Anyone successfully bend their fiberglass top?

[Pitter Patter]

My fiberglass lid has a severe bend in the rear passenger side. See photo below. It looks like the new drip gutter is too wide but it fits the vehicle perfectly. The prior gutter had rotted and the vehicle had taken some hits so it was bent. Visibly you don’t see this unless you’re above the vehicle. The issue is that the rivets won’t clear the hard top side and thus they will be sandwiched in the new gasket and lead to leaks.

Has anyone heated, bent and cooled their fiberglass lid with success? Some fiberglass will allow this, some will break. So I’d love to know if anyone has experience before I try.

Thanks

 

[coinoperated40]

Maybe ask some that deal in fiberglass boats.
Seems like if it went in one direction, it could be caressed the other way.

 

[456z]

I have heated and successfully bent lots of fiberglass.
Gozzard parts and a Malloy mini-truck bed.
I prefer using an IR heat bulb. Take your time heating it up as that thin roof shouldn't take much heat to soften. Wear gloves.
I don't know if it's resin won't soften with heat but easy enough to find out. Put heat to it.

 

[Pitter Patter]

Thanks for the tip on the heat bulb. I’ll give it a try whenever I have some time and report back

 

[Its me shaneus]

Never been involved with trying to bend a cruiser top.

But years ago I woked in a machine shop that bought fiberglass slotted mats that a man stood on to keep him off off oily floors covered in metal chips. Usually these were oak strips. The mat was flat and the floor wasn’t perfect, the mat was in the air on one end about 1/2” and was a tripping hazard.

We tried heat, bending under weight (forklifts parked on each end overnight with a board in the middle, and maybe more, its been 40 years.

Nothing phased the mat. Still a giant teater totter. In the end it had to be cut and linked at the ends to make it conform to the floor.

I was impressed at how tough the thing was. Really ridgid.

 

[DeskJock]

Maybe prop up a 2x6 inside the top and press it out with the heat folks are talking about.