What would you do to fix these holes on my front bumper?

Previous owner had something drilled there, maybe a light bar. I'm not a fan of light bars on the front of the bumper so I don't want to fill the holes with it.

I was planning on finding a junkyard bumper but have had no luck. The grille will be replaced by an all black one. I'm thinking about filling in the holes and painting over it with black plastic dip or something similar.

What would you do? No money in the budget for an ARB, yet.

 

More zip ties?

 

Lol

The bumper isn't falling apart so I don't know what the zip ties would be useful for... Looking more along the lines of filling the holes or putting a cap on them. Maybe a better replacement/repair idea for those holes?

 

Filler, sand down and paint. Only way to make it look decent and last a while. Personally, I don't like the look of "plugs", painted to match the pait.....but those can work too, in all honesty.

 

Inexpensive after-market maybe?

Or DIY Satoshi.

EDIT: Never mind. I was looking at the grille, not the bumper.

 

I went the sarcastic route first because it didn't seem like looks were all that important, what, with all the zip ties, and all.

A cheap fix could just be finding some large enough body panel clips (kinda like the kind that hold the rubber skirts to the frame by the front shocks).

That would certainly cover up the holes, but you'd still see them, unless you painted them. The other option is to sand it all down cover with fiberglass, then sand again, then sand some more, prime and paint.

 

You could always use a rubber plug, it wouldn't be color matched to the truck but it would solve the problem of the exposed holes

 

That's the EXACT replacement I ordered. I bought the one with matching corner lights since the ones I have are trimmed with chrome.

 

This is a great idea!

 

Mm, don't think that's quite what he's looking for. And not the best placement for something like that. Ha. Besides, those leds are are garbage. Yes, I said that. Lol. I'm just tired of the paint finish on them fading. They need to be painted. Plus I had a couple new ones burn out on me. I just need to find a better product/solution. And too lazy to mess with it rn... Installed properly yes, I love em. But just wanna clarify some things on those when people comment, since I hyped them out to be so great at first. Ha.

@Dangorah , how's the condition of the rest of the bumper/valence? I'd Probly just opt for a whole new bumper assembly. Not TOO bad on eBay. Under $200. Plus they have all black ones too and Probly cheaper than what a salvage yard would ask anyways. Idk. But that's what I would do. Unless the rest of bumper is immaculate. And the quality of the eBay stuff shouldn't really deter you. It's just a crush bumper after all. I got a valence on eBay and it was perfect.

 

The rest of the bumper is in good shape, I'm buying some bumper parts from a TW member and will probably put bolts through the bottom two holes. The top two holes I'll probably put some cheap Amazon led lights in that I have on my motorcycle.

 

Use something like this push pin.

 

get some plastic weld, remove the bumper, sand the spurs that are around the hole if any so it's flat, sand an inch around the hole front and rear, tape the front side of the hole closed (make sure to clean the tape goo real good after removing the tape), on the back side apply the plastic weld mix, let dry, remove tape from front, apply plastic weld to the front side if so desired though not required, sand down front/visible side so it's flat, prime, paint, clear, done.

this is a body shop technique though they use some expensive professional stuff. but the process is pretty much the same.

 

Using Bondo will eventually crack and shrink on the outer edge. I have used JB Weld on many applications like metal and plastics and it doesn't seem to shrink or expand with time. That may be a good option for you. Any auto parts store sells it in a tube. Apply it, razor blade and sand flat then paint over it.

 

This.

 

I was thinking epoxy ($3 Harbor Freight stuff is as good as $6-7 JB weld for this since it's not holding anything important together and might be the same even if it was). Fiberglass or some handy plastic you find around the house and resin or some epoxy on the back would probably be the best. You could tape around the holes on the front and build up the material on the front once the back was solid then sand it back flush with the tape and remove the tape. Then it's all about precision with a file or emery board to get the new material flush with the factory surface. Sharpie or re-tape and spray paint just the fixed area silver for the chrome and gold for the body color. Paint pens would work too. I'm used to fixing electric guitars like this - a razor blade is another way to get any new material flush with the factory surface. Of course you should be careful when doing this not to gouge the bumper, or yourself.

 

I'd just buy a new grille and bumper...maybe some headlights too. Give it a little facelift.

 

Got a new grille with all new lights coming this week! I've already spent too much on it this month with the POR15 rust prevention materials along with the grille lol.

 

I think just a black bolt with a allen rounded head would look cool...

 

Got the grill in but have been working on the rust prevention for the last 2 weeks. Might get the grill in this weekend. If I get to the bumper I'll post a pic.