Problems with fiberglass?

roysallis · Jan 29, 2001

I bought a 5210 which has the "high-density composite material" last March and have not had any problems with it. It will show scuff marks but they can be waxed and buffed out.

Bird · Jan 29, 2001

Sheet metal vs. composite material wouldn't be much of a factor for me in deciding what to buy. The first time I saw a "plastic" impact wrench, I couldn't hardly believe it, but they may very well be the best ones on the market right, and when you let the lift down on one and crush it (like one I have right now for repair), it's cheaper to repair than the all metal ones./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

jfakerj · Jan 29, 2001

Richard

Out of warranty when I bought it.. Any ideas on how to fix it? I thought of trying to super glue it from under the hood so it won't crack any farther. Do you think that'll work.

Jerry

ronjhall · Jan 30, 2001

Jerry:
Don't use super glue. It won't fix the problem permanently. I have made a few fiberglass repairs on my boat. You won't be able to repair the crack as fast with resins, but the crack will not come back. It gets quite lengthy to explain how to make the repairs. Try this Link http://www.boatus.com/boattech/fiber.htm. There are several West Marine stores around your area.http://www.westmarine.com they have all the supplies to repair the crack. Then it's off to the <font color=green>JD dealer to get some green paint.</font color=green>

Anonymous Poster · Jan 30, 2001

There is a "plastic" repair kit available.

From what I understand, a couple methods could be used. 1. is like a "chemical" bonding and 2. a "thermal" welding. Check with the guys at a body shop for finite details.

One method looks like a "welding" rod going down the crack actually "melting" both halves and bonding, a little buffing, voila looks like new! (Imagine a "hot glue gun" going down the crack, with the melted plastic coming out the end to seam the crack at the same time "melting" both sides to become "one")

Bird · Jan 30, 2001

Jerry, I'd suggest talking to a body shop. This is something I know nothing about, but my brother sells a plastic welding rig of some kind and told me about a local body shop with a guy who really knows how to use it if I ever need something like that repaired. I still haven't seen one in operation. Apparently it must be about the same thing as John's talking about.

Bird

RobS · Jan 30, 2001

Jerry, I worked in a body shop years ago and we did the occasional Corvette. Cracks are hard to fix right and if not done right, they'll come right back. Our method back then was to grind the back side clean (if you can get to it) and apply a layer or two of glass fabric with resin. After that's cured, grind the crack on the face side and open it up a bit. Use good 'ole Bondo to finish the repair. If you can't get to the back side, do the same on the face side. It'll require more blending to cover the patch, but can be done.

Plastic welding only works with thermoplastics (can be remelted). Fiberglass resin is thermoset and won't remelt.

Any decent body shop should be able to do a good job repairing your ride, including paint.

Hope this helps,

Rob

cowboydoc · Jan 30, 2001

Jerry,
If you have a farm and fleet there they make resins for all different types of plastics, fiberglass, and metal. Last year I tore up my cab step on my pickup pretty good and fixed it with that stuff and it worked really well. I have also fixed 4 wheeler fenders, water troughs, etc. and it works really well.

dmccarty · Jan 30, 2001

Jerry,

The hood on my 4700 and I assume the rest of the 4000 line is not fiberglass but some kind of plastic product. I said "fiberglass" when talking to my salesman and he told me that it was a plastic. He went into a bit of detail, I think he would have given me more information if I had asked, but I was not that interested. The salesman really liked the product and I don't think it was any sale hype on his part. He just liked the stuff.

As people have mentioned there might be other ways to chemically weld the split. You might try a dealer and see what they say.

For the origional poster. I have not had any problems in 130 hours. It was not a concern for me and I think I would rather have a composite fender/hood than metal. At least it won't rust and I assume its not going to get brittle from UV exposure. I can't imagine breaking the stuff, at least the fenders. I could see putting a tool or something under the hood and then trying to shut the hood causing some damage. Heck I've done that on both vehicles at this point.

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

Boondox · Jan 30, 2001

Fiberglass and bitter cold?

Okay, so the stuff does well with routine bumps. But what about when the temp hits the minus twenties? I've had plastics break in my hand from the pressure of picking them up. What's the verdict from the snow belt?

Pete in Brrrmont