Broke my bumper, Told a raccoon why he shouldn't cross the road... Options

[blu94gt]

I don't know what it is with my Celicas attracting the hugest raccoons in the county, but I've successfully told 2 of them why they shouldn't cross the interstate. First was my blue one a few years ago, creamed a big one doing about 80, messed up my bumper and fender and tore up my CAI. Second one was the other day, hit a GIANT one on the interstate, didn't even see him until it was right there.

I assessed the damage later, split the bottom part of the bumper in half, all the posts in the grill are ripped off, few cracks around the edges of the bottom, paint coming off, and the engine shields are messed up. Oil pan and radiator seem fine, there's a new huge dent in my radiator but it doesn't look like the raccoon did that. Here's a pic(and sorry for the crappy phone pic) and no the oil stain isn't from my car, I was in a parking garage:


At first I thought I could just fiberglass it up but idk, the damage on the bottom side is pretty bad so I'll probably just keep my eyes open for a junk yard bumper or a cheap deal on here. I don't know how I feel about many of the aftermarket ones, the C-One is the best looking that I know of other than the GT-4 conversion.

[Johnnyny]

monster coons eh . the C- one replicas are nice fitment is horrible though..

[njccmd2002]

m glad it was not a beavecoon... lol

[jordisonjr]

Pics of racoon?

[njccmd2002]

[Batman722]

m glad it was not a beavecoon... lol

haha beavecoon, I watch that show !

[njccmd2002]

m glad it was not a beavecoon... lol

haha beavecoon, I watch that show !

yeah, my daughter likes it, i watch it sometimes, it makes me laugh

[mgnt232]

I almost had this problem with a giant rabbit.... but i... "caught"? the thing lmao
The rabbit came hoppin along the road, I tried to slow down a bit heard a clunk...figrued id hit hit kept going, for another 2 sec. heard like scratching and banging (was thinking ong! wth did that thing do to my car, slowed down, and saw the thing hopp out from the front of my car.
I came to the only logical conclusion that it jumped up into the huge space in the invader bumper lmao and hitched a ride a few seconds down the road

[blu94gt]

So I've been looking at it, and I think I'm going to try to fiberglass it to repair it. I'm going to cut out the posts and leave it open, and I think from there I can just glass the whole lower section, wrapping it in fiberglass then blending it into the bumper and painting it.. Figure it's a good way to learn to do fiberglass work, plus if I mess it up who cares, bumper is already broken.

A lot of you guys have done fiberglass work, think it's worth it? Or would I just be wasting my time and money when I could just pick up a new bumper?

[jcbass7]

I say go for it just because it gives you an excuse to learn a new skill.

[mgnt232]

do the fiberglass, its not expensive, and it already broken lol
Its not real hard, but your first time i would add a little less hardener (not too much less) just so you have some more time to work with it.
fiberglass will give you a really good "mold of the shape". its hard to make it flush with just that, you'll need some bondo to make it really smooth and not so noticable. Especially depending on the amount of bumper you decide to fix
I never had any experience with this stuff until this past summer, and its pretty easy just take ur time, and read directions carefully

[blu94gt]

Where's the best place to buy the cloth and resin? I think I've seen the Bondo brand Fiberglass stuff at Walmart and Autozone, or should I go to a body shop or boat shop or something?

[mgnt232]

My walmart and autozone didnt have the fiberglass mat (but they had the resin...dont ask why u'd buy one without the other...) I got everything from home depot, relatively cheap. For what you need just get the smaller ones, and read the directions.
Also make sure rain doesnt get on the bondo before its painted, just bad news lol. And a bunch of sandpaper from 80-300 grit (maybe higher? different for every application)

[blu94gt]

My walmart and autozone didnt have the fiberglass mat (but they had the resin...dont ask why u'd buy one without the other...) I got everything from home depot, relatively cheap. For what you need just get the smaller ones, and read the directions.
Also make sure rain doesnt get on the bondo before its painted, just bad news lol. And a bunch of sandpaper from 80-300 grit (maybe higher? different for every application)

Cool, thanks! I think I have some bondo and hardener around here still from working on my motorcycle. I would make sure to at least prime the bumper before even taking the car out of the garage lol. I'm guessing it won't take too much fiberglass stuff to do just the bottom of the bumper enough to hold strong. Will be a fun little weekend project.

[jcbass7]

I picked up all of mine at home-depot as well. I fixed a Euro front lip that had been snapped in half. Came out great. Easier than you think if you are patient and have had some experience getting your hands dirty in the past.

Good Luck, let us know how it works out

[dudeofchaos]

Put sharp blades instead of a lip. So next time you hit one it'll cut its head off instead!

[Zake]

sorry to see that damage. i am still unsure on how mine didnt break when i hit a GIANT possum last weekend. i was like woh-clunk clunk (first clunk was when the front bumper hit it, second clunk was when it hit the back..)