Fixed a split bumper & it cracked again,needing advice pls

[Fred/Houston]

I've had this 94" 540i for about 2.5 months & I have beem working really hard on it to bring it back to snuff.
I needed a new front bumper and found a red one at the JY.
I went through hell learning how to paint and got fantastic results.
I was doing the final touched to the car yesterday with intentions of it becoming my daily driver today.
I put the bumper on and when I tightened the last screw I hear a sickening cracking sound only to see my repair split open.
On the corner of the plastic bumper there was a star shaped crack as well as one that ran from above the left reflector towards the door.
The star shaped crack stayed together but I now have a 6" split in the plastic and don't even want to think about taking the bumper off again but will if I have to.
The split is uneven whereas one side of the split is higher than the other.
Is it best to remove the entire bumper and take it to a body shop to weld the plastic or can it be welded with the bumper in place?
Thanks
Fred/Houston

[Tiger]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Front-Bumper-Cover-525-530-535-525i-530i-535i-E34_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33640QQihZ011QQitem Z320105110112QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[Fred/Houston]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Front-Bumper-Cover-525-530-535-525i-530i-535i-E34_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33640QQihZ011QQitem Z320105110112QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V
Thanks for the link, but I spent a week of my spare time working on this bumper & painting and sanding and the last thing I want to do is do it all over again.
I would like to try to fix this while it's still on the car.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

[632 Regal]

Hey Fred, I dont think you are going to get a good fix from the front only, you will be chasing this thing forever. It will have to be fixed from the backside to get any sort of decent results... Just think about how good your going to get removing and installing it in the end ;)


Thanks for the link, but I spent a week of my spare time working on this bumper & painting and sanding and the last thing I want to do is do it all over again.
I would like to try to fix this while it's still on the car.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

[Fred/Houston]

Hey Fred, I dont think you are going to get a good fix from the front only, you will be chasing this thing forever. It will have to be fixed from the backside to get any sort of decent results... Just think about how good your going to get removing and installing it in the end ;)
Your probably right*groan*
The front of the car was hit and it shifted the bracket on the car about 1/2" so I had to elongate the slots on the spoiler so it would install properly.
I don't want to put my foot on it some day to tie my shoe & it cracks.
I'm going to take your advice.
Thanks
Fred/Houston

[skr]

take it of, clean in on the back side, use epoxi resin, some on the outside too. if u want u can use a big soldering iron on the backside to welt 4-5 spots in the crack. then epoxy it. i have mine done like this for more than a year, invisible repair as it's on the backside, and the epoxy is holding up realy good. i hit the ground with the bumper while "off-roading" some gravel roads and it stayed together.