Refurbishing Bokkie's bumper

 Sunday 14/08/22

This is a technical blog about Bokkie's repairs, more for our record but some of you might find it interesting.

The quality on German-made Hymer's is generally very good but there are a few issues on Bokkie's vintage that tend to become a problem later in life.  

One of these is a delaminating topcoat on the grey bumpers; something you tend to see on all Hymers of Bokkie's age.  Also, as the front shocks are often an issue, the low front bumpers tend to scrape and crack over time.  Ours was no different - quite badly cracked when we bought her and we also had a minor altercation with a bollard in Calais last year. 

I followed the process on how to repair and paint the bumper on one of our favourite blogs, Jay and Ju of Our Tour

https://ourtour.co.uk/home/diy-repair-and-respray-of-a-hymer-motorhome-bumper/

This isn't' Bokkie but shows what the flaking looks like on Hymer bumpers after a few years

Last year, while at this same sit, I removed the bumper and repaired the cracks with fibreglass and resin in preparation for re-painting.  I have also been gradually peeling the loose, flaking paint to accelerate its removal.  While in the UK I bought all the paint and accessories I would need; I decided to o for spray cans as there isn't a compressor that I can use on this sit and had the correct colour made up.  I opted for respraying with the original Fiat colour rather than having a colour-match done to get an exact match - she's an old girl and if the bumper doesn't exactly match the rest of the trim, we'll live with it.

Although the cracks had been repaired from behind with fibreglass, they
needed to be filled and sanded smooth before painting.

Starting to paint.

Once we had settled in here, I removed the bumper and began filling the last of the cracks, peeling of the rest of the topcoat and sanding the bumper to a satisfactory finish for re-painting.  It's a long, laborious process and it's hard not to overdo it, seeking an absolutely blemish-free finish so we keep reminding ourselves that Bokkie is an old girl and we need to make her look better than she did, not necessarily like new.

Primer on, ready for the next stage.

Metallic base coat and top-coat applied, ready for polishing.

Once I was happy with the sanding, I started with three primer coats, sanding any remaining rough spots that became evident.  This was followed by six coats of base-coat, the metallic grey colour.  Then came about four clear coats, flatting off and polishing.  Unfortunately the huge polisher we had brought with for the job managed to self-destruct and shook itself apart.  This meant finishing the polishing by hand, another long job for already tired hands.

Getting ready to re-fit the newly painted bumper

Bokkie looking proud of her smile again.  I love the way the light is shining through her Hymer
sign onto the radiator (below the number plate)

Once polished, the lights and number plate were replaced and the bumper was fitted to Bokkie.  It's by no means at the same level as you would get from a professional paint shop but at around £130 for materials and some of my labour, she looks pretty good again and it's been nice to spend quality time on a project like this.