is it easy to hammer out small dents in the OEM bumper?

[stevema1214]

my wife has put two small to medium size dents in the OEM rear bumper on our 2007 LC. Can't convince her to upgrade to a slee or some other real bumper (yet....). One dent is in the middle and the other is on the corner. Both happened in last six months and yes, we have a backup camera. How easy is it to remove the OEM "plastic" bumper and pound out? Thx

 

[Bloomer]

Removing bumper (cover) is easy.....15 to 30 minute job. Couple screws behind rear wheels/mud flap area and some bolts underneath at the rear. Just crawl under and look. For me, it was obvious what needed to be unscrewed/unbolted to remove the bumper (cover).

As for hammering out dents......no idea. Refer to pic below to see what you'll be contending with once removed (light metal supports and bracing).

 

[Bloomer]

May consider just swapping it out if you can find someone local with same color land cruiser that has moved onto a new bumper. I'm debating what to do with my take offs (whether to keep and reinstall in case I ever sell the land cruiser for another one).

 

[MisledYouth]

Just get a Blueberry

 

[fireball]

A blueberry won't help much since the dents are in the rear bumper.

The OEM bumper is made of urethane, so you won't exactly be able to hammer it out. A few photos of the dents might be helpful, but like said above, in under an hour you can have the bumper off, massage the dents to the best of your ability and put back on.

Then decide the next course of action!

 

[stevema1214]

Thx guys. Will do. And will post before and after pics.

 

[APKhaos]

Gentle the dents out with a heat gun. Don't get too aggressive. You want the plastic just hot enough to be massaged back to original shape. Heating from the inside is best, although you can apply some heat to the outside - just be careful not to get the paint too hot.

 

[MisledYouth]

Missed the rear part. Reading is hard.

 

[Woodman]

HEAT s the only way. Don't melt or get paint to hot. Heat only on inside, massage it out best you can. If still noticeable, a little filler and a $18 aerosol can of touch up paint should have it looking fancy again?

 

[Kaisersosay]

2007 Rear Bumper

Greetings!

I have a like new rear bumper that is excess to my needs. Came off of my 2007 when I installed my Slee rear bumper. Vehicle only has 30k miles on it so it is in really good shape. Whenever I get around to installing the Blueberry, I will also have the front. Hit me up if you are ineterested. I am in North Carolina.

Best regards,
Bill