the age old problem > mating fibreglass to metal
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Prehistory: i love modifying my cars because of my passion for racing. I really do want my car to have a slightly aggresive look but mostly i want to be impressed by the whole look of the car. And widebodykits are ideal for this 🙂
Now i own a widebody Nissan and the work was carried out by a bodyshop. After about a year or so cracks started to appear in the body, just behind the rear lights. I’m not to bothered by this because the car sees a lot of abuse on trackdays and is in no way a showcar. But my current project needs to be just that.It’s an Audi 4000 where i want to install the Quattro bodykit on it. The only real issue are the rear fenders because it involves laying the fibreglass part on top of the original bodywork.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/XkttAXF.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/pljyLVz.jpg[/IMG]I’ve consulted about 15 bodyshops in my area and i’m getting quotes of 8000 dollars to have the kit fitted + full respray. I’ve also spoken to lot’s of people who are into cars and have experience in bodywork themselves. Now i’m hearing two things and really would love to hear which would be the best solution for a novice like myself.
Method 1 involves using a flexible epoxy adhesive to mate the fibreglass to the metal and also blend the part into the car. After that using flexable primer and paint. This way it should be possible for the bodywork to expand in warm temperatures and reduce the chances of cracks appearing.
Method 2 is people saying that it really doesn’t matter all that much to use special flexible products, simply grind the metal down > put resin on > resin soaked fibreglassmat > fibreglass part > resin soaked fibreglassmat on top of the edges trying to get the endresult as good as possible and finishing off with as little bodyfiller as possible. Using the least amount of bodyfiller as possible will result in a finished product which will never crack.
Which of these two methods carries the most truth – and which would be best for a novice :blush:
Im no expert when it comes to widebodykits but my suggestion would be Method 2, only I would use short strand fiberglass after using the fiberglass and matt and before as little body filler as possible. get a good scratch into the metal for good adhesion. Method 1 seems like someone is overthinking it to me. I cant see the quarter moving around too much unless the vehicle has structural issues or is involved in a collision.
if they use regular fiberglass resin doing method #2 its a guaranteed failure. they must use epoxy resin resin like west system or equivalent. polyester laminating resin will eventually release off metal.
I use 3m panel bonding adhesive for bonding on arches as said fibreglass resin will fail.
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