I need some advice... All of you with lowered cars will sympathize with me-especially
lowered S14s! I am getting tired of buying new air dams and paying for professional
painting when I "snow plow" something nice and hard. The spoiler I have right
now on the front of my '95 is in good enough shape to pull off, resand and fill in the
gashes and what not. What is a good, flexible, durable product to use to repair holes and
gashes on a part that gets painted and needs to flex? Bondo is obviously out of the
question. I am going to have paint mixed at a local body shop and airbrush it myself.
Help!!! Thanks.
Chris R
'95 SE (with that damn low hanging front spoiler!)
Re. 1
Chris
I don't know exactly what the lower spoiler is made out of? but if it is the same as the
front fascia it would be a R.I.M. substrate & your right about the bondo, any silicate
based fillers wont work. What you need to go with is either an elastomeric resin based or
a epoxy filler with a fiberglass strand to mend the spoiler, then go over it with a marine
epoxy resin. Both are available at your local automotive supply dealer. The problem with
most flexible plastics used on automobiles is adhesion, in order to give the parts
flexibility in both cold and hot climates molders used various polymer configurations most
containing siloxanes & olefins, these are slippery wee devils :-) nothing wants to
stick to them, which makes the molder very happy, because they don't get stuck in his
mold, but drives Paint guys like me crazy. So when you are going to repair the area, clean
it first with a fairly aggressive solvent like an acetate, (Isobutyl Acetate) works best
on a rim substrate, it will etch the surface and give you a good bond between the
substrate and your repair material. and remember to extend the repair at least three
inches beyond the fracture, to give it a good flex modulus. Depending on the severity of
the damage you may want to repair the damage from the inside first with one of those
fiberglass patches then use the epoxy resin on the exterior to fill in the cavity. then
prime it, paint it, clearcoat it and watch out for those FU*@*ING speedbumps &
railroad crossings.
Chow
Buk'key