure out if I should try fixing ir myself by removing the bumper and using a heat gun or just have a professional do it. Anybody had this issue before? How did you get it fixed? recommendations?

 

It's very easy to remove the bumper cover, even this caveman could do it.

A total of 4 10 mm screws (2 under the square plastic covers visible when you raise the trunk lid & 2 in the wheel wells), a plastic clip in each wheel well, & 4 plastic push/pull fasteners on the bottom side. Place 2 boxes below the cover to set it on, then pull it away a few inches from the car. There's wiring to unclip if your F has rear parking sensors, but I was able to access the rear of the cover (to change out the exhaust tips) by just unbolting the small bracket on the driver's side that holds the wires to the body.

Do a search for "bumper removal", there is a great thread in the forum w/pictures.

 

If you don't know how to repair it, I would hire a professional or a person who knows what they're doing. That should be a very easy repair because it doesn't have any scratches, just don't mess up your SFP paint because then you'll have to get it completely resprayed and at that point it's going to look really off as there's no way to perfectly match SFP.

 

you can push most of that out from the backside with your hand. just put your hand through the bottom.

 

That's not terrible, I'd pull the cover off and make sure the parking sensor isn't damaged too. I watched some YouTube video of a guy pouring hot water over plastic bumper covers to soften them up and pop out dents without damaging the paint. Looked legit, but don't believe everything on the Internet...haha

 

Push it out, if it doesnt go, use heat gun from small distance then it will pop out easy.

 

i would go to a professional. i had a nasty dent on the trunk of the F and they took it right out... I went to this place in San Antonio... Amazing work... they have also fixed some door dings on my wife car with no issues.

http://www.concoursautosalon.com/

 

For sheet metal damage, absolutely, A PDR specialist is the way to go. But for a plastic bumper cover you can DIY and save yourself the time and about $100. When the wife backed into something in her RX I used a hair dryer to warm up the plastic and popped it right out. I had to replace one of the marker lights and a back up sensor if that gives an idea as to how bad she mushed it. How she didn't hear the damn thing screaming at her to stop is still beyond me.

 

because woman never hear anything.

 

That sucks. try the heat gun/hot water trick. if that doesn't work. try paint less dent removal. there's plenty of them in Cali.

 

If I saw that dent I would happy because instantly even though Im not a body pro, I know it will be easy to pop out back to 100%. I would be happy knowing it's an easy fix but be mad at the f-ing punk that hit and run your car. Thats why I hate taking out my car with a lot of poeple like that around here.

Dont use the hot water trick, use the heat gun first. Heating it alone should pop it back out otherwise you can reach from the under side (not sure if you have enough access by removing the splash gauge), but a bumper removal may be necessary, if you can reach you should use your hands to push out while heating it up. Dont leave the heat gun stationary either, blow the head in paint brush steps as if your painting something.

If you cant do it yourself, I'm sure a mobil dent guy will gladly remove that back to 100% locally for cheap.

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. After reading them, I feel confident in taking off the bumper and using the heat gun method. I do most of the maintenance in my cars, but I wasn't sure about working on this one.

I will give it a shot this weekend and will post some pics to help others that might encounter this situation.

 

Hey, just be careful with the heat gun. Keep it a good distance as was mentioned above. I've been very successful in the garage lately, but took a heat gun to ma's bumper a few months back and royally botched the job (split the damaged plastic area like butter).

 

So I took the bumper off, thanks for the directions. I used the heat gun form behind and front of the bumper. Overall, I'm very satisfied with how it turned out. I would say it's 90% better than how it was.

Since I had some free time this weekend, I went ahead and detailed the ISF. Paint correction with Meguiars DA using M105, M205 and sealed with M21. That pearl really pops now!

 

Wow big difference.....and inexpensive fix to boot! Looks much better than before