Cracked Fiberglass
Discussion
Unfortunately I've just had someone back their car into me whilst it was parked and crack the fibreglass next to the near side headlight. There appears to be no other structural damage but the crack goes through.
My P&J is a Chimaera if that makes any difference.
Does anyone know any good places to repair this in Surrey / Kent or will it be needing a new front wing?
Bit gutted at the moment as I've just given her a wash this morning
and we've a road trip planned in 3 weeks time.
My P&J is a Chimaera if that makes any difference.
Does anyone know any good places to repair this in Surrey / Kent or will it be needing a new front wing?
Bit gutted at the moment as I've just given her a wash this morning
and we've a road trip planned in 3 weeks time.I would thouroughly recommend Hilton coachworks in Bishops Stortford, anbout 1.5 hours from Surrey i believe, and they repaired a crack in the back of my Chim when someone drove into the back of it.
The repair was first class and the car is in better condition now than before the accident
The repair was first class and the car is in better condition now than before the accident
When my Griff was shunted I was advised to run it with the damage for as long as I could before getting it repaired so as to shake all the cracked fibreglass so it cracks to its natural extent. The repair will then cut out the full extent of the damage rather than what initially surfaces, and the repair will be so much the better for it.
Your roadtrip will be good for this.
Get some good quality gaffer tape though, to protect the cracks from water ingress or it will delaminate the GRP way beyond the cracks.
All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Oh, armed with a bottle of tipex you can write your own little 'this wasn't me' message on the gaffer tape
Your roadtrip will be good for this.
Get some good quality gaffer tape though, to protect the cracks from water ingress or it will delaminate the GRP way beyond the cracks.
All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Oh, armed with a bottle of tipex you can write your own little 'this wasn't me' message on the gaffer tape
Edited by Barreti on Monday 23 March 09:59
Barreti said:
When my Griff was shunted I was advised to run it with the damage for as long as I could before getting it repaired so as to shake all the cracked fibreglass so it cracks to its natural extent. The repair will then cut out the full extent of the damage rather than what initially surfaces, and the repair will be so much the better for it.
Your roadtrip will be good for this.
Get some good quality gaffer tape though, to protect the cracks from water ingress or it will delaminate the GRP way beyond the cracks.
All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Oh, armed with a bottle of tipex you can write your own little 'this wasn't me' message on the gaffer tape
Again this could be twaddle as well but I thought that you drilled a small hole at the end of the crack to prevent the crack getting larger.Your roadtrip will be good for this.
Get some good quality gaffer tape though, to protect the cracks from water ingress or it will delaminate the GRP way beyond the cracks.
All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Oh, armed with a bottle of tipex you can write your own little 'this wasn't me' message on the gaffer tape
Edited by Barreti on Monday 23 March 09:59
Best ask at a body repair shop
Trev
www.kingscourtcoachworks.com based near Kingston. They did 2 repairs to my Chim and an excellant job each time. They even collected/delivered my car at times suitable for me (John the owner dropped off at 10pm once which suited me perfectly)
Edited by Zippee on Monday 23 March 11:53
Barreti said:
When my Griff was shunted I was advised to run it with the damage for as long as I could before getting it repaired so as to shake all the cracked fibreglass so it cracks to its natural extent. The repair will then cut out the full extent of the damage rather than what initially surfaces, and the repair will be so much the better for it.
All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Yes. Best to get it repaired ASAP and prevent the spread of further cracking. There is no "natural amount" or other such similar phrase. Some of the cracking will not be visible initially as it will be beneath the surface but carefull grinding will reveal the full extent of the cracking at any given time. If you carry on driving there will simply be more cracking to reveal and repair.All that could be complete twaddle of course.
Get it repaired ASAP.
As already mentioned.........the movement of the body during normal driving will cause the cracks to go even further. Any good bodyshop that deals with glass fiber will know how far to grind back to prevent the repair becoming obvious later. You might be surprised how much further the repair needs taking back to prevent any cracking becoming obvious after the repair. Normally about 3 - 4 inches further than the cracks are visible is normal.
As already mentioned.........the movement of the body during normal driving will cause the cracks to go even further. Any good bodyshop that deals with glass fiber will know how far to grind back to prevent the repair becoming obvious later. You might be surprised how much further the repair needs taking back to prevent any cracking becoming obvious after the repair. Normally about 3 - 4 inches further than the cracks are visible is normal.
Zippee said:
www.kingscourtcoachworks.com based near Kingston. They did 2 repairs to my Chim and an excellant job each time. They even collected/delivered my car at times suitable for me (John the owner dropped off at 10pm once which suited me perfectly)
Another vote for KCC here. 
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