Any Paint/Body Experts?

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I replaced the front bumper on my 2007 GX 470 with a Lexus OEM bumper. The man who did the work has been sick for many months so I haven't gone back to speak with him. He has enough
to be concerned about now. Here's my issue. Notice how the passenger side bottom of the bumper has a swag/dip in it. I noticed it a 2 weeks after we got it back. There are no scratches or dents
that I can see. Could this happen in the painting and curing process? Did I get a defective bumper? I know it is Lexus as I bought it from the dealer myself.

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I would suspect a missing bolt or a bent retainer, why did you replace it?

I'll try to remember to pull up the diagram on Audatex tomorrow and see whats in that area.

It is possible that it could have deformed if painted on a rack and then was baked for too long, I would suspect if that was the case it would be possible to fix it with a heat gun.

Might need to crawl under and have a closer look...
 
I would crawl down and look for a missing fastener.
Check with Lexus and see if it is a factory piece or and aftermarket.
Insurance oftentimes only pays for aftermarket if a vehicle reaches a certain age.

I have never seen something like that, but I have to doubt it came that way.
Any body man would notice it and say something prior to install.

Good luck.
 
It was not insurance. I bought and paid for it. There are no fasteners in the area.

I'm wondering if it happened during the "baking."

I want my guy to look at it but he can't. If I were to use a heat gun would it sorta just go back in place if heat deformed it.

This man does all the painting. His son does the installing and his son has make mistakes in my past.

I did not notice it when I picked it up as you can see it's noticeable but only after you notice it. LOL Now I can't take my eyes off it.
 
Originally Posted by IMSA_Racing_Fan
How is your nighttime visibility with the yelliwing headlights? If affected that would worry me more.


There is an internet store called Headlight depo. They have a very wide selection of replacement headlight assemblies that include the front clear plastic, the reflector and bulb already assembled, and there prices are extremely low. Give them a call.
 
The car is 13 years old and it's barely noticeable.

It's one of those things that if you mess with it-you could make it worse.
 
There is no fastener in that area. It's just barely bowed downward.

It is a 13 year old car but the bumper is new. And it wasn't cheap.
 
Originally Posted by dwcopple
Heat gun, a towel, and some pressure


I've never had a heat gun. I will buy one if need be. But would a hair dryer work?
 
Get yourself a cheap heat gun from harbor freight. Hair dryer will probably not work. I used a heat gun several years ago for the first time when my car got hit in the parking lot, worked like a charm. Hair dryer did absolutely nothing in that case, probably because the plastic bumper was too thick.
 
Yeah, it seems I will need higher temp. How did you massage it back into place? I have welding Gloves I use to BBQ with.

What temp should I use? These heat guns have many temp settings.
 
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Just checked my GX and yep didn't see any fasteners there. I would also check with the dealer if there is any warranty on the bumper as I know Lexus offers 12 months / 12k miles on most mechanical parts.
 
Originally Posted by NYSteve
Just checked my GX and yep didn't see any fasteners there. I would also check with the dealer if there is any warranty on the bumper as I know Lexus offers 12 months / 12k miles on most mechanical parts.


Thanks for checking. I really don't want to "pay" for a repaint. If I can "heat" it out with a $25 heat gun, I want to try that. I'll YouTube it and see how to use a heat gun.
 
Messing around with a heat gun can be a recipe for disaster on painted parts like this, the paint is not OE so how it reacts to temps hot enough to permanently distort it is anyone's guess. It can be fixed easy enough but honestly why bother.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Messing around with a heat gun can be a recipe for disaster on painted parts like this, the paint is not OE so how it reacts to temps hot enough to permanently distort it is anyone's guess. It can be fixed easy enough but honestly why bother.



THIS^^^^^^^^^^^OP-please get back to us with pictures after your fix.............
 
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