Bent ARB Bull Bar - Heat and Beat?

[JAPFPE]

My 17y/o daughter whacked a Hyundai Santa Fe at a stoplight yesterday. The ARB is bent at the lower center slot. No other damage to our truck and most importantly, no injuries.
I'm considering heating the bumper with the Oxy-Acetylene torch and bending (read:beating) it back to original form. Being the truck sees upstate NY winters, it is starting to show some rust so it's due for a repaint anyway.
Does anyone have experience bending and repainting an ARB Bullbar?

Thanks!

 

[bhmmapping]

no need to heat it or beat it - it is surprisingly thin walled and should be relatively easy to straighten:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/676375-how-straighten-arb-bumper.html

 

[NLXTACY]

no need to heat it or beat it - it is surprisingly thin walled and should be relatively easy to straighten:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/676375-how-straighten-arb-bumper.html

Unless you made sure that will never happen

 

[Tools R Us]

no need to heat it or beat it - it is surprisingly thin walled and should be relatively easy to straighten:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/676375-how-straighten-arb-bumper.html

Yep, pretty wimpy, relatively easy to straighten. At one time I straightened mine every time I bent it, but it started cracking, so now just leave it bent up.

 

[NLXTACY]

Yep, pretty wimpy, relatively easy to straighten. At one time I straightened mine every time I bent it, but it started cracking, so now just leave it bent up.

Or modify the hell out of it:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/687943-got-my-arb-looking-mod-ideas.html

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Mine had similar damage. I was able to get it fairly straight with a small sledge, a bottle jack, and a pair of vise-grips. The vise grips with a cheater pipe over the handle made it easy to unbend (in a twisting manner) the metal.

 

[Douglas S]

Or modify the hell out of it:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/687943-got-my-arb-looking-mod-ideas.html

Or maybe just buy something well made...

 

[NLXTACY]

Or maybe just buy something well made...

Is that your solution? Just buy something?

 

[retrofive]

Im with dougs. I dont see the allure with it, for what it is, at its cost.

 

[jcardona1]

Im with dougs. I dont see the allure with it, for what it is, at its cost.

It's like the stock 80 bumper, with a brush guard

 

[bhmmapping]

It's like the stock 80 bumper, with a brush guard

It's actually quite a bit stronger than that. It's not so strong that it would transfer a small impact to the frame like a lot of the other new aftermarket bumpers, but it is a good bit stronger than the stocker.

 

[NLXTACY]

It's actually quite a bit stronger than that. It's not so strong that it would transfer a small impact to the frame like a lot of the other new aftermarket bumpers, but it is a good bit stronger than the stocker.

Mine is now

 

[crazy1323]

I've got a Slee Short Bus and I feel like that thing could go through a wall! I guess that is good and bad as all impacts go straight to the frame.

 

[jfz80]

Joey. your never gonna be able to straighten that one if you bump a bollard at the mall.

I wish the outer thirds were as easy. wings are cake but once the vertical supports and top tubes tweak it seams there's a lot of resistance to straightening. But my jig is for sale LOL

 

[JAPFPE]

Nice jig JFZ80! I only wish a I had a bollard to use as an anchor point for pulling the kink out.