If the bumper is already painted by the time you want to attach them, I'd be a bit concerned that the heat staple gun could interfere with the adhesion between the paint and the bumper on the visible side.

When I came to fit our (cheap and fairly nasty) aftermarket bumper I had to remove the sensor mounts to make the circular holes in the bumper itself properly circular. The originals were plastic-weld melted into place and they did not put up much resistance! I used hot melt glue when I put them back in place, and they are still there 3 years later - though my glue gun does make the glue very hot. I did that before the bumper was sprayed.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm thinking of using the sticky pads and then sealing around the outside with a very strong flexible sikaflex type adhesive. That will probably be enough.

 

Agreed - any good PU-based sealant/adhesive should work well - I would have done that with mine but didn't have any to hand, so hot melt glue was second choice really.

 

What is hot melt glue? Like a craft glue gun?

 

Yes - I've got a Bosch gun that I think has a slightly out-of-spec thermostat, so the glue comes out smoking if you leave it for a while to heat up. Generally hot melt glue isn't that great on flexible plastics - unless you get it very hot.

 

If it is the 3M VHB tape it should be ok without anything else, just a good degrease with panel wipe. This is used a wide variety of applications in the automotive industry.

 

Thanks that's very reassuring. They are genuine parts so I'd expect quality. I will degrease probably with white spirit before application.

 

You would probably be better with methylated spirit if no panel wipe.

 

Hmm not sure I've got any. I'll ask some neighbours. I'm not sure what panel wipe is. Is there a brand I can look at?

Thanks guys I really appreciate your help.

 

I might use my wife's nail polish remover.

 

Done. Much easier than I thought it would be. I just used the sticky pads and they stuck hard.