Fiberglass Fender Flares HELP!, the paint around the fender flares is cracking. Options

[chrispy]

The paint on my 914 where the fiberglass fender flares are attached to the body is cracking (and separating?). What do I do? Any suggestions would be appreciated. We just purchased the car and had a similar problem with the last 914 we owned. We are looking to do body work and repaint this car so any ideas or proven success would be wonderful to know about! Thanks so much!

[jmill]

Thats the reason most folks prefer the metal to glass for a grafted install. The metal and glass expand and contract at different rates causing the cracking. I have seen some beautiful glass flares that weren't grafted on. They were bolted. I don't remember his name but it's a blue car with the bolts inset. It's a work of art. Had I seen this before buying the metal ones I would have went that route. With them bolted on with welting you won't have the cracking.

You could try really scuffing up the metal for a good bond if you prefer the grafted look. With a really good bond it will minimize cracking. I hate to say it won't eliminate it completely.

[effutuo101]

Scott up in colorado has a beautiful Martini 914 with fastened on flares. That is a great way to do it. When I added flares to my old car, I got them glued, then filled the gap between the metal and glass, then fiberglassed over the seam. Then filled again and painted. The car survived California, Colorado, and Washington State weather without issue. I sold the car, but I am sure that Rockin Old School will chime in.

[charliew]

It's all in the fastening technique, once it has cracked there is no patching the loose part, it will need to be taken off and done right with the best adhesives. Also the 914 is unibody and twists alot that stresses the outer panels also and will always be a issue with fg panels.

Also once it cracks moisture and dirt get in the crack and you know what happens next.

[Randal]

Rivets work great and look pretty good. Of course nothing looks better than metal to metal, IMHO, or expanded fenders, which I like the best.

[turnaround89]

It may have to do with the bondo used to blend the flares onto the car. Using regular bondo putty will crack a lot easier than a long strand bondo hair. When we put the complete 916 body kit on my car we used long strand bondo hair for the majority of the body work. Once we got everything blended well with bondo hair, we used a small amount of bondo putty to really make it blend smoothly and also putty sands smoother that bondo hair. The reason to use the bondo putty is because bondo hair doesn't spread out well, it likes to hold together(which leads to a stronger bond between metal and glass). Ive been driving the car every day and no cracks yet.

Hope this helps.

[raw1298]

I am getting ready to do the same thing to my car. The research I have done has led me to 3M 8115 panel bond adhesive to stick it to the car, and to fill with duraglass ( a filler with fiberglass strands) and a coat of plain filler to smooth out the finish. I have not startedas of yet, but I have been told that the 3M glue is used on many of the new cars being built today. I will do a thread when I start the process this summer.

[andys]

To bond the flares to the body, I used a product called PC-7, a two-part structural adhesive that is not brittle. As turnaround89 mentions, I too used the kitty hair Bondo on the majority of the blending.

If I were to do flares again, I'd go with steel. Perhaps tediuos to install, but at least you don't have to mess with so much blending as with the fiberglass flares.

Andys