The plastic panels on a Smart Fortwo

The plastic panels on a Smart Fortwo are made of a special “PolyPropylene” (PP) compound called “Thermoplastic Polyolefin” (TPO).

The exact type is created by Borealis Ag, and called “Daplen ED230HP”, and Daimler gets it manufactured at the Swedish company Plastal.

Repairs

Thermoplastic compounds can be repaired, and glossy surfaces, like the Smart’s body panels are easier to repair than textured surfaces, like black bumpers and side view mirror housings.

Plastic panels can be welded with a plastic rod, that is melted into the crack. You can use a specialist plastic welder, or if seldomly needed, a large soldering iron, like those used for soldering zink gutters.

On 3M’s website you can see a two component glue that they claim can do the same job. I haven’t seen this done, but it sounds plausible.