Having had a Stainless exhaust sat in the garage over the summer I plan of fitting it this weekend. It is designed to fit the VRS hatch which, has a cutout in the rear bumper.

My Elegance estate has no cut out in the inner or outer bumper skins. The inner skin is an easy one as there is no paint to worry about, but the outer painted skin is a bit more tricky.

What is the best technique to cut out a small section of bumper without damaging the surrounding paint etc ??

Given the cold weather would it be a good idea to warm the painted area before cutting?

I read somewhere that I should apply masking tape to the area then cut through that ?

Might be easier to just extend the hanger a bit at the back, and let it just sit just under the bumper - I did this on my Fabia without any worries.

If you do cut it, I found with my front bumper butchering that a razor sharp stanley knife was the best (and neatest ) way to cut bumper. Just some decent pressure needed and it literally seems to go through it like a knife through butter (well, butter thats been in the fridge, if you know what I mean )

DON'T try an angle grinder! I did, and it gave the bodyshop something else to tidy up for me.

I had a rear diffuser fitted to neaten up the exhaust cut out. First of all a vRS rear bumper was measured and the cutout drawn onto my bumper, this was then cut as neatly as possible and then the diffuser bonded over the top to give a perfect finish.

To cut the away the metal where the exhaust was routed I just used a junior hacksaw then painted the edges with high temp black paint.

Here's a couple of pic's with the diffuser:

Never thought about using an angle grinder for it, Jason. I had considered a Dremmel though.

I have a local Briskodian who's rear bumper will be used as a template

So the masking tape idea isn't worth bothering with ??

I wish I'd never thought of using it too, Phil. It was only a small grinder, but it was messy enough to be not worth even trying. Also, the disc actually melted the bumper, not cut it, so there was globs of very hot, sticky bumper. Not nice.

Stanley knife still gets my vote - a dremmel might recreate the hot sticky globs of bumper that I had, unless the disc used is really really narrow.

The stanley knife idea is good, its just the corners at the top that are a bit of a worry - knives dont tend to do corners very easily :(

True. Thats where the dremmel might come in. I was lucky and only had three straight lines to cut, to make the square cutout in mine.

One tip would be if you feel a sneeze coming on, stop what you're doing. ATCHOOOOOO! Oh ****!

I'm more worried about shivvvvvvvverrrrrrring from the cold :s

Assuming the plastic is of the same nature as the front bumper on a vRS, I would go with a very sharp stanely knife. Moderate pressure cuts right through the plastic without the need for any sawing action, and it is highly controllable. (disclaimer, no responsibility accepted for missing fingers!)

Lee

Agree with Lee,outer skin is very soft and a stanley knife cuts through with ease

Six pints and a sharp knife.

Just come in from the cold. The stanley knife works a treat !

I just drilled a hole in the two corners (when fitting a towbar), and then used a fret saw to cut between the bottom of the bumper and between the holes. Worked quite nicely!