How to remove a bumper dent with a heat gun

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  • OVERALL DIFFICULTY INDEX: 3/10
  • IF YOU HAVE NO TOOLS, YOU SPEND $60 TO GET THEM FOR THIS JOB
  • IF YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE YOU SPEND 1 HOUR TO CARRY OUT THIS JOB
  • RISK OF BURNS, SEE BELOW​
BEFORE YOU START
  • Be careful not to touch the head of the heat gun or heated parts with your bare hands.​
DISCLAIMER:
Our pictorials are of informative nature and do illustrate works carried out by ourselves at our own premises for our own use and satisfaction.
Readers who envisage to carry out similar works inspired by the below method shall do this at their own risks and liability.

Context of a dented car bumper

The below car bumper was dented following a minor accident where a vehicle could not stop and ended below the bumper of this SUV. The damages are shown to the left and the repaired bumper is shown to the right.
The repair lasted for less than an hour, rather a few minutes and allowed to:
  • Reshape the bumper
  • Pull out the bumper to its initial position
  • Fix the sensor hole so the rear sensor can be refitted

This pictorial does not show how to repaint the bumper.
Before
After

Removing the car bumper dent with a heat gun

This bumper suffered a dent that damaged the bottom right area, pushed the fog light inside and pulled the rear parking sensor support out of it.
The fix consists first of collecting the rear parking sensor and its support and to take out the bumber fog light along with its support. In this case, the fog light support is simply welded to the bumper so it was necessary to use a large flat screwdriver and some force to pull the support out.
Use your heat gun for this bumper repair, the hair dryer will not provide enough heat.
If you have no heat gun and you don't intend to buy one, you can use boiling water to fix a bumper dent.
Heat the damaged area starting from the center and moving out to the surroundings while insisting a bit more on the holes or folds that are to be reshaped. Do not keep the heat too long in the same place as this will damage the plastics. Keep movng the heat gun all the time and do so for one to two minutes.
Immediately pull out the bumper dent with your hand, wearing split cow leather gloves.
Make sure to reshape all dented areas.
You need to finish the job by pushing inward the dents that are popping out of the bumper.
Heat them one by one and push the plastic with your finger so it goes back to its initial shape, as much as possible.
You can refix the parking sensor holder and the fog light support using commonly available epoxy steel adhesive.

See also...