Overheard a guy at NAPA talking about using a heat gun on plastic bumper clips

I was picking up some sandpaper yesterday and this older body guy was telling the counter guy he uses a heat gun for 10 seconds on those brittle plastic clips before prying them off. Claims he almost never breaks them anymore. I got home and tried it on a 2012 Civic front bumper I'm working on and it actually worked pretty well. Has anyone else tried this or do you just buy a box of replacements like I usually do?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicec8623d ago

Used to be a parts guy at a Chevy dealer and we'd do that on the older trucks all the time... 6 seconds on medium heat and they'd pop right off. A little tip though, get them warm but not hot to the touch or the plastic gets too soft and bends.

theabarnes24d ago

Yeah, just be careful not to hold the heat gun too close or you'll melt the paint too.

diana82924d ago

I found keeping it about 6 inches away worked pretty well on my project.