Calling fibreglass experts;

[AE82stew]

Howdy,

So, I had a good day at the wreckers today. I managed to pickup an original Toyota AE82 front spoiler for $30.

The downside is, it's pretty shagged. There is splits at each corner and someone attempted to screw it back together (fail attempt).

So as my idea goes; Perhaps I could mold it and make a fiberglass replica. The two things going against me are, I have NO fiberglass experience at all, AND the spoiler is made of rubber (thus making it hard to mold, as I would imagine).

I'm keen to make this work for my project car, and it will be the perfect touch for the front end.

If you reckon I should give it a go, give me as much info as possible. I've had a look on youtube, but it can be confusing.

What do you say?


Give it a go!
No way dude... Get a pro to do it.
Other suggestions.

If you do know of a good (reasonably priced) body works, let me know!

Cheers,

Stew.

Here's some pictures FYI;

http://i53.tinypic.com/vrtrt1.jpg

http://i56.tinypic.com/14v7hj4.jpg

[johl]

i'd just chuck some sicaflex in there and paint it

[mack 10]

Mold tooling is difficult to do properly and very expensive to get someone to do it. Get some quotes to get the original rubber one repaired.

[FAST EDDIE]

not much will adhere to that rubber type plastic not to mention the fact its old, ive seen people cut grooves and drill holes and wire them together before covering with glue like the doctors would stitch up a cut. glass moulding is seriously hard and you need it mounted to the car to get it exactly the right shape when you do it!

[AE82stew]

Thanks for the info guys. Seems fiberglass molding may be too much hassle (if I do it myself). I wont rule out getting it professionally done though. If I can get it done for less than $300, I think that will be what I do.

While I'm on the subject of the fiberglass (if I went that way), could I get some interest in getting a few extra made up?

Just thought I'd throw that out there...

[mack 10]

Hate to say but $300 will get you no where.

[takai]

$300 will just buy you the materials to do it yourself. It wont buy you the talent or experience needed to get a good mould.

[mack 10]

$300 will do it on the cheap

[Rice86]

give it a go on the cheap?...nothing wrong with starting from scratch

thats how we all started modifying cars isnt it? might be a total waste of time, but like already mention, money will just buy you the materials to do it yourself, it wont buy you the talent or experience needed to get a good mold, time does.. so i say give it a go but dont have high expectations, do it for the experience if you got the time for experimenting =p

[AE82stew]

I might give it a miss. It's going to be a lot of trouble. I'm not really prepared to throw $300 away on a whim. There's no guarantee I'd get it the way I want it. I'm after a quality finish. So I have been on the search to find ways of fixing the one I have.

Here are some links;

http://www.ehow.com/how_7603788_repair-rubber-auto-bumpers.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_6937069_paint-rubber-bumpers.html

Thoughts?

I think It's my cheapest/best bet!

[Chrisso]

I would just give it a go. Fibreglassing isn't that hard, but to make sure you get the right shape I would:

Attache the lip to the car, scrub up the back of the cracked area and put some adhesive or fibreglass on it to keep it together. Clean the crap out of the lip and use it as your plug. I would recommend buying your fibreglass, resin, gelcoat, etc from a fibreglass specialist. Dont' forget to get a roller - essential to having a good finished product!

At the very least go and talk to the shop guys before you give the idea away. The base materials aren't that expensive and apart from that you're only spending time!

my 2.5 cents.

Chris

[AE82stew]

Thanks Chrisso,

I might as well go to a specialist and ask a few questions regarding pricing etc. It can't hurt. Either way I'll make this bumper work. Thanks for all the info guys. I'll definitely be back later with some more questions!

Stew.