Permanently Attaching Plastic Fender Flares

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



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PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:19 am
I will be installing a pair of Voltex rear fender flares that are made of some type of plastic, and want to have them permanently molded onto the car. The rear quarter panels are metal of course. It looks like 3m Panel Bonding Adhesive may be the best route for me to go with this project. The car needs some other body work and a paint job, but I will be vinyl wrapping the car until I can pay for a complete paint job down the road.

My main concern is once I use the 3M panel bond, what should I use to fill in and smooth the transition between the metal body and plastic flare so that it will look nice? Can I run a small bead of the panel bond adhesive at this junction and smooth it out? Or is there a semi flexible type of filler I can use to help reduce the chance of cracking? Thanks for the help. I'm very interested in learning.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:12 pm
It is just a bad idea..... before I simply repeat this for about the hundredth time go read this thread completely....
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28531&start=0
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2021 10:20 pm
DarrelK wrote:It is just a bad idea..... before I simply repeat this for about the hundredth time go read this thread completely....
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28531&start=0

Thanks Darrel. I read through that post and the other post linked from there, and completely understand now. I'm here to learn, and this is what is needed.

Since my flares are plastic, and part of it extends onto the rear bumper of the car, which is also plastic, could that portion of the flare be cut off, then molded onto the bumper, or does it depend specifically on what type of plastic it is? Then I could find a metal fab shop to recreate the rest of the flare in metal to be welded onto the car's quarter panel. I'll try to add a pic for reference so you can see what I'm talking about.

Not my car, but I have the same rear fender flares: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-gallery-12/voltex-rear-over-fenders-1072951/page5/#post23853793

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 8:20 am
Okay, yeah, so I get it..... these are very "subtle" flares. Actually if you had a custom/hot rod type metal shop I think they could use a "fender roller" to flare out your existing fenders to that profile. I would think they could then make a matching smaller down leg piece which would be welded to the metal with a tab inside that could be riveted (plastic rivets?) up in there. Maybe a thin piece of fender mounting style piping/trim could be inserted under that piece so it kind of "floats" instead of being fused with filler into the rear bumper.

As far as the plastics bonding thing to the rear bumper.... Go check out... www.polyvance.com There are quite a few plastics that can indeed cooperate with each other for bonding. There is a Plastic ID chart there and a Bumper ID chart as well. I also just call them directly as well for help.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

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