Cracks in elise rear wheel arch, advice on repair please

[SDF1965]

Elise is off the road whilst I do servicing and general tidy up following the winter, I have cracks on the rear wheel arch, appear to be caused by stones being kicked up from the tyres. What is the best course of action for repair? Sand all the way back and build up with matting / filler or simply 'dremel' out the cracks and fill?

to view pictures please click on below

http://uk.msnusers.com/sdf1965

[Anatol]

That's quite some damage for stones being kicked up, (and although hard to tell from the photo, looks to be at the wrong o'clock for that too)...

However, the response is the same: if the cracks are just in the paint layers, then flatting back and repainting is all that's necessary. If the GRP is cracked, it's more of an undertaking.

All the cracked material must be removed. Start by flatting back; if by the time you hit GRP all the cracks are gone, sorted, just refinish. Don't attempt any filling/finishing if any cracks are still visible.

If the crack goes into the GRP, well, it's probably not a DIY job, but the crack would need grinding out, the back re-matting, the front GRP-tissuing, and then it can be filled and painted.

HTH

Tol

[SDF1965]

Thanks for the advice, as soon as the weather improves I'll sand back and see what I find!

[ELAN+2]

theres some photo's and an explanation of how grp cracks are repaired on my "project " thread here:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=319107

this may be of help

Mark

[SDF1965]

Thanks for the link, best of luck completing your own project. The +2 is one of the best looking lotus and the colour suits it well

[ELAN+2]

SDF1965 said:

Thanks for the link, best of luck completing your own project. The +2 is one of the best looking lotus and the colour suits it well

Thanks!! Its on hold due to major house refurbishment at the moment.....one day though!!LOL

good luck with the elise repair

[PrestigePaint]

Your forst and third pictures look consistent with large stones hitting the inner edge of the arch to me, and as such can be repaired fairly easily with a fine polyester filler or even a knifing putty, if they are shallow. After filling and sanding to shape a simple spot paint repair can be performed. However the second picture seems to show a crack working out across the top of the arch. This looks a bit worrying, and could mean that arch will need more substantial work. Although it could probably be "patched" by a SMART repairer, if you just wanted to sell the vehicle.