Chevy Tahoe Bumper Repair: Nitrogen Plastic Welder

The 2007-2011 Chevy Tahoe front bumper breaks very easily in one spot. It is poorly designed because all of the bending forces are concentrated on that spot. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a crack develop when installing a brand new, freshly painted bumper on a Chevy Tahoe. This problem is easily solved using one of Polyvance's Nitrogen Plastic Welding Systems.

Check out our Welding Rod List to pick out the perfect welding rod for your project. If you aren't sure which rod you need, visit our Plastic Identification page.

Always wear proper safety gear while working!

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Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qkikvyvvk

Products Used:

Note: This is a list of the Polyvance products that can be used to make this repair. This list does not include sanders, grinders, or other common tools you will need. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call technical support at 800-633-3047.

• Nitrogen Plastic Welder (several options available)
• Aluminum Body Tape (several options available)
• 6125 Tapered Burr
• Polypropylene Welding Rod(several sizes/colors available).
  Note: We used polypropylene here because of the identification symbol. Choose the rod that matches the plastic you need for your repair.

Video Notes:

• English Closed Captions have been provided for this video. Click on the CC button to turn them on or off.
• The length of this video is in no way representative of the actual time required to perform a complete repair and therefore should not be used for estimating purposes.

English Transcript:

The 2007 to 2011 Chevy Tahoe front bumper cover breaks very easily in one spot. It is poorly designed because all of the bending forces are concentrated on that spot. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a crack develop when installing a brand-new, freshly painted bumper on a Chevy Tahoe. This problem is easily solved with Polyvance's nitrogen plastic welding system.

Temporarily hold the damage in alignment with aluminum body tape. Use a die grinder with a tapered burr to roughen the plastic on the back side.

Melt in the polypropylene rod using nitrogen gas. Aim the flow of nitrogen where the rod and the bumper intersect, and be sure to melt both the rod and the bumper. Nitrogen gas makes a much stronger weld than using air. While the plastic is still soft, shape and smooth the weld with the airless plastic welder.

Allow the plastic to cool and re-solidify before continuing. This plastic will go from clear to white as it cools. Weld several layers of polypropylene strip to the backside. Adding this additional plastic will spread the bending forces over a larger area, making it less likely to crack in the future.

Melt down any curled edges with the airless plastic welder. Continue adding additional layers of polypropylene strip to the back side. Remember to allow the plastic to cool and re-solidify between layers. Getting the plastic too hot can cause sagging, so it is important to allow the plastic to cool before adding additional layers. While the plastic is still soft, melt down any curled edges and do any necessary shaping with the airless plastic welder.

Allow the plastic to cool all the way through. The plastic should be white and cool to the touch. Remove the aluminum tape from the front side. You may need to do some shaping on the front side. Some plastic may have bulged through when welding the back side. You can use any tools that might be necessary. You could use a roloc disc, a die grinder, the airless plastic welder, or sandpaper. If you are very careful with shaping the plastic, you may not need to use any filler at all! If you do need to apply some filler, you shouldn't need to apply much.

As you can see, the bending forces are spread over a large are instead of being concentrated on that one spot. All that is left to do now is spray some primer and repaint.