Polyurethane (PUR) bumper repair

[mercepor]

Most 80's/90's Mercedes have their bumpers in Polyurethane, afaik (PUR for w126 and Pc/PBT for w124).
I did some research on internet and found an US company, Polyvance who has very convincing vids on youtube.
Their technology is based on melting a special rod (R01) at 300C and keeping cold the damaged area. The repair is very strong and durable.
The airless plastic welder is not that expensive (70-80usd), the rod is 25usd for 30ft.

Mini-Weld Plastic Welder | Automotive, Industrial & General Plastic Repair Solution | Polyvance

Explore the Polyvance Mini-Weld plastic welder, ideal for automotive collision repair and versatile enough for manufacturing, contracting, and general plastic welding applications.

www.polyvance.com

It seems that Polyvance keeps some industrial rights about this technology/welder type because I could not find any european/chinese copy of these products.
My question: sbody knows an equivalent product in Europe?
How do you repair your old bumpers in Europe?

(PS: i am not against Polyvance products, I would happily buy them for 100usd, but they are charging an another 100usd for shipping, which hurts a little bit)

 

[gsxr]

That is fascinating stuff. However, are you certain the ~$80 welder is the correct one? For Pc/PBT repairs their site is indicating a $300 kit with assorted rods and a different airless welder:

Polyvance - We help people repair plastic

Polyvance provides everything needed for plastic repair and to refinish automotive plastics including plastic welders, plastic welding rod, and plastic welding accessories.

www.polyvance.com

Repairing Polypropylene, TEO and TPO bumpers

Repairing Polypropylene, TEO and TPO bumpers

www.polyvance.com

Repairing thermoplastics with fusion welding

Welding thermoset plastic

www.polyvance.com

Mini-Weld Plastic Welder | Automotive, Industrial & General Plastic Repair Solution | Polyvance

Explore the Polyvance Mini-Weld plastic welder, ideal for automotive collision repair and versatile enough for manufacturing, contracting, and general plastic welding applications.

www.polyvance.com

On the bright side, the kit is only $178 at Amazon:

Polyvance 5700HT Mini Weld Model 7 Airless Plastic Welder, Red - - Amazon.com

Polyvance 5700HT Mini Weld Model 7 Airless Plastic Welder, Red - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

 

[Glen]

I've played with the Polyvance rod and it works pretty well for small repairs. And you can use a cheap plastic welder like this for really small repairs:

80 Watt Iron Plastic Welding Kit

Amazing deals on this 80 Watt Iron Plastic Welding Kit at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Another option you may consider is specialty epoxies. Over 10 years ago, I joined the upper section of a 1st gen Miata bumper (PUR) to the lower section of the 2nd gen Miata bumper (PP) with SEM Problem Plastic adhesive with great success.

 

[mercepor]

at 4'20'' they try to torn the repaired section... impressive

So, yes, for small repairs, I guess a cheap plastic welder could work. Or a cheap welder + recreate this special designed end of the polyvance welder

The kit has the advantage to regulate the temperature of the welder, easy to set to PUR, PP, etc.. but this is a gadget imo,
the 80usd polyvance welder is a 200W unit, doing maybe more than 300C, but i can manage this problem

 

[kubasz]

Hey guys. This polyvance technology is quite good. I bought a copy of this stuff in Poland and thanks to that i rapaired my front SL600 bumper and my friends 500E and CLS55 bumpers and 190E 2.3 16v side skirts. This is amazing for the price and no epoxy will make this kind of repair clean and professionally looking. I used 100W soldering iron that came with the kit.
Btw the SL600 USA style bumper is 2.6k$ new so this technology saved me a lot of pecunia

 

[mercepor]

Hi Kubasz!
Could you guide me what to buy in Poland?
thx

 

[kubasz]

Lutownica do plastiku Hot Iron 150W ™ + regulator ✔️ | Ataszek

Lutownica do plastiku Hot Iron 150W ™ + regulator z oferty sklepu Ataszek. Wysyłka 24h | Doświadczenie w branży 35 lat | Zobacz wszystkie produkty ✔️

ataszek.pl

This the kit i bought. Front bumpers on SLs and 036s are not pure PUR. Its PUR+GF which means its reinforced with with fiberglass and thats why the bumper is not yellow/amber in color. The reinforcing Metal mesh may be needed for better strength. Anyway it worked great in my case.
Regular PUR like on CLS55 i did requires no reinforcing. Perfect repair just by using this kit.

 

[khomer2]

Sort of late to this thread.
I've been now playing with bumper plastic repair for a few years now, repairing all types of plastic, in all facets.
This last year with covid, spent more time on it. Fun stuff to play with and keeps the mind busy.

One example of a w124 shattered bumper cover repair (PC PBT Xenoy) I did for a neighbor on her late husbands car. (she feeds me in return).
s/s mesh reinforced repair (is best), using a hot soldering iron with flat ironing tip and your typical electrical soldering tips, and a heat gun.
Some plan plan of attack, spare bumper cover pieces (materials to match) and some patience = good meals.
I performed the same for a few W163 bumper covers, as they are brittle as shiat too, in 2021. Sanding and painting is straight forward, especially with the 2k aerosol products to match. You can even get custom match paint aerosol cans, from the supplier, at a reasonable cost.
Way more satisfying diy, that holds up even better, than to pay the used parts thieves up here, the lottery win prices they want.