mold it on!

[rspro]

Hey, guys I'm going to start molding my bodykit on this weekend. I went around and got some estimates for bodywork and paint they were anywhere from 3K to 5K. I would rather spend that type of money on building my motor and a turbo kit. Just wondering if you body shop guys have any pointers. I would really appreciate it.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

is it a daily driven car?

if so-
my recomendation would be to not mold the front and back bumpers. just the side skirts.
other wise you will have cracks in the molded area on the bumpers after a little while of driving. People can argue this all they want. Molding bumpers to car does NOT last on daily driven cars.

 

[airjordan56]

I agree with him. Dont mold the front or back. Not only does drivin make them crack. But how many times have u drove over an animal in the road dead and been like phewwww good thing i didnt have a body kit. Point is if u do that with a body kit u'll most likely break the kit. then u'll have a molded broken kit stuck to ur car. Pain in the but to fix. Good luck tho man. Post pics when ur done to let us no how it went.

 

[put2gether]

Ok, I actually have personal experience with this. I've had my rear bumper, and side skirts, molded on for about a year and a half with no cracks, and my car is daily driven. The trick is, to secure the bumper on before molding it. I used double sided automotive tape (I forget the brand) and good old fashioned screws and bolts (even used teflon tape on the threads for insurance) to hold everything tightly in place before molding the pieces on. It's held strong so far, through rain, and huge puddles, snow, scrapes, unfortunate road killed cats, and Grand Canyon sized pot holes.

 

[n0c7]

Ok, I actually have personal experience with this. I've had my rear bumper, and side skirts, molded on for about a year and a half with no cracks, and my car is daily driven. The trick is, to secure the bumper on before molding it. I used double sided automotive tape (I forget the brand) and good old fashioned screws and bolts (even used teflon tape on the threads for insurance) to hold everything tightly in place before molding the pieces on. It's held strong so far, through rain, and huge puddles, snow, scrapes, unfortunate road killed cats, and Grand Canyon sized pot holes.

Then you are lucky ! My kit is not molded, and I have stress cracks all over throughout the paint where its just bolted from bottoming out and pot holes.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

Ok, I actually have personal experience with this. I've had my rear bumper, and side skirts, molded on for about a year and a half with no cracks, and my car is daily driven. The trick is, to secure the bumper on before molding it. I used double sided automotive tape (I forget the brand) and good old fashioned screws and bolts (even used teflon tape on the threads for insurance) to hold everything tightly in place before molding the pieces on. It's held strong so far, through rain, and huge puddles, snow, scrapes, unfortunate road killed cats, and Grand Canyon sized pot holes.

i have experience too. with customer cars and my own. you got lucky if your molding did not crack. I have seen body kits them self begin to crack from stress and flexing. While i believe it is possible that you have escaped cracking for this long, I can garuntee not many people are that lucky with molded parts

 

[put2gether]

If the paint cracks... maybe it's a bad paint job, or the kit isn't supported properly. If the kit itself cracks from stress... maybe it's a cheap kit that isn't supported properly. I also have a 1g eclipse I molded a kit on over 3 years ago, not to mertion cars I've done for other people... all still crack free. I'm no pro, but I've done my share of painting and bodywork. Bodywork is the key. Do it right, or do it twice. I took extra steps (double sided tape, lots of screws, washers, and teflon tape), to ensure I wouldn't have any problems. Either I was born lucky, or lots of prep work pays off.

 

[airjordan56]

I still think its too big of a gamble. never know what can happen. Fiberglass breaks, whether we like to admit it or not. My big problem isnt with the molding, its with the fact that a gazillion hours of work will have to be done to change out the bumper if its broken. Just not worth it in any logical mind. Body lines arent that ugly. I personally kinda like em, cuz without lines a car looks like a toy to me. Just my 2 cents. Good luck tho

 

[rspro]

Well, I molded just the rear bumper this weekend. I made sure it's secured before the molding. My problem is that I cannot get it smooth enough...I'm going to sand it more next weekend and I plan on molding the skirts on too. I'm not doing the front because I planning to go turbo after I get it painted. ......thanks for the advice guys