front bumper skirt
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If you are talking about the one piece (entire) bumper thats cracked, I can tell you from personal experience it was over 2K I'll have to find the receipt and check again. If its just the insert that fell out its not that bad. Did the pylons that hold the wing insert crack off as well? Some good shops can do a plastic weld if the bottom is just cracked and scuffed. You have to call around because not all shops want to take the time or have the kit to do the weld. Its not just some epoxy that bonds/fills that crack its the actual material of the bumper that stick welded to the crack then sanded smooth. Makes a HUGE difference because it will never crack or fall out because it becomes part of the bumper. Pretty time intensive to do the work but it will save $$$ in buying the part. If there isn't that much material to replace/fix I'd go this route.
'11 Santa Fe LTD V6 AWD-Navi, '99 CLK 320 (traded for family mover), '96 200SX (SOLD) :(
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Smoke, where are you located?
We have a shop in our city (Rezplast) that does amazing work with plastic welding. I use to work for a company that sells Argo 8 wheelers and they used to do the repairs on them and like previously mentioned they use the same material as the part being repaired to make strong and seamless welds that are amazing. The cost savings is ridiculous especially whan you consider what is involved in completely dismantling an argo and it's entire drive train to replace the lower body.
It's really an art just like the old Hot Rodders that use use to do body work with lead by melting and shaping the work piece back to new. It's actually pretty cool to see.
Marc
We have a shop in our city (Rezplast) that does amazing work with plastic welding. I use to work for a company that sells Argo 8 wheelers and they used to do the repairs on them and like previously mentioned they use the same material as the part being repaired to make strong and seamless welds that are amazing. The cost savings is ridiculous especially whan you consider what is involved in completely dismantling an argo and it's entire drive train to replace the lower body.
It's really an art just like the old Hot Rodders that use use to do body work with lead by melting and shaping the work piece back to new. It's actually pretty cool to see.
Marc
There are many aftermarket bumper covers out there. Search for Mercedes body kits and you will get several hits. going OEM with be expensive without a doubt. this is one of many out there. Mercedes CLK Front Bumper - Buy CLK Front Bumper Fiberglass or Duraflex
Parts.com OEM Bumper cover, front AMG, w/o washer $450.80. Ask them on shipping cost.
Carstar will paint it for about 3 bills. Takes about 20 minutes to remove, about 20 to reinstall.
You will have to transfer some parts from the broken one to the new one, ie. fog lamp mounts; fog lamps; temp sensor; bumper mount studs (drill out three rivets each, replace w/ small stainless hardware); bumper mounts guide on each side, same trick w/ the rivets; inset wrap-around bumper pad.
The CLK OEM bumper cover is PUR (polyurethane) not thermo-plastic, so it doesn't respond well to heat--it liquefies. Thus, plastic welding can be a bit tricky. About 90% of bumpers are thermo-plastic. Beads are blown into a mold, then the mold is sealed and heated, forming the bumper cover. These respond well to plastic welding. About 10% of bumpers are polyurethane. Two compounds are poured into a mold, forming a third compound which hardens without heat, forming the bumper cover. Not good candidates for plastic welding.
Many non-dealers will install re-manufactured (repaired) PUR bumper covers. There are many suppliers that repair these PUR covers and market them to repair shops.
Carstar will paint it for about 3 bills. Takes about 20 minutes to remove, about 20 to reinstall.
You will have to transfer some parts from the broken one to the new one, ie. fog lamp mounts; fog lamps; temp sensor; bumper mount studs (drill out three rivets each, replace w/ small stainless hardware); bumper mounts guide on each side, same trick w/ the rivets; inset wrap-around bumper pad.
The CLK OEM bumper cover is PUR (polyurethane) not thermo-plastic, so it doesn't respond well to heat--it liquefies. Thus, plastic welding can be a bit tricky. About 90% of bumpers are thermo-plastic. Beads are blown into a mold, then the mold is sealed and heated, forming the bumper cover. These respond well to plastic welding. About 10% of bumpers are polyurethane. Two compounds are poured into a mold, forming a third compound which hardens without heat, forming the bumper cover. Not good candidates for plastic welding.
Many non-dealers will install re-manufactured (repaired) PUR bumper covers. There are many suppliers that repair these PUR covers and market them to repair shops.
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