front spoiler lip material

[shogun]

I have the original E36 M3 front lower lip spoiler 51112251767 installed, this one https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...r/51112251767/ and that has some minor scratches, nothing broken or cracked, but some scratches on the outside of 1-2mm depth on 2 areas, so more a cosmetic repair is to be done.
What is the original spoiler material?
What kind of bumper putty to use best to fix minor scratches for this spoiler material?

Most of the bumper putties exclude some kinds of materials, example: "The BUMPER FIX putty is a putty for levelling the surface of plastic parts, e.g. bumper fascias, rear view mirror housings, strips and mudguards. The product has a very high elasticity and excellent adhesion to most plastics (except for polyethylene (PE) and Teflon (PTFE) ). It also has good adhesion to polypropylene (PP) which enables application on non-primed surfaces."

Thanks

[M3C]

Might be better to sand it and then sand with finer paper, apply forever black or such after.

[shogun]

Thanks, that is even easier then with just sanding and painting, I have a OEM spoiler lip new on stock, but the original one just has some small scratches and that would be waste of money to scrap it now because of some scratches and such a repair does not take too much time. I like to repair if possible, makes fun.

Someone knows the material of the spoiler lip?
Just in case in future I have a larger damage on the front lip. Have successfully repaired the spoiler on my E32 750iL, which had a large crack, for that I used fibre glass repair kit and a plastic welding kit.
the crack on the E32 locked like this almost 10 years ago http://www.bilder-speicher.de/image_...08050600346923
final result and still o.k. after 10 years http://www.bilder-speicher.de/image_...08060707671210 http://www.bilder-speicher.de/image_...08060707912336

[RRSperry]

S.E.M MINI-MAX™ BUMPER REPAIR Part #68422

Then I'd actually Plastidip it...

[shogun]

Thanks, will get that for the next repair for the spoiler lip, that is always in danger on our M3's. Already sanded the small scratches today and applied bumper and trim paint, not a perfect fix, but acceptable. Next time a repair is necessary I will use that stuff.

quote: Mini-Max™ Bumper Repair Part #68422, Mini-Max™ Bumper Repair is a two-component, epoxy-based filler for repairing small damage to bumpers and rigid or semi-rigid plastics. Features: No adhesion promoter necessary, Superior adhesion, Excellent sanding and feather edge, Does not shrink or pinhole, Zero VOC. Properties: 1 oz. cartridge, Gray, Working time: 5 min, Sand time: 15 min, Top coat time: 20 min, cure time: 1 hr.Applications: Olefin-based plastics, Rigid and semi-rigid plastics

[Gene V]

You could also vinyl wrap it...the guy I sold my car to, and bought it back from, did this in flat black and it looks good.

[tjm3]

It's a semi-rigid plastic, probably ABS. Used to use 3M Duramix 4040 on bumper material like that but they discontinued the stuff. Too bad. Tougher than nails and bond/cures in about 3 minutes. Looks like the replacement is 3M 04240. The drawback is you need the applicator that squeezes the 2 part stuff from the tubes and mixes it in the applicator tip. It can probably be mixed manually. Expensive but worth it. Sounds very similar to the Mini-Max stuff mentioned a couple posts back.

[shogun]

ABS seems to be relatively easy to handle when it comes to repairs. When I have cracked plastic parts I either use fiber mats and epoxy and/or a plastic soldering iron, have an assortment of plastic welding sticks for ABS, PP, PVC, PE and various shapes of soldering iron tips.
Here is a good demo on an Rover bumper: rear-bumper-soldering-abs-plastic-repair http://pixels1.com/cars/cars/rover-8...ic-repair.html

[RightYouAreKen]

There seems to be some kind of "coating" on it, which gives it some gloss. My original one had this pealing in several sections and it looked bad. I just bought a replacement. At less than $100 it seemed like the easiest solution.

[das borgen]

ABS is a bit brittle for such a location. My guess is polypropylene (PP), but I'd have to look at the part's imprinted sign to know. Plastics will always have an imprinted material callout on them.

All that said, BMW does love their ABS so I wouldn't be shocked at all if it was ABS. ABS also tends to be shinier than PP

[cashmancab]

If you really must know try removing the lip. Most parts when injection molded have the material type inscribed into the mold. ABS, PC, PC-ABS, PA66, PA66GF, POM, PP, PE etc.