Auto body repair & detailing: Bumper repair, thin coats, insident

Question
HI Ernie,please advise me on what stepsi should take to repair my front bumperon my 97 ford escort bumper which has quiet a large hole in it following an insident with a pretty hard headed CAT!! I've never attempted fibre glassing before,but cant afford a replacement and have no choice. Any info would be a comfort.
             Thanks very much,
                    Colm Burke


Answer
Colm,depending on where the hole is I would try to access the back side if possible to make some sort of backing out of duct tape.You could indent the tape slightly and fill the hole with spray foam.let it cure and trim the foam slightly below the surface of the bumper.Apply a couple thin coats of body filler sand and paint and you should be like new again.Also take note that you should be able to find a inexpensive replacement in a junk yard, possibly even in the correct color.A used bumper should be about the same as what you will spend on material to do the repair.