Any way to fix the front bumper?

So I was driving to home depot to buy some stuff, I parked and got stuck on some snow/ice, I throttled a little and hit the front wall. Luckily the only damage was the front plastic bumper (lucky break but stupid mistake )

I was wondering if their is any way to restore it to its former glory or at least fix it so it doesn't stand out as badly (luckily every car on the road is dirty so its hard to notice). Ive done a good amount of research and many suggested things like sandpaper, abrasive rubs, heatguns, etc. but due to the textured pattern on the plastic, im not too confident in it not standing out but instead making it worse. I wanna get this done before snow season really hits in my area. Any help would be more then greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

 

Smooth it out and put some black magic on it.

 

Snow, on Oct. 4th!!! It was a cool 96 degrees here in South Carolina today.

Sorry about the truck! Maybe smooth it out and add a vinyl wrap?

 

I did think of that but i was more concerned with the look if it afterwards, for sanding i can do some of the lighter ones with no problems but i have 1 deep groove from hitting the wall. Im gonna try it out and see what happens. Thanks in advance

 

Welcome to Calgary XD, we actually hit a record high for first snow fall this year

 

a new one's only around $100 if you go that route

 

WELCOME!

 

Welcome and

 

Get it smooth and then put a coat of plasti dip on it.

 

2nd the plasti-dip. If it still doesn't look right/meet your satisfaction, you're only out of $6 and a bit of time.

 

Also snow??? Really??? It was 90 degrees here in Nashville today, been like that most of September, bunch of BS, its normally a lot cooler.

 

snow .... must be nice .93 deg here in Mississippi today

 

That's a boss idea because I don't see any other repair to the existing bumper as clean looking, covering it with liner seems purposeful and badass, short of replacing it or getting a 3rd party bumper.
I recall other people have lined exterior parts of their truck.

 

Try sanding it smooth then heating it up and pressing a metal plate against it to simulate it being in a form mold and give it a little texture?

 

Cut the high spots with a razor blade, sand it a little then spray with bed liner. Or fully sand and color match plain it, this would be much more labor and a crap chute as far as how it'll come out. I'd stay away from plastidip. Do it right and it should look good.

 

If you don't want it to look half assed, your buying a new part. I don't know much about anything, but there is no real "fix" for that. Aftermarket doesn't match texture or fit. Sorry.....

 

A heat gun, not a lighter, might help with the dis-coloration, but the marring is not a fixable issue

 

Keeping bad fixes out of cheap hands is a purpose we should strive for.

 

It won't look the same after you sand it unless you re texture the whole thing. And then it will probably look like crap. I used to make the plastic fuel tanks that go in Cat and John Deere so I have had a lot of experience fixing and texturizing. Used a fan torch and a needle scaler air tool...Save yourself the aggravation and buy the new part.

 

I’d bet you can find a new one for free or really cheap. Anybody who changed their bumper out will have it, unless they tossed it.
I’d post a thread in the marketplace here, seeing if anyone has one. If you’re on Facebook, there’s likely a local Tundra group in your area you could inquire with.
This is what I did when I got rear ended and needed a new bumper cap. Posted on my local Tundra Facebook group, asking if anyone had one they wanted to get rid of. Within an hour a guy close to me responded and offered me all four for free. He had some smoked fog lights he was looking to sell for 30 bucks, and I gave him a hundred for all of it. It allowed me to get them powder coated without having to drive around a week with my bumpers off.


Sanding it and using some Solution Finish will make it look a lot better, but I think a new one is probably pretty easy to come by.

 

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions that have been placed (I'm surprised with the number of responses overnight ) I'm gonna most likely try least permanent to most permanent just to stay on the safe side. again thank you all tundra lovers

 

Ill keep everyone posted

 

I would not sand it due to the texture that will be removed. Use a sharp razor blade and scrape off just the high points, and then smooth it a little with a heat gun. Be careful not to let it get too hot and start to bubble! (Ask me how I know). Been there done that. Heat gun is more to restore the color than it is to really smooth it.

 

Aftermarket steel bumper..

 

Is the texture that y'all are speaking of the chip guard paint they use on the bottom of the body panels?

 

I wouldn't be able to live with it like that. From the pic it looks like the worst of the damage could be hidden behind a front license plate bracket.

 

If I was in this situation, I'd use this opportunity and just install the Southern Style bull bar and call it a day but I am going to mind my own business.