[tl_boy]

DIY BUMPER HOLE PLUGS

I don't like bumper plugs, so I filled the holes, and I think it looks pretty damn good, much better than bumper plugs, and its flush. I can take pics and make a proper DIY if anyone is interested, I never knew if they were or not though.

What you need:

1)Phillips head screwdriver
2)Standard pencils with erasers
3)Superglue
4)Bondo brand spot Putty (Walmart, $3)
5)2000 Grit Automotive Dry/Wet sandpaper (I used 3M brand, Walmart, I think like 4 bucks for a pack)
6)BMW OEM touch up paint for your color (I got the paint+clearcoat bottles for $12 bucks from a dealer)
7)Paper Hole puncher, standard
8)Toothpick or very Fine painters brush, your choice.
9)Car polish

1)Remove license plate, screws completely
2) You will probably find the edges around the holes to stick out (like someones lips if they were to suck on something cylindrical)
3)Take a fairly blunt object (i used the phillips screwdriver) and 'tuck' the lips inward, trying to seal up the hole. Run your finger over it, make sure that it is now flush, or inverted, but should not be extroverted (i.e. no more "lips"). You can use slight force.
4)Clean the hole and a mm or so around it with alcohol. Let dry
5) Fill holes. Apply Bondo spot putty in small amounts, and use a flat item like a credit card or something to help flatten it. Don't put too much, or you will have to sand later, and its a pain in the but.
6) Let dry, per directions.
7) Take a paper hole puncher, and punch out a few dots out of the sanding paper. Put a very small drop in on the tip of the pencil's eraser (use new pencils so they eraser tip is flat) and affix one of the dots to this. Repeat on a couple more pencils using more dots. make sure the superglue is very little, because when dry, it can become hard, and excess can cause light scratches. Take a block type eraser as well, small, about 1/4 inch, and cut a piece of sand paper and afffix it as mentioned previously. These are your sanding tools.
8)Sand the putty down using the sanding tools you've made. Be careful not to sand further than just the area needed. If you were clean and accurate in your application of putty, this shouldn't be a problem.
9)Between sanding, wipe the area with a clean cloth, and "feel" to make sure it is smooth.
10)Fine tune the sanding using the pencil eraser tools and some water. Take a spray bottle, fill it with water, and spray it liberally on pencil sandpaper dot and hole area. wet sand, very gently. Carefully sand a little bit down, i.e. not flush with bumper, it should be very slightly inverted.
11) let dry, then clean wipe area with alcohol. Make sure no loose sediments are there.
12) Take a piece of tape, i used scotch, but painters tape would be better probably, and punch a hole using the hole punch. run a pen or pencil tip through this to enlargen the hole, the circumference should be the same as the hole that has putty. place a strip of this "holed" tape over the area, and apply touchup paint with a fine artist's brush or toothpick. Apply in small quantities. Make sure you coat entire area to cover up any putty. Let dry. Apply another coat. Let dry.
13)Remove tape after, and wet sand area again using pencils. Be very gentle and use consistent, flat pressure. Let dry.
14)You will see "white" hazing around the area you sanded.
15)Use a polish, I used Meguiar's body scrub and rubbed it in well, this brought it back to its natural shine. Apply wax if you wish.

Done. Looks a lot better than plugs, and a good learning experience as this is similar to how you'd handle rock chips (sans putty).

I took these pics. I'm sorry I don't have pics showing the process, It was experimental, and I never thought about doing it. But here is the finished result. Keep in mind I'm a total noob at DIY auto stuff, I'm sure a more experienced person at detailing/auto sanding would get a superior result.

[tl_boy]

pics taken extreme zoom, 6.2 megapixel camera at 5x optical zoom.

Oh, and I forgot, the best part is there is no risk. if you fudge up, you can always try again, or THEN use bumper plugs. that was my backup plan. I'm gonna still work on my driver's side, you can see its not perfect. You should be able to achieve 90 percent perfection if you do it well.

[Paul330d]

Looks like a clean job. Thanks for sharing. Maybe you could post some pix of the car from a more usual distance?

[tl_boy]

Yes, I will add that. I should also clean my car. It is filthy, as it has been raining in Houston a lot lately, and I have been going to a construction site. I haven't washed it in 3 weeks.

Originally Posted by Paul330d

Looks like a clean job. Thanks for sharing. Maybe you could post some pix of the car from a more usual distance?

[canucklion]

I don't have experience working with putty, how does it 'stay put" ?? 'cuz the bumper is pretty thin, can you potentially like poke it gently and the putty would fall off?

[tl_boy]

i think its a fiberglass product. Have you ever worked with wood filler by any chance? its very much like that.

It comes out of the tube as a paste, i'd say about as viscous as toothpaste. smear it, let it dry, and then add another light layer and do this till you nearly fill up the hole. After drying, it becomes kind of powdery, but hard. it is easy to sand. no, it shouldn't fall because I think its fiberglass. it is meant for these applications.

LIke wood filler just won't fall out.

Originally Posted by canucklion

I don't have experience working with putty, how does it 'stay put" ?? 'cuz the bumper is pretty thin, can you potentially like poke it gently and the putty would fall off?

[canucklion]

ah, I see, yeah, I've used wood filler before, cool
good job

Originally Posted by tl_boy

i think its a fiberglass product. Have you ever worked with wood filler by any chance? its very much like that.

It comes out of the tube as a paste, i'd say about as viscous as toothpaste. smear it, let it dry, and then add another light layer and do this till you nearly fill up the hole. After drying, it becomes kind of powdery, but hard. it is easy to sand. no, it shouldn't fall because I think its fiberglass. it is meant for these applications.

LIke wood filler just won't fall out.

[txusa03]

how about reducing the zoom to standard photo so I can see what it looks like from a distance?

[tl_boy]

like i said, i'll wash it and take pics again. maybe this weekend. M-F are busy for me.

[just4kickz]

lol @ pictures.

[findtom]

Cool. I'm going to try this.

[DC516]

You da man, best $35 bucks ive spent (my paint was $22), although I didnt quite sand enough, still looks way better than it was before, maybe i'll redo it later, yours makes mine look like crap, haha. This was also my first time doing anything like this.

Things I would chg, i tried 800 grit paper, sanded for days, way to long, i then got 400, much better, i got 2000 too, I used all 3 of them throughout the process. I am going to add some additional pics

Before

Sanding (great tool for sanding)

Putty in holes

Painters tape, the hole punch holes were to small for me

Done

[bimmerFUD]

Nice DIY. I paid a body shop $200 for this job. There is NO WAY I would use bumper plugs.

[iheartsole]

nice job! looks nice cant even tell