DB9 2013 Front Undertray Material

[AM-DB9]

I have a section that I need to repair.
Does anyone know what the material/construction is?
Looking at my PIC I'm almost guessing it was autoclave Kevlar constructed.

it's looking like epoxy resin might be the way to go.
I do see it recommended for both FRP and SMC composites.
The section in the photo was an area ripped out by a PO, i just need to get it right as that is a structural area (bolt hole)

Edited by AM-DB9 on Tuesday 2nd January 07:36

These two PICs show better what i'm dealing with.

Edited by AM-DB9 on Wednesday 3rd January 05:17

[ram_g]

Here's what I would do. Get a sheet of thin plastic that you can cut and form (heat and bend) to the desired shape so that it more-or-less fits the missing piece. Then lay fiberglass cloth on the area, over the entire new plastic piece and overlapping the existing part, and soak with epoxy. Do that on both sides. After it cures it'll be stronger than the original.

Honestly you can use anything thin and "formable" instead of the plastic - even a piece of cardboard. The strength will come from the cured fiberglass cloth.

You can probably wait till it's cured to drill the appropriate holes.

[AstonKeeper]

I'd repair as above suggested but I'd use aluminium 3mm or 4mm sign board as the backing. It's two sheets of aluminium bonded together. You can probably get a "sample" sheet off ebay for a couple of quid. I use it for under trays and splitters for race cars.

[MichalPastryk]

It is made of composite fiberglass with resin infill. If You looking for one, here You can find new one for reliable money:

https://ecpsgroup.com/produkt/aston-martin-dbs-van...

[AM-DB9]

Thank you for the input, it is helpful.
West System has a 4oz size epoxy resin pack i will be picking up.
I have left over mat and cloth (from my race car days) Fiberglass and Kevlar I can finally put to good use.

Great price on the new undertray, but shipping would kill me to the USA. :-)

[MichalPastryk]

send me message through website, we can verify shipping cost to You. might not be that expensive

[AM-DB9]

Thanks for the offer but i am moving forward with DIY repair on the undertray.
It's not that messed up, just a small area to fix.

[David W.]

AM-DB9 said:

Thanks for the offer but i am moving forward with DIY repair on the undertray.
It's not that messed up, just a small area to fix.

Brilliant that you are repairing not replacing. Looking forward to seeing the results.

[AM-DB9]

Ready to mount as soon as I locate and drill the mounting hole.
The final repairs were completed using West System G-Flex epoxy, black dye, kevlar cloth, fiberglass mat.
Not factory perfect, but hey it's an under tray.

Edited by AM-DB9 on Monday 22 January 16:33

[ram_g]

Very well done!

[AM-DB9]

Thank you,
The epoxy is thick as honey, and is hard to work with the mat and cloth but i did learn a trick. Use a hair dryer to heat up the applied mix.
Worked great and also made the top coat flow more like water to give a nicer finish.

[ram_g]

Good tip on the hair dryer - I'll try that the next time. One tip on the color - no need for a coloring agent if you use JB Weld as the epoxy! I did that for a repair to the back of a Jaguar glovebox and it matched the black plastic well. Would've been better if I had thought of heating it up to make it flow better though!

[AM-DB9]

I've used JB Weld and such on various small fixes around the house but the issue with this project is the cure/set time for JB Weld would be too short and its not really designed to be used with mat or cloth.
The 2-part Epoxy I used is a marine epoxy which has a 45 minute work time, this turned out to be about right, because the heating up does shorten the work time some.
This DIY repair cost me about $70 in materials but well worth the cost for the attention to detail my DB9 deserves :-)