Got told by my shop foreman to use a heat gun on a stubborn bumper clip... ruined the whole panel

So last week I was working on a 2018 Civic rear bumper at our shop in Austin. My foreman walks over, sees me struggling with a stuck clip, and says "just hit it with the heat gun for 20 seconds, it'll pop right off." I aimed it at the clip area for maybe 45 seconds and the whole bumper cover started warping like a potato chip. Cost the shop $380 to replace that panel. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from a senior guy that backfired?

2 comments

2 Comments

avery_roberts6713d ago

Same thing happened to me with a plastic trim piece on a Ford, guy said "just a light pass" and I melted a hole straight through. Now I treat heat guns like they're flamethrowers, 5 seconds max.

dakota_fox13d ago

Are you sure it's really that bad though? I've used a heat gun on plastic trim a bunch of times and never had a meltdown like that. Maybe your Ford trim was just super thin or cheap from the factory. I'm with @avery_roberts67 in being careful for sure, but I feel like people exaggerate how easy it is to mess up. If you keep the gun moving and don't hold it right on the spot, it's pretty forgiving.