I apparently crushed my front lower bumper by hitting a snow bank at a really slow speed…was pulling into a parking space at the mall.
'04 Toyota Camry. There is no metal involved at all, just the plastic…or whatever the material is…now is dented in, looking like it was punched in the nose… I was able to get my hand behind it. but it is strong stuff and it won’t move. Is it worth my time to remove the whole piece and try to punch it out from the back of it? Or, is this material unforgiving?
If the plastic isn’t badly cracked or deeply creased, try putting a heat lamp or hair dryer on it. Not too hot, but enough to warm it up. It may just pop out by itself. If not, try pushing it out while it is warm. Worked for me.
My wife did the same thing recently with her 05 Toyota Corolla. I poured a bucket of hot water over the dented area to soften it up a bit and used a rubber mallet to push (not hit, mind you) the dented portion back out. It won’t look perfect, but it is an improvement and a hell of a lot cheaper than a body shop.
Ditto the above advice. I did this with my '99 Toyota Sienna and a couple of days later I had parked in an outdoor lot on a really hot day and it popped out all by itself. Yours may need a little coaxing.
Is the crushable material inside the plastic shell crunched? If so, it won’t do a good job of absorbing a future collision’s energy. A crushed core should be replaced, for your own personal safety.
If it’s just the shell, there are flexible patch materials and paint just for that repair. Old-fashioned Bondo and regular paint will just flake off. Talk to an automotive paint store.