Everything You Wanted To Know About Fiberglass - Pics!!

[slownrusty]

Hi Gang - Well I bought this Toyota spoiler off eBay and had to spend much time significantly modifying to fit my old Corolla. I now have over 30hours invested in this thing! It was advertized incorrectly on eBay and I was still able to get it cheaply, and I was determined to make it work.

 

Well here are my follow up pics of all the fiberglass work completed on the spoiler.

 

I wanted to use fiberglass as opposed to Bondo. As fiberglass is strong and light and would add to the overall integrity of the spoiler. I decided to try a compound called "Duraglas" which has all the glass fibers already added and mixed in with it and is MUCH easier to use and work than the regular old fiberglass. Regular fiberglass is a pain, and you always end up with glass fibers under your skin itching you for a week! And Bondo has a reputation to crack over time.

 

I was introduced to Duraglas by a friend who owns a bodyshop and I recommend it highly! It is ONLY available from an AutoBody Paint and Supply store, it is not available at PepBoys, Advance etc etc. IT is inexpensive $12 for a quart incl. the cream hardener.

 

The Duraglas is pretty easy to work and temps should be above 60F for perfect and quick curing. For mixing you need to add a nickel size amount of the white cream hardener to a 1.5" high baseball size amount of the Duraglass, you have to ensure that you mix it thoroughlly! I used a clean steel spoon mixing inside a Rubbermaid plastic container and mixed it violently for a few minutes.

 

After the mixing, apply the Duraglas with a spatula, use tape if you do not want any excess spilling over on the sides and then wait for it to cure. I waited until the next day and I thoroughlly sanded it with 80grit sandpaper. Naturally the Duraglass will be very hard and have sharp edges and look ugly prior to sanding but the end results look fantasitc. I will use a metallic based body fill finisher to fill any small voids left by the Duraglas and then make sure that everything is perfectly smooth, sanded and even before the paint goes on (which happens next week).

 

Here is the spoiler before applying the Duraglas, the gap to be filled is aprox 3/8" deep (maybe a bit less). I had to make this gap as the spoiler was 5" too short on each side and I made a new "bridged piece" from sheet metal and riveted it on :

 

Here is the Duraglas with the Cream Hardener:

 

Here are the basic tools you need:

 

Here is the cured Duraglass ready to be sanded, note the tape used for masking and catching the spill over:

 

During the sanding process with 80grit (kiss your finger nails good bye!)

 

After sanding, small pits and voids to be filled with a professional grade a metallic based body fill finisher:

 

So if you have rust or a dent or any body repairs hope that helps!

 

Regards - Yasin

[EvilRufusKay]

Thanks Man getting ready to do a bunch of that kind of work. I was considering this product though.

 

POR-15 Body Filler

 

Seems to have similar charecteristics to the Durabond. Anyone ever try it?

[ToplessZ]

Are the rivets and that metal piece getting removed or is that staying. Im a littleconfused the durabond is that going to be the only thing holding these two sections together. Looks like good stuff though. Ill probably be using some on my project. Thanks

[slownrusty]

The rivets and the metal is staying, as this is the foundation for the whole piece being added, if I was to removed them the spoiler would fall apart a black down the road.

 

I actually do not mind the look fo the rivets, as it gives the car a very industrial JDM look. I spaced the rivets out so they are all uniform and I also ground down each head a bit to make them lower profile.

 

Regards - Yasin

[ToplessZ]

looks awesome. Ill have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the pics

[Guest Your Car is Slow]

Do any major franchises or stores carry the POR-15 line of products? Ive never seen it at home depot or pep boys or whatnot...I assume such a specialty product would be carried at least somewhere other than the internet

[Nismo280zEd]

I've been doing fiberglass work for many years. I would not recomend using the duraglass or fiberglass reinforced body filler aka body hair for anything structural. It's a very good filler, and waterproof, good replacement for Bondo, But something like you did with the spoiler I would highly recomend using some Woven roven (thick weave matt) for strength instead of that metal with all the rivets. As long as you leave the metal there you'll be ok, but unless you used all AL eventually you get rust bleed.

If you want a smooth look, I'd have laid down a couple layers of woven roven on the back side to hold everything together, then another 3 layers to fill in the gap maybe 2 depending on how thick that gap is, then 3-4 layers of a fine weave matt. Grind the five weave enough to scuff everything then use the fiberglass body filler ontop of that and smooth.

 

Looks nice Yasin. You have a pic of the whole front? looks like a bad@$$ spoiler.

-Ed

 

Also... I've used the Por-15 products, they are quite expensive, and you have to use all their products for the paint to stick correctly. Thier product "metal ready" is an excellent rust remover and bare metal primer. I would recomend using the clear instead of the black. Also... Rain-x and hydraulic fluid do not agree with this paint i've found out. However thier tie coat primer sands very nicely and sprays well, but does not agree with ppg primers or base coats. It will wrinkle or crack on you.

A much cheaper solution that a fellow Z enthusiast introduced me to is called Zero-Rust. I just recently painted my entire car with product and I am very happy. Takes a little more prep time than por-15 (removing more rust) but it's much easier to deal with, and you dont' have to worry about ruining your spray gun with it.

[DavyZ]

Yasin, thanks for all the info and the pics! I have a spoiler that I salvaged from a Z track car and want to "update" the look with some sections I cut out from an aftermarket Eclipse spoiler. The durabond will go pretty nicely in the gapped areas, but I do think some fiberglass mat will be better in the backside for strength. Thanks for the tips!!

 

Davy