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I clipped a concrete block at dead slow speed. It bent my rear bumper.

This is the view of the full bumper now. You can see the "knee" I put in it. Bumper "Knee"
The bumper itself has a piece of angle iron running through the center to give it support. It is about 1/2" - 3/4" on each leg,as you can see here: Bent Angle Iron
As you can see in this photo, there is no gap between the angle iron and the fiberglass.
There are small "Stem and Cap" fasteners that hold the fiberglass on to the angle iron. They are not removable. Fibergalss & Iron
I believe that the fiberglass can be mended after the angle iron has been straightened. Here are some photos of the outside & inside. Outer View

Inner View
How can I fix this without damaging the fiberglass any more than it already is?

TIA

Scottie H
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2 Answers2

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I think it is very unlikely that you can straighten the steel.

I would carefully cut the steel out from the back, get some new steel, weld the brackets back on if necessary, then fibreglass it back in place.

That is what I would do if a second hand replacement is not readily available. It would be a lot easier to repaint a second hand one than repair the one you have.

HandyHowie
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You shouldn't attempt to repair a bumper. You will not be able to restore the original performance correctly - remember that its job is to absorb impact in order to protect the vehicle (including occupants) and environment (including other road users).

If you make it too stiff or too soft, you have compromised the safety of the vehicle.

The only reasonable choice is to replace with a new or reputably salvaged one.

Toby Speight
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