Car bumps, dents and scratches can be an unfortunate fact of life. Whether surprised by a curb that was slightly taller than expected, or whether victim to a runaway trolley in a parking lot, dents and scratches do happen. When your car gets scratched or dented, for whatever reason, it is important to get it fixed as quickly as possible.
Nowhere is this more important than with damage on the bumper of the car.
Here, at ChipsAway, we specialise in minor car body repair, so have put together this guide exploring the different kinds of bumper damage that can occur. Throughout this article we will explore some of the methods of bumper repair and explore some of the reasons why an expedient repair is preferable to letting the damage go untreated for any long period of time.
Types of Car Bumper Damage and Car Bumper Repair
Car bumpers are one of the most common areas for a car to suffer damage. Coming in one of two formats, it can be demoralising when damage occurs to your car bumper. Bumper damage can be unsightly and reduce the value of your car should you want to sell it. When something happens to your car bumper, it is in your best interest to get it fixed as quickly as possible.
Bumper Dents
A dent in a bumper can be a pain. When dents occur, there are several different ways of repairing them depending on the type of dent now visible on the car. If a dent is purely aesthetic, and there is no additional damage, then it may be possible to massage the dent out. This kind of technique can be used on dents all over the car and includes repairing the damage without the need to repaint.
To do this we use a classic dent repair technique that allows us to target the damage and repair it without the need to remove or replace the entire panel. Where the paint isn’t broken it is possible to use a paint-less dent removal technique – a method that is perfect for minor or shallow dents. Paint-less dent removal allows for the repair of bumper dents without the need to repaint the surface, making it a fair quicker option.
For serious dents, it is possible that the bumper has been damaged beyond a simple scratch or dent on the surface of the bumper, resulting in a crack appearing in the main bumper’s structure. Cracks need filling as soon as physically possible as the bumper’s integrity can be compromised. We’ll explore this in a bit more detail further on down the page.
Bumper Scratches
Of course, not all causes of bumper damage are dents or cracks. It is possible for a bumper to be scratched or scuffed like with any other part of the car. Scratches and scuffs, although not as critical as a bumper crack or dent, still need repairing to keep the car in top condition. Like with all scratches in the car bodywork, it is possible to repair a scratch by using professional colour matching technology. We recommend this as it can create a near flawless finish.
At ChipsAway we call this technique SMART scratch repair, and it allows for us to quickly and efficiently match paint to the precise colour pigment of the car. This means that the repair can easily be blended into the surrounding area, leaving the car as good as new.
Reasons to Repair Your Bumper
There is no doubt about it – car scratches and dents can decrease the value of your car. A scratch anywhere on the car can make it harder to sell – however, that is not the only problem with a scratch. Depending on the depth of the scratch, it is possible for a deep scratch to leave the car body vulnerable and open to rust.
No matter how a bumper has been dented, a dent can cause a number of problems. Fundamentally, aside from a dented bumper potentially decreasing the value of a car, a dented or cracked bumper can compromise a couple of core car components that need to be kept in good condition.
On the body of a car, the role of the bumper is to help absorb the force of an impact, if something hits the front or back of the car. A dent or crack within the structure of the bumper can compromise the ability the bumper has to absorb that damage, making it less efficient. The larger the dent or crack, the bigger the potential that the structural integrity of the bumper can been compromised.
On top of that, a growing number of cars have an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (or ADAS for short), that helps with parking. ADAS work by having sensors around the car, most commonly in the back bumper. If the bumper has been damaged then it is possible for the ADAS system to have also been damaged or misaligned. Misaligned sensors makes them inaccurate, which can lead to more damage in the long term.
Fixing Your Car Bumper
No matter what damage has been caused to your bumper, we are here to help. Whether it is as small as a minor dent, or as large as a cracked bumper, we want to help you get your car back to pristine condition today.
You can find out more about how we remove car scratches here or find out more about how we can help repair dents in any area of a car.
Alternatively, please feel free to call us to request a free quotation today.
