Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Bodywork repair

On Saturday 3 months of reduced sleep (thanks to a new family arrival) and 7 hours working in the garden finally reaped its toll.

Having got the car washed (car wash) and vacuumed - I reversed into a pillar. Before you panic - it was in the X3 and not the Morgan or Alpina.

I wasn't going massively quickly but the bumper and lower tailgate plastics are damaged - the bumper mainly with a large amount of paint having come off.

New bumper and tailgate part will be costly - and the car is 12 years old and has 220k km on the clock - and buy Swiss standards is a "rust bucket".

Is it suicide to tackle a repair based on:
1) Drill a hole or 2 in the lower tailgate to relieve pressure and allow the plastic to sit flush

2) Sand and then skim fill the paint work on both

3) Prime

4) Paint

5) Lacquer

(I already have the last 2 as I sprayed up a replacement headlamp washer cover)

The result doesn't need to be perfect just not obvious.

Dont you have any scrap yards in Switzerland where you might buy a second hand tailgate and bumper?

I pass one regular past it yesterday at the bottom of Guisbrough bank .
A huge sign near the entrance saying MORGANS scrap yard it makes me chuckle one day I am going to take the mog and put it under that sign for a photo . There is a small pub over the road we have not been in must give it a try also.

If you have a heat gun (of the type used for paint stripping) you can carefully apply heat to the damaged plastics.It is often surprisng the amount of damage which will 'pop out' or can be 'massaged' to resemble the original shape.

It doesn't always work and you have to be careful not to get the plastic too hot and melt/distort it - but if it works it is most satisfying....

James

We have them
They are catalogued online
None in the required colour available
Only 1 available in the whole country

In general Switzerland doesn't scrap cars - they get exported to Eastern Europe at around 15 years old - and with 200k km on the clock.

Thanks for the tip James - might be useful for the tailgate

Applying ice can equally be successful in reforming body panel shapes, protect with a layer of cloth though.

Buy the one available and spray it the right colour?

Are there any "smart repairer" companies in Switzerland"
They use the heat/reshape/filler techniques.
If diy is an option then get scrap bumpers to practice on and learn the techniques.
Years ago I watched my dad take a dent out of a car roof with an oxy-acetylene torch. Metal roof, low temp flame CAREFULLY played over the area. It worked because the metal had not been too badly deformed and stretched. No need for a combination of heat and cold.
The plastic bumpers can sometimes be done the same way but no naked flame!
From the damage you describe it is worth an attempt as you have paint/lacquer already.