The sand is a good idea. Even better you can put some newspaper over
the sand, and not worry about scratches at all.

Jim

On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 5:55 PM, Mike Collum <collum@verizon.net> wrote:
> When my rear chrome bumper was flattened against the body on the passenger
> side, I used all the methods described by Chris Turner and Jim Felder and
> one more ... I made a mound of fine sand to lay the face of the bumper on
> when pounding from the inside.  That kept the face of the bumper from having
> small new dents as a result of the procedure.
>
> when I put the bumper back on, I had to add a single flat washer between the
> bumper and the bracket on the passenger side so that the screw, through the
> endcap, would line up with the hole in the quarter panel.
>
> When I point the bumper out to folks they invariably say, "If you hadn't
> told me I'd have never known".
>
> Mike
>
>
> Jim Felder wrote:
>>
>> I agree with Chris. When I got my bumper, it was badly mangled. Since
>> then, it's been hit and bent but never so badly twisted. All three
>> times, though (different kinds of dents from sharp creases to broad
>> twists) I used a workmate, a three foot section of four by four, a
>> sledge hammer, various pieces of two-by-fours, and--this is very
>> important--a big crescent wrench.
>>
>> I have also used C-clamps (I have some really big one) to clamp a dent
>> between two pieces of wood and apply great force.
>>
>> The crescent wrench (or big pair of pliers) can be used to at least
>> head everything back in the right direction by setting the wrench to
>> barely fit over the metal and gently bend the edges up or down every
>> few inches. Don't try to do much at once.
>>
>> A whack with a block of wood to spread the hammer blow also works
>> well. Get the top and bottom of the bumper surfaces as parallel as
>> possible before going after any dents.
>>
>> If a part is dented in, turn the bumper fac down on a board and tap
>> the dent out with the end of a two by four.
>>
>> If it's dented the other way, work from the outside.
>>
>> It takes a surprisingly short time to do this, maybe 15 to 20 minutes
>> after all the tools and wood are gathered.
>>
>> Well worth the effort.
>>
>> Jim
>
>