fiberglass bumpers???

[jon79flavette]

Well, I am finally at the painting stage. My rear bumper (factory urethane) is a bit wavy, and has various small pot-like marks. they are small and slightly recessed, with a yellow core sponge look to them, mostly in the tail lamp valleys. also the vertical bumper inserts on the bottom ends are kinda sun baked and pourus. I have a friend in st. pete the hand glasses front and rear corvette bumpers. 1.5 oz. clooth. The finish is real nice, I am wondering if it is worth the additional body work (labor) to finish my original bumpers. Has anyone used the fiberglass type? The obvious draw back would be if you get tapped, or if I do, the fiberglass with damage easily, but this is not a daily driver. Any comments or experiences? Thanks Jon

 

[Eric]

Jon,

If you want originality, then keep what you have. Those pits are pretty common. If you get close enough to just about any of them, you'll probably see a couple.

For looks, the fiberglass is the only way to go. Plus, with fiberglass you don't have to worry about the discoloration/paint color mismatch.

You could always buy a glass one, spray both and keep the old one in the garage incase originality ever becomes an issue.

My $.02.

 

[jon79flavette]

Thanks Eric, I know the ol' original un-molesed topic has no real answer, but there are ways of having the ability to go back to original, heck I am painten the car, how original is that?? I just wondered how the fit and finish would compare to the original? You are right, once you are spraying, why not spray both of them. The florida sun seems to warp the urethene quickly. Thanks again.

 

[Derster]

If I ever needed bumper covers on my vette the fibreglass would be my only recourse. Once they are cured they are not going to warp and as to worry about damage, any bump is going to damage any finish on any bumper and with fibreglass being the most easy to repair its a no brainer. I have heard that some fitting (sanding,blocking) may be needed but seems it would be better than buying a wrinkily rubber one.(Yes I have seen those!)

 

[resto75]

How about the flexible fiberglass bumpers. I hear good things about them. They say they fit good and can take a little tapping.

 

[eastnder]

I put on a Tru Flex fiberglass bumper on the front of my 73. It matched great and the instalation wasn't that bad either. Thankfully I haven't tested the flex in Tru Flex!
Jim