Fang issue

M

mj2k

Senior member
A bit of help from all those experienced members out there on next steps...

When I purchased the car, there was a scuff on the driver's side fang which basically looked ugly so wanted to get it sorted.

When I had a few other front end marks sorted out I got the repair shop to neaten the fang up. Unfortunately, it is now a little 'rounded' in its profile & missing the angular edge vs the other side. It isn't massively noticeable, but I can see it :headbang:

The photo shows it pretty clearly, although I have taken it to make it look as visible as possible.



I spoke with the repair place today & they are hesitant to build it up with filler as it will only take a stone chip to take a chunk back out of the bumper. This leaves me with a few options

1) live with it, its not 'that' bad after all
2) try another bodyshop & see if they have a different take on repair
3) buy a new bumper for perfection (the bodyshop's current recommendation)

They have offered to paint the new bumper for a very low price, but relies on me having to fit it myself. Not something I have tried to do before.

Any thoughts from the members here greatly appreciated. Part of me wishes I had not messed with the original scuff and just left it there. In my mind, having tried to get perfection I have made it worse. :headbang:

Am I looking too much at this & being too much of an anal car forum owner?

Matt
 
A decent bodyshop could plastic weld an edge to it... Add some fang guards and it will add the profile back to it.

Removing and refitting the bumper is a piece if cake... 30min job and there is a good guide on here.
 
I spoke to them about plastic welding & they said due to the lack of material available and the profile of the edge it wasn't something that could be done successfully due to shaping & sanding of the plastic weld, it would still require filler with the associated risk of breaking away.

30 mins sounds good, will have a look at what is required given I am not the most handy with this sort of stuff
 
Take a photo from further away, i.e. standing by the car. Guarantee you won't see it! But I, having mild OCD, can understand you knowing it's there!
 
JAD said:
Take a photo from further away, i.e. standing by the car. Guarantee you won't see it! But I, having mild OCD, can understand you knowing it's there!
Click to expand...

I will take one over the weekend.

I know what you mean, but I have learnt how to look in the reflections of the paint to see it :headbang:

The fang protectors I purchased from Dan with either blend it in a little more, or make it stand out further!
 
I have ocd about the mechanics of my car however something like this is down to personal preference. Try to forget about it and maybe in a week or 2 you will think why was I even bothered by it. If it still bugs you then get it sorted. It is quite a minor detail to be fair
 
On the front end I would live with it. These are so susceptible to chips etc that it will need doing again at some point so get it sorted then.
 
srhutch said:
On the front end I would live with it. These are so susceptible to chips etc that it will need doing again at some point so get it sorted then.
Click to expand...

+1

Front end takes a hammering. Fix it in waves otherwise you'll be fixing it constantly.
 
If that's bothering you to the point of changing bumper then you best warn BMW to throw another batch in the mix :oops: its annoying i agree but part & parcel of running a car is wear & tear especially a Z front bumper which are notorious for chips , think yourself lucky the car isn't Interlagos or black or you'd be forever having it painted
 
I think part of the frustration is having had it 'smoothed out' vs living with the original scrape - although looking back at the photo prior to the repair it was more than the 'little pointy bit' that just needed doing and was actually on the horizontal angular part at the front, so it is actually an improvement...just not perfect.

I'm looking forward to the fang guards arriving...hermes being VERY slow with this delivery :evil:
 
Ah. Beedub, I was just resigning to keep it as it is for a while and then deciding....

The good lady has just told be to buy a new bumper & stop whining!

Wonder how long bmw continue to manufacture / have stock of bumpers for after production....although not the easiest of things to store until I need one!
 
they aren't even silly money from memory... buy, forget and protect with skids plates for future longevity.
 
IMO ..
Live with it for now.
Fangs appear to require refurbs on a regular basis.
So soon enough (if you drive your Zed you will hit something)
Remember you can just do the Fangs or the leading edge of the fangs, so it is a small job.

I used this for info:
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=825125

And was surprised how easy it was.
Lots of space behind the fang for wire mesh reinforcement or donor plastic.

Good luck
Bumpy
 
I can do bumper removal and fitting :D

...but there's a great guide on here that even I managed to follow.
 
Bumpy said:
IMO ..
Live with it for now.
Fangs appear to require refurbs on a regular basis.
So soon enough (if you drive your Zed you will hit something)
Remember you can just do the Fangs or the leading edge of the fangs, so it is a small job.

I used this for info:
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=825125

And was surprised how easy it was.
Lots of space behind the fang for wire mesh reinforcement or donor plastic.

Good luck
Bumpy
Click to expand...

Cheers Bumpy!

Interesting that my body shop didn't want to do this due to it not lasting, or perhaps just didn't want to do it.

Will have a few more discussions with other bodyshops to get their opinion.

I'm not confident enough to try myself, but the finished item in the link you posted looks top notch.

Sod's law that the think I hit with my fang will be on the other side :headbang:

Matt
 
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