Has your car bumper picked up a few dents and dings over the years? If so, you should consider trying to fix them on your own. Many car bumpers are made out of fiberglass, partly because it is flexible but also because it is easy to repair. You can invest in a simple fiberglass patch kit and easily fix small holes in your bumper. This article explains not only how to use a fiberglass patch kit but also which other tools and products are necessary for the job.

Using a Patching Kit

Most fiberglass patch kids won't include everything you need for the project. For instance, a common kit will include the fiberglass resin, a liquid hardener, a cloth, and possibly a mixing trough and stick. In addition to this, you will also need painter's tape, a plastic putty knife, and auto-body sandpaper. You should be able to repair most holes with these supplies.

Prepping the Hole

Before you apply the patch, you need to do a little bit of prep work. First of all, you need to sand a small perimeter around the whole. The goal is to lightly sand away the protective finish of the car. This does not mean you need to send off all of the existing paint, but lightly sanding will roughen up the paint texture so the patch can stick better to it. The patch will not stick very well to an extremely shiny surface. Next, you need to cut the cloth to the right size. You obviously want it to be larger than the actual hole but a little smaller than the area that you sanded.

Applying the Resin

At this point, you can begin to prepare the actual resin. You need to mix small amounts of hardener in with the resin in order to activate it. Once the two components are mixed together, the resin will dry very quickly, so make sure you are fully prepared to spread it. With the putty knife, spread a liberal amount of resin onto the cloth as you hold it in place.

The cloth will stay in place once enough resin is spread over it and it starts to dry. After the resin dries, you can sand it flat with you auto sandpaper. This might take a little bit of patience and craftsmanship because you need to try to match the curves and smoothness of the rest of the bumper.

For more help, talk to a company such as Soundside Automotive.