Easy fix for dented bumper?

[wurm]

I did a dumb thing yesterday. I backed into a spot in the parking garage and...misjudged how far back I should go. D'oh! Didn't see the damage yesterday because of the angle, but this morning it was staring me in the face. I'm not about to file a claim with my insurance. The good news (or so it would seem) is that in feeling under the bumper, it seems to be hollow behind the dent, so ostensibly I could "push" out the dent. I'm less worried about the little paint blemishes that result.

So what's the best/easiest/cheapest way for a non-handy person like myself to deal with this? And by cheap I mean free with my labor being the only cost. Is this a job for the ol' deflate a football, place it behind the dent and inflate or is there a better way? I suppose I could try to dent the other side to match, but absent of that, I'm open to suggestions. Here's what I'm dealing with. And thanks in advance.

-edit- Just to be clear, I didn't hit another car. It was a barrier protecting a pillar in the garage.

[olnacl]

Some tips here.

[GGD]

I had a very similar looking dent several years ago. I took off the bumper cover (that was fairly easy on my car), and pushed out the dent from the back side. I didn't think of using heat, and that plastic is pretty thick and doesn't just "pop out". I remember putting that corner of the bumper cover on the lawn and standing on the back side of the dent with the heel of one foot to press it back out.

[Carm]

I've had that happen before. Heat works. (with or without heat) The paint on the bumper might crack and also the bumper might crack.

Joe

[ajakeski]

I never heard of the football repair method, but it sounds interesting.
I would take the cover off and try to warm it up either with a heat gun, or leave it lay in the sun for a while. Be careful, too much heat will burn the paint.
Push the dent out and re-install the cover. after some time in the sun, most of the wrinkles should come out. It won't be perfect, but it's cheap.
I've done this for customers on a budget. At the shop we use a heat light, faster than waiting for the sun.

[Z]

I think it would be a simple fix if you had this -

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/86/86dadobe.phtml

[wurm]

So unlike a metal fender dent that may "pop" back into shape, it sounds to me like this plastic bumper will require working the plastic more. I've read several references to letting the sun warm it to make the plastic more pliable. Even though it may hit 60 tomorrow here in MA. it's still winter and I can't count on the weather helping out much. Do you think a hair dryer would warm things up enough?

I'm also not having any success is finding instructions for removing the bumper cover.

[Numo]

I used a heat gun to help pop out a dent in my bumper once - I'm not sure a hair dryer would generate enough heat to do it. However, you have to be very careful not to get the gun too close to the paint, or it will blister. I also had to apply leverage from in concave side, but I can't remember what I used for that. I like the football idea, but again, that may not be enough to do the trick.

[Speedy]

I sure miss the 10 mph bumpers...

[Black]

Shop vac/suction??