Hello & fender flare repair

[toxdoc]

New to the forum. I have a ‘94 FZJ80 that I’m working on. Got many projects!!

One small (but annoying) issue is a broken right rear door fender flare. All the other flares are intact. On the right rear door flare, the little plastic tab near the bottom has broken. I have tried to repair by JB welding plastic on there, twice. Both times broke when I tighten the screw on it. Has anyone successfully repaired this tab? I’d love a description. Also photos if possible.

BTW, I do realize that removing all flares is an option….

 

[CrabCake]

Welcome! I just did my 94's...note that the 93-94 are fiberglass and the 95 and later are a different material (I forget what). I used a fiberglass mat and resin kit...it's not pretty, but it seems to be solid! I ripped my front mud flap off recently, and figured I'd go with some caps instead, but still needed a good mounting lug in the OEM spot. Since my repair is unseen after being installed, I went heavy on the layers.

 

[CrabCake]

What I used…

 

[jpoole]

A fiberglass/resin repair is going to be a good option for most flare repairs. Plastic welding could also come in handy for some repairs or to re-attach pieces before adding fiberglass/resin reinforcement.

The kit above likely uses polyester resin which is ok but inferior to epoxy resin in this use case and most others.

Sometimes less is more in terms of layup and it can be good to match the flexibility of the patch to what it's bonding to since that will help reduce the risk of delamination. If the patch is really stiff then it will overstress the bonds when the assembly flexes but if the patch can flex it will put less stress on the bonds.

Surface prep is very important including thorough cleaning and scuffing up to help the resin adhere. Denatured alcohol, acetone and a few passes with a torch to burn off residue can all help with bonding depending on what you are working on.

Polyester is a lot more UV resistant than epoxy but both benefit from protection from sunlight.

 

[toxdoc]

Thank you! This is exactly what I need. I will definitely use resin to try a repair again.

@jpoole I have surfboard fiberglass resin. Is that good for the repair in your opinion? What you say about flex is key. I think that’s why my earlier repair failed.

What I’m trying to repair is the lower tab on the back of the flare. This has the screw hole that binds the flare to the door. Any creative ideas on how to recreate the tab with the fiberglass?

I will post pics if I am successful on making the repair….

Thanks!!!

 

[jpoole]

Post pics of what you are trying to fix.

There's a post on mud somewhere showing how someone epoxied stainless loops to the inside of the flare and then ran zip ties around the loop and through the stock mounting holes on the body. You may be able to search and find it but something like that may be useful though I'm not totally clear on what you are fixing.

"Surfboard fiberglass resin" could apply to a variety of formulations and types. I typically use medium to slow cure epoxy and then dial in the layup characteristics I'm aiming for with the fillers / cloth / etc. that I use. We are starting to split hairs here though and given the size, cost and scope (all small) of the repair in question I'd just use whatever resin you have and be ok with redoing it a few times if you need to until you get the repair right. I'd only seek out the "better" materials if you are going to have to buy stuff, in this case at least.

 

[toxdoc]

Post pics of what you are trying to fix.

There's a post on mud somewhere showing how someone epoxied stainless loops to the inside of the flare and then ran zip ties around the loop and through the stock mounting holes on the body. You may be able to search and find it but something like that may be useful though I'm not totally clear on what you are fixing.

"Surfboard fiberglass resin" could apply to a variety of formulations and types. I typically use medium to slow cure epoxy and then dial in the layup characteristics I'm aiming for with the fillers / cloth / etc. that I use. We are starting to split hairs here though and given the size, cost and scope (all small) of the repair in question I'd just use whatever resin you have and be ok with redoing it a few times if you need to until you get the repair right. I'd only seek out the "better" materials if you are going to have to buy stuff, in this case at least.

The part on the flare that I needed to repair is the internal tab on the bottom. This is where the screw holds the flare to the door. I did the repair with epoxy resin. Here’s photos of what I did. Turned out pretty good.

 

[jpoole]

Nice work with the fix!

If it breaks free you can extend the surface area of the bond further out to increase adhesion but if it doesn't take any hard knocks it looks like it could hold up well.