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BMW 5-Series (G30) Forum 2017+ BMW 5 Series (G30) General Discussions Front Plate Holes... now what

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      08-03-2019, 12:10 AM   #1
Muslenutz
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Front Plate Holes... now what

Had to take off that front plate, need to have it clean. i feel like the plate kills the lines of the car. I need to find a fix for this? What have you guys done to plug the holes?
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      08-03-2019, 07:54 AM   #2
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      08-03-2019, 08:12 AM   #3
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      08-03-2019, 10:09 AM   #4
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I personally don't like the look of the bumper plugs, although they are a simple and inexpensive solution to the problem. To bad they don't make them to duplicate the look of the parking sensors, although you seem to have six holes to fill not just two. If it were me I would certainly check in with a friendly body shop. I am not certain about how the bumpers are originally painted, but if it is a two stage base/clear process, I would bet that for a fairly reasonable price they could fill the holes, carefully spot in some matching white base (BMW #300 Alpine White, available from your dealer) and clear the entire bumper without removing it by masking while it is on the car. I had this done on the back panel of my Corvette Z06. In my case they had to removed the back panel and replace the Corvette Logo for a cost of around $900, so if the bumper can be painted without removal it should be much less. If I were asking them, I would see if they would just clear the front panel with the holes by masking at the bumper creases and feathering the clear edge with 3000 grit wet sanding; maybe they could simply eliminate the clear altogether. And I think that if you were handy and so inclined you could do a reasonable job yourself by drilling the holes to smooth the edges, filling with body filler and painting carefully with BMW touch up paint. Finish with a little fine wet sanding if needed. The holes are not in a such a position that people would notice the slight imperfection of a hand done job. Certainly it would be a low cost first step; that is what I would probably try first. You could always have it done professionally if you were not satisfied with the end result of your work. Good luck--Bob
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Last edited by Warp Ten; 08-03-2019 at 10:23 AM..
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      08-04-2019, 12:32 PM   #5
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in order for you to do it right... you need a body shop to plug the holes and touch it up. No need to get the entire bumper painted
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      08-04-2019, 04:47 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer_335 View Post
in order for you to do it right... you need a body shop to plug the holes and touch it up. No need to get the entire bumper painted
A body shop may be willing to only paint where they fill, but they will re clear the whole bumper. I had a quote a couple of years ago from a very reputable dealer body shop to reprint a front bumper for about $700. That did not include any body work. Someone had put a fairly major scrape in the paint.

I bought some good quality rattle can paint and clear and did it myself. It took me several days to work it, rework it, wet sand it etc. I only painted the area that was damaged, not the whole bumper. When I was done I could see where I had done it, but nobody would have seen it unless they were specifically looking for it. BUT, I did not have to fill holes. I tried that many years ago on a steal tailgate on a pickup truck. I would not recommend it. You'll work on it for many days and never be happy.

I have faced the same delimna before. I would put plugs in it. Most people won't notice it, and it won't look like a do it yourself repair. It will just look like plugs! And yes, I have done that as well. It won't look any worse than the sensors.
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      08-04-2019, 05:27 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Warp Ten View Post
I personally don't like the look of the bumper plugs, although they are a simple and inexpensive solution to the problem. To bad they don't make them to duplicate the look of the parking sensors, although you seem to have six holes to fill not just two. If it were me I would certainly check in with a friendly body shop. I am not certain about how the bumpers are originally painted, but if it is a two stage base/clear process, I would bet that for a fairly reasonable price they could fill the holes, carefully spot in some matching white base (BMW #300 Alpine White, available from your dealer) and clear the entire bumper without removing it by masking while it is on the car. I had this done on the back panel of my Corvette Z06. In my case they had to removed the back panel and replace the Corvette Logo for a cost of around $900, so if the bumper can be painted without removal it should be much less. If I were asking them, I would see if they would just clear the front panel with the holes by masking at the bumper creases and feathering the clear edge with 3000 grit wet sanding; maybe they could simply eliminate the clear altogether. And I think that if you were handy and so inclined you could do a reasonable job yourself by drilling the holes to smooth the edges, filling with body filler and painting carefully with BMW touch up paint. Finish with a little fine wet sanding if needed. The holes are not in a such a position that people would notice the slight imperfection of a hand done job. Certainly it would be a low cost first step; that is what I would probably try first. You could always have it done professionally if you were not satisfied with the end result of your work. Good luck--Bob
I agree a repaint is best. Body shop can fill the holes, apply base coat to the area, then clear entire bumper (or everything on that plane, meaning they can mask off lower portion if they're good at what they do) . Removing a bumper from a G30 is easy. R&R labor would be similar to masking everything around the bumper and R&R is the right way to do it.
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      08-04-2019, 05:33 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjscsix View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer_335 View Post
in order for you to do it right... you need a body shop to plug the holes and touch it up. No need to get the entire bumper painted
A body shop may be willing to only paint where they fill, but they will re clear the whole bumper. I had a quote a couple of years ago from a very reputable dealer body shop to reprint a front bumper for about $700. That did not include any body work. Someone had put a fairly major scrape in the paint.

I bought some good quality rattle can paint and clear and did it myself. It took me several days to work it, rework it, wet sand it etc. I only painted the area that was damaged, not the whole bumper. When I was done I could see where I had done it, but nobody would have seen it unless they were specifically looking for it. BUT, I did not have to fill holes. I tried that many years ago on a steal tailgate on a pickup truck. I would not recommend it. You'll work on it for many days and never be happy.

I have faced the same delimna before. I would put plugs in it. Most people won't notice it, and it won't look like a do it yourself repair. It will just look like plugs! And yes, I have done that as well. It won't look any worse than the sensors.
Yup. One advantage of a body shop repair is a good shop will take care of stone chips and refinish the entire bumper. $700-$1000 should do it depending on the number of stone chips to be re-worked.

I had my F10 done at my dealer body shop and it came out just as good as new. And I'm a discerning customer with a keen eye!
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      08-04-2019, 10:51 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjscsix View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer_335 View Post
in order for you to do it right... you need a body shop to plug the holes and touch it up. No need to get the entire bumper painted
A body shop may be willing to only paint where they fill, but they will re clear the whole bumper. I had a quote a couple of years ago from a very reputable dealer body shop to reprint a front bumper for about $700. That did not include any body work. Someone had put a fairly major scrape in the paint.

I bought some good quality rattle can paint and clear and did it myself. It took me several days to work it, rework it, wet sand it etc. I only painted the area that was damaged, not the whole bumper. When I was done I could see where I had done it, but nobody would have seen it unless they were specifically looking for it. BUT, I did not have to fill holes. I tried that many years ago on a steal tailgate on a pickup truck. I would not recommend it. You'll work on it for many days and never be happy.

I have faced the same delimna before. I would put plugs in it. Most people won't notice it, and it won't look like a do it yourself repair. It will just look like plugs! And yes, I have done that as well. It won't look any worse than the sensors.
Got a different array of plugs. Found one that works good. Going to paint and plug it and move on. Thanks
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