Had a deer in the headlights moment when a hubcap flew off a car ahead of me on US-101. The physics of a rogue hub-cap at 80mph are astounding, but I had no where to veer and it made contact with the bumper and basically disintegrated on impact.
It did leave a few deep gouges on the chrome (figures it wouldn't hit the bumps). Any suggestions on how to seal them up to prevent rust?
Sorry to hear about your accident, but happy to hear our much-maligned battering rams apparently minimized the damage your car might've sustained with the admittedly nicer-looking (but weak and expensive-to-replace) Euro-style bumpers.
Watch for a how-to I'm planning to write on replacing the US-market bumper's silver top cover in the days to come when the weather warms up a bit. I have the part on hand (actually an entire 560 SL front bumper another nearby forum member sold me) and will be transplanting its cover to mine. While tough and resilient, my original bumper cover has those common "dimples" from the upper license plate bolts poking them from careless parking at a wall. (Tip--Switch to nylon license plate bolts.)
my original bumper cover has those common "dimples" from the upper license plate bolts poking them from careless parking at a wall. (Tip--Switch to nylon license plate bolts.)
The cover is fairly thin stainless steel, affixed to the cast aluminum (?), black-painted bumper with two screws on the far corners (hidden under the black rubber rub strips), a long piece of self-adhesive foam tape on the front edge under those rub strips, another strip of tape on top of the bumper (see photo), and several bent-over tabs on the top rear. Finally, the "Dagmars" that bolt to the bumper at the two hydraulic shock absorbing cylinders hold it firmly in place with two bolts each.
It is possible to take the cover off, pound the dents out from behind, and resand/buff the whole thing but it's not for the faint of heart. Serious gouges/dents beyond the license plate dents would be a REAL challenge. I had to get those out because I removed my front license plate, and at that time, the aftermarket covers weren't available (I had been told by Performance Parts that Tasker, the manufacturer, had their die break on them).
Not having the means to repair, I have to replace the cover.
They're available from the dealer at around $300, part #A1078850074, and inexplicably referred to on the EPC as a Fender Skirt, Front. Several sources sell a reproduction for about half that. Still, prevention is the best remedy. As far as I can tell, the cover's replacement is only possible with the bumper removed and almost completely disassembled. Pretty weighty consequence for simply pulling up a little too close to a wall. (So as I said earlier, I've gone to nylon screws for the front license plate.)
Good road,
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