Zman0690 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I'm looking to hear from those who have installed IMSA quarters or bonded any fiberglass parts to metal. What techniques did you use and how effective were they. In particularly I'd love to see pictures or links that show the outcome and how long it has been since the work was done. Now I know there is no such thing as a permanent crack free bond between fiberglass and metal but before I start going through all the work I would like to see some successful and not so successful examples to help choosing the direction I'm going to go. I'm really surprised with all the flares and fiberglass parts being attached to the Zedds out there that this topic is not stickied. Maybe we can get a list going now to permanently assist those going through this process in the future. Thanks as always! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I had subtleZ 1/4s installed, We used the same product that GM uses to bond corvette body parts together. made by 3m? so far so good. its been about a year but really been just sitting in the garage. If i do it again i will wait longer for the stuff to cure before painting. we had a little bit of shirnkage and some of the seams are beginning to show. now a little wet sanding and polishing cant fix though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Here is a how to for the IMSA flares. http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/108930-imsa-kit-installation/page__pid__1018450?do=findComment&comment=1018450 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelsonian Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Hey Stony good to know about the 3m shrinkage and planning out the timing to account for it. I am moving oh so close to applying my rear subtle z 1/4's with the 3m adhesive and will definitely allow plenty of time for shrinkage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loy Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 How bout some fusor? http://www.lord.com/Products-And-Solutions/Adhesives/Lord-Fusor-Products.xml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Hey Stony good to know about the 3m shrinkage and planning out the timing to account for it. I am moving oh so close to applying my rear subtle z 1/4's with the 3m adhesive and will definitely allow plenty of time for shrinkage. Not sure if it was the 3m stuff or the filler/bondo used. either way we were kind of in a hurry so my guess is we didnt wait long enough. only one side showed up where the screw holes were. But like i said a little wet sanding and polishing will fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage-TechZ Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Not sure if it was the 3m stuff or the filler/bondo used. either way we were kind of in a hurry so my guess is we didnt wait long enough. only one side showed up where the screw holes were. But like i said a little wet sanding and polishing will fix it. The last car I restored was black and would sit outdoors all day in the sun. I ground the steel panels with 36 grit discs very well. Wiped them down with acetone and airhosed off with filtered air. I did the same to the backside of the glass panels. I was installing a 3-piece rear deck spoiler and as a test I used 2 different adhesive methods. 1)-Straight Bondo and flush mount screws. 2)- Panel adhesive for Corvette's. After 6 years in the sun and many hard road transitions and hatch slammings......there were zero cracks or shrinkages noted in a wet sanded glossy finish. The car met a tragic roll-over death which effected ALL panels. The bonded on parts STILL did NOT crack. We had to hammer them off to keep the unusual spoiler. This is a true/factual story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zman0690 Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Good stuff, thanks for the great pictures Stony. The link you provided is actually what prompted me to post this as I have searched it before but it seems like people only talk about how they did it and then never really mention it again so we all can see what the outcome was several years down the road. Keep em coming guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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