Advice On Paint (FRP) Fiberglass Body Kit - Ings +1

[SlickRicATL]

About a month ago I ordered an Ings + 1 body kit from My Japan Direct for my 21 Supra. It's the non-carbon FRP version. I reached out to a highly reputable shop and they told me they didn't want to touch it as fiberglass is the most difficult to work with. I was told it would cost me twice as much as i'd paid for it to pay someone to, prep and install given the difficulty. Has anyone had any experience working with a FRP kit? Any horror stories? I think Ings wouldn't have any fitment issues so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks, -

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[Meraki Autoworks]

It's not that bad, we sell FRP kits all the time, JDM products don't require much prep work.

-Josh

 

[lucky phil]

About a month ago I ordered an Ings + 1 body kit from My Japan Direct for my 21 Supra. It's the non-carbon FRP version. I reached out to a highly reputable shop and they told me they didn't want to touch it as fiberglass is the most difficult to work with. I was told it would cost me twice as much as i'd paid for it to pay someone to, prep and install given the difficulty. Has anyone had any experience working with a FRP kit? Any horror stories? I think Ings wouldn't have any fitment issues so I'm not too worried about that.

Thanks, -

It's all about the quality of the GRP. If it's straight and free of pin holes etc then it's no issue at all. I've made and painted a fair amount of glass components over the years including fuel tanks and never had an issue. The painter you asked obviously has more work than he can deal with and can cherry pick the jobs and doesn't see the need to take on more prep intensive work. Pretty common in everything these days. Take examples of the components to the next painter so he can see the quality before he quotes you.
If it's mediocre quality glass then it's not only prep intensive but after it's been in use and out in the sun for 6 months you can get issues from substrate defects that weren't visible during painting. Thats what your painter doesn't want the hassle with.

Phil

 

[SlickRicATL]

It's not that bad, we sell FRP kits all the time, JDM products don't require much prep work.

-Josh

Thank you for this!

 

[SlickRicATL]

It's all about the quality of the GRP. If it's straight and free of pin holes etc then it's no issue at all. I've made and painted a fair amount of glass components over the years including fuel tanks and never had an issue. The painter you asked obviously has more work than he can deal with and can cherry pick the jobs and doesn't see the need to take on more prep intensive work. Pretty common in everything these days. Take examples of the components to the next painter so he can see the quality before he quotes you.
If it's mediocre quality glass then it's not only prep intensive but after it's been in use and out in the sun for 6 months you can get issues from substrate defects that weren't visible during painting. Thats what your painter doesn't want the hassle with.

Phil

It's all about the quality of the GRP. If it's straight and free of pin holes etc then it's no issue at all. I've made and painted a fair amount of glass components over the years including fuel tanks and never had an issue. The painter you asked obviously has more work than he can deal with and can cherry pick the jobs and doesn't see the need to take on more prep intensive work. Pretty common in everything these days. Take examples of the components to the next painter so he can see the quality before he quotes you.
If it's mediocre quality glass then it's not only prep intensive but after it's been in use and out in the sun for 6 months you can get issues from substrate defects that weren't visible during painting. Thats what your painter doesn't want the hassle with.

Phil

Thank you. This is what I needed.

 

[Kiske]

Thank you for this!

This also isn't very true. Plenty of aftermarket parts, reputable JDM vendors or not) have crappy parts. Fiberglass is very rigid, all it takes is a twist in handling to crack it, whether or not the stress cracks in the fiberglass show up immediately are also an issue.

I recently experienced this with a $3000 dollar Varis bumper... in fact I can not think of a single fiberglass part from any vendor I have ever purchased that was as simple as scuff/sand and paint. They are 100% doable, but often yes, a hassle because a fix for fiberglass it to grind it down and re-fiberglass/re-bodywork it. Sometimes you can get away with just a little filler work but, it will always come back.


If you can there are a few things you can do beforehand to save yourself some money. Preinstall the parts to verify fitment. This is where original parts usually shine vs, knockoffs. Check for basic fitment and align panel gaps yourself. With the part on then take it to the shop. This proves that A the kit is worth bothering with, and will show them exactly what they need to do to cosmetically get it to pass inspection. This also will save you money as the initial fitment or install involves a lot of test fitting, working, reaming holes, drilling and removing- all an an hourly rate. If a shop can have that removed from the equation it already saves them some headache.

 

[SlickRicATL]

This also isn't very true. Plenty of aftermarket parts, reputable JDM vendors or not) have crappy parts. Fiberglass is very rigid, all it takes is a twist in handling to crack it, whether or not the stress cracks in the fiberglass show up immediately are also an issue.

I recently experienced this with a $3000 dollar Varis bumper... in fact I can not think of a single fiberglass part from any vendor I have ever purchased that was as simple as scuff/sand and paint. They are 100% doable, but often yes, a hassle because a fix for fiberglass it to grind it down and re-fiberglass/re-bodywork it. Sometimes you can get away with just a little filler work but, it will always come back.


If you can there are a few things you can do beforehand to save yourself some money. Preinstall the parts to verify fitment. This is where original parts usually shine vs, knockoffs. Check for basic fitment and align panel gaps yourself. With the part on then take it to the shop. This proves that A the kit is worth bothering with, and will show them exactly what they need to do to cosmetically get it to pass inspection. This also will save you money as the initial fitment or install involves a lot of test fitting, working, reaming holes, drilling and removing- all an an hourly rate. If a shop can have that removed from the equation it already saves them some headache.

Appreciate the heads up and ideas. Would you suggest me doing the test fitting/install and leaving it all on for paintwork? Is it better to paint the parts off the vehicle?

 

[Kiske]

100% paint the parts off. The only time they should be only the vehicle is of they are doing a blends on a difficult color like Absolute Zero.

 

[lucky phil]

Appreciate the heads up and ideas. Would you suggest me doing the test fitting/install and leaving it all on for paintwork? Is it better to paint the parts off the vehicle?

Fitting it up first is a very good idea, pretty much essential really to make sure the fit is correct and any fine tuning is done. It's then a good idea if possible to leave the car in the hot sun for a few days as the glass will "adjust" to a degree with heat. Fitting glass race fairings to race bikes you often have the panels stressed a bit due to variations in fitment and manufacture but engine heat relaxes them and they are way better when you remove them the first time.
You can also use a heat gun to help get the fitment right on manageable panels like guard extensions. You can heat areas till the glass is at a temp where it's just at the point where it's too hot to hold your hand on then bolt it up or load it until it cools and it will reshape to a better fit. You may need to do this a few times.

Phil

 

[garudathree]

only partially true. all depends on if the matrix is thermoset or thermoplastic. the cheap stuff are usually thermoplastic.

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