DuraFlex Bumper Repair

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:09 pm
Hey guys I've been searching all over the internet and found this forum and figured I'd give it a try.

I purchased a body kit off of a friend for my ford focus a month ago. The front and rear bumper are duraflex and the side skirts are fiberglass. The front bumper is new and was never drilled or mounted and the side skirts just need prepped and painted.

My problem is the rear bumper. It seems it was hit and repaired but still has a dip and there are random cracks that he used fiberglass mat to reinforce and repair it, some spots I have noticed have cracked at the end of the repair. and near the edge there are what look like spider cracks or stress cracks. I can get pictures tomorrow if anyone needs them for further inspection.

Is it possible the parts that were repaired but cracked at the end of the repair were not prepped good enough or is it from the fiberglass repair not flexing with the duraflex material. Someone recommended that I v cut the cracks, clean them then using a plastic filler possibly the extreme bumper repair adhesive from fusor. The spider cracks dont seem to go all the way through except on some corners.

Would I have to use fiberglass matting to reinforce the rear and fill in the front area? Would I still have to reinforce the rear of the bumper on cracks that havent gone all the way through?

I'm not a body work person but want to learn to do these things on my own. I really appreciate your input on this guys.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:28 pm
Okay, first I've seen a few Duraflex parts on guys cars but never worked with the stuff. I'm fairly sure this is the reason the repair didn't work on the rear bumper. This is a quote from one of the companies that make Duraflex body kits...
Duraflex is a new fiberglass composite that utilizes a specially made resin for a higher strength to flex ratio. Duraflex has a high sheen and high quality black gel coat.

NOTICE the part about "specially made resin" and that part about "strength to flex ratio." That means that this stuff probably needs to be treated like SMC (sheet molded compound) in that it is produced with a unique resin that has much more flex than standard fiberglass or probably even epoxy resins. That repair was done with a standard fiberglass resin that just can't flex with the underlying material.
My advice??? Don't guess on what material will fix this stuff. I'd go to the guys that sell it. I found this web site...
www.duraflexbodykits.com
I'm sure you can get a good repair on it but you've got to have the right resin first.
Other guys have probably worked on this stuff here too so maybe they'll chime in as well.

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