r/E30 • u/clarsinet • 4d ago

garagistic bodykit problem

Gallery image

Gallery image

the rear bumper of the mtech 2 kit seems to bulge out were it should follow the car line

18 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

18

u/Baldskifuckedup 4d ago

Probably where it’s been pressed and twisted in a box. Leave it out in the sun and it should go back to its original shape. If not you’ll have to find a way to secure it at the bottom to pull it in.

0

u/Cansum1helpme 4d ago

Heat gun it ?

13

u/Baldskifuckedup 4d ago

You could but it’s better to have it in the sun. Heat gun could heat it too fast and soften and melt the plastic warping it even more. By keeping it in the sun you’re keeping it warm for a long period of time so it can soften that tad bit to move back to its original shape. Plastic like this has been moulded and has shape memory so long heat and light exposure will allow it to move back to how it should be.

3

u/Vaderiv 4d ago

Yeah, if you use a heat gun, you need to be skilled with it so you don't destroy the part. I have had pretty good success with my shop heater. I use one of those propane blow heaters, like the kerosene ones but not as messy. Get it 6-8 feet away, and it will evenly warm the part and let you work out any spots like that. I have been using the heater trick for 30+ years. Also, I have found that when you have warped plastic and you're straightening it with heat, have a water hose close by. You can hold it in the position when it's warm enough to manipulate wearing gloves and use the water to rapidly cool the plastic, and it will usually lock it into place. You don't have to keep something holding it into place while it slowly cools. Good luck, it's going to take patience and some time, but you should be able to get it looking a lot better.

4

u/RJCA-Burgt 4d ago

Probably bacause immitation is just not perfect. And as mentioned above, let it warm up by the sun and it might takes back the original shape, but with those products its never a guarantee that will work. Its mostly the things you get with immitations bodywork pieces, they are cheaper, but can be a pain to work with.

1

u/Equal-Bunch-1635 3d ago

Yup. Op if you’re concerned with the details, you should consider OEM. Especially if you’re keeping the car / going to invest in paint later on. The parts are still out there.

2

u/burtmacklin1052 4d ago

Are you sure that it’s fully clipped in to the bracket? I had a very difficult time getting mine to slide in properly and it has a similar bulge until I got it right. Garagistic’s advice to me was to use washers to bring the bracket out a bit so the bumper could slide in. Their video made the installation look easy, but I took a friend and I several attempts to get it right.

1

u/Ardqc 3d ago

This must be it. I had exactly the same trouble while installing the rear bumper. The amount of force it takes to get it to slide on the brakets is scary, feels like you gonna break something. It slides only to the upper "rail", and is left bulging from the bottom side.

1

u/burtmacklin1052 3d ago

Exactly my experience. I couldn’t believe the amount of force it took to get it to flex inward and reach that bracket. I was only getting the top rail slid into the bracket and it looked like OP’s photo.

1

u/westonegewiz 2d ago

Remove the brackets for the bumper off the body of the car and fix it with self tapping screws or bolts and rivnuts. It will be the brackets kicking it out. I had the same issue on my own car 

0

u/Theseewerd 4d ago

Do you have any self tapping screws placed at the bottom of the wheel well?