Darrelk Fiberglass Kit Build

Show off your work! Anything from final results to full start-to-finish project journals.

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 11:47 pm
This thread is now corrected with all the pic.s appearing here since the previous web site is gone that hosted my rough body work. You can now see it all here. This is a build up on a 1986 Pontiac Fiero changing the entire body to a Finale kit body...

And that web site went defunct so here is what we started with...
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That was the raw body kit just lined up and mounted "as is" on the Fiero rolling chassis. Even just doing this can take about 20 hours. I always like to drive the cars some at this stage (yeah, yeah, I know, it's major fugly but hey, it's a project, right?)

With most of the newer kits on the market large pieces are made from multiple molds and the car must be "grafted" together. Here is an example, this lower rocker panel (although with this kit bonding this in was optional but looked crappy that way)...
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Wow, look to the forward part of that pic. and see how big that door gap is, 3/4 inch or so.
This is the other side being glasse in with Duraglass, the overlayed with chopped mat/resin, then finally Body Icing.
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Same thing here with the rear wing...
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And then using Icing to feather out to a much larger area...
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So can you really work this amount of gaps together to make decent profiles, let's see....
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Last edited by DarrelK on Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 12:38 am
That's BADASS! Some serious work Darrel. Do you have a helper? Or
is it a solo project? What's the paint scheme going to be like?

Looks like your on the final stretch. Whats the lead time??
A man can do all things if he but wills them.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:46 am
Well, my grandson (he's 10 but has his father's artistic skills) helped some with the matt lay up and the college kid next door did about 12 hours of fill work for me. Other than that the other 95% of it has been just me. I thought about getting some addtional help but when you're doing this much "carving" up of profiles and such I'd rather just do it myself.
As for paint I'm doing Auto Air in Deep Red followed by Sparklescent Rock Star Red which is like a micro flake pearl. Then I'll intercoat with HOK SG100. After that I'll do flames coming up out of those functional front nostrils you see there. Those flames will be made of Motorstorms Hyperflare (crushed diamonds), Red Fire Flake and Holographic Silver Flake from Paint on Pearl. Should be kind of a semi-ghost flame that will really pop on sunny days. I'll marbelize the rear apron and bury it in some Transparent Black and Red. After that all looks okay the plan is to do one light barrier coat of the SG100 then go to Motorstorms Speed clear for a few coats, knock that down nice and flat, then switch to Motorstorms Nano Clear. The only tough part of this is making sure I get to that last Nano Clear quick for the colorsand and buff. They told me that the coating gets so hard after 7 days you have to use metal polish on it to buff it. Oh, well I wanted an indestructible clear for the last coats, guess there's trade-offs with everything.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:10 am
You had it all planned out. I'm vary curious about the Nano Clear, I've
read that Mercedes is working on (or has?) a strong scratch resistant clear.
But wouldn't you want to use a more flexible clear on a fiberglass car?
A man can do all things if he but wills them.



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:39 am
Nice work DK.

I normally don't dig the kit car stuff, but when you do it right with gaps correct etc. it looks very nice. Then with the paint you have planned it will take it to an even higher level.

What is that your using to correct the door gaps? Jelly with mat? Did you bevel the body side edge before you applied it or butted it straight?

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 1:40 pm
Han, the Nano Clears are hard but still flex with the substrate. The Nano should be about the hardness of an old style polyester gel coat similar to what was used in top marine grade applications. As far as hardness goes those old gel coats were prone to fading but could take a much harder hit or scratch than paint ever could. I think it's going to be a good combo. If you've never seen the spec.s on the stuff go here...
http://www.motostorm.com/gpage5.html
Apexxn, on those doors what I did was indeed bevel back then take a diamond bit on a die grinder and roughed up and cut in some holes. This allowed the Duraglass to really push in and get a good grip. Then I used a little thicker version of fiberglass resin, pulled apart my matt and just kept feeding it in overlapping the Duraglass. Built up a couple of layers, then went into Rage and finally some Body Icing. Honestly, I think those door edges are now much stronger than they were. Thats next to where the whole rear clip mounts on each side so more rigid in that area is a good thing.
Man, my arms are about ready to drop off though. I've now got about 900 hours in the car but the light at the end of tunnel is within reach! I'll post some more pics. probably by the end of next week. Thanks for the complements guys!
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 9:32 pm
Looks like great work there.

can I be stupid and ask what is it? or whats it based on? or at least what was it? LOL

Cant wait to see it painted and buffed up.

Mercedes have had the Ceramiclear (nano) stuff since '04 and so has BMW from around the same time. The menzerna "prestige range" was made especially for it. The oxides are smaller and sharper, but even then I must say the BMW version is like trying to buff marble, the benz stuff isnt far behind it either.

The great thing about it, is that when washing, buffing off wax etc its almost bullet proof. But you need to step up a few levels in the pad range to do the same work as normal clear.

If I could could choose Id go with the hard stuff everyday.

Chris
Driven By Shine
Automotive Detailing
www.drivenbyshine.com.au

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:11 pm
No stupid questions here, DBS. It was a 1986 Pontiac Fiero. I bought this particular car because it has the entire drivetrain from a 1997 Pontiac Bonneville transplanted into it's mid-engine bay. Very fast, great handling car with all the right stuff, but just a crapped out, faded paint job with a shot interior. Here's a shot...
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Fiero cars are a rolling "space frame" that have no stressed body panels. They are excellent candidates for what are called rebodies. As long as you're not hacking up that space frame you don't change the normal characteristics of the orginal performance. Here is the rolling chassis after I removed all the panels (about 9 hours work), that's me and my grandson there...
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Poof! Instant rolling chassis that you can still drive down the street!
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And when everything finally gets done it should look like V8 Archies personal Finale car pictured here...
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If you get a chance you can find out more about the kits themselves by going to www.v8archie.com and click on products. You should see Fino and Finale kits there.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:20 pm
That Nano-Clear reads like good stuff. I had no idea the paint manufacturers were working on tougher clears. Also I was, for the past 12 years, under the impression that the harder the clearcoat, the easier it chipped.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:58 pm
Yeah, go figure. Supposedly, Nissan has developed a clear that is "self healing" when scratched. The scratch is like a compression hit when it happens. The next time the clear coat is out in the sun the clear "remembers" it's shape before the hit and swells back to size. Some wild clear coats coming down the road. Now if they could only loose those nasty Isocyanates while maintaing these good characteristics.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!
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