Mr Cull Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Recently I smashed the driver’s side skirt on my Supe. See pic: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1000107&l=523eb&id=591183224 As both skirts already had small cracks in them I decided to get some quotes to get them both repaired. I believe these are original OEM skirts I got a reasonable quote off one of the traders on here for repairing, spaying and fitting. But wanting to get a few more quotes I decided to visit a few local body shops. At the first one I went to the bloke initially started saying that some plastic can be welded and some can’t and he was not sure which type of plastic the skirts were made of. He then quoted me a good price for the repair which I thought was a bit surprising as he couldn’t tell if the plastic was weldable and that was the method he was going to use. This body shop did not get a great review from a friend who has been there before and was a small 2 man setup. I then visited a larger more professional body shop which has got a good reputation in the local area. The guy from there quite quickly came to the conclusion that the skirts were made from none weldable plastic and that if any weld job was performed on them then the crack may well re-shatter as soon as the skirt is put under any stress. He said there was no point quoting and I should try and source some replacements myself. So I’ve had conflicting reports on whether these can be repaired. I am reluctant to spend the money if the repair won’t last. I have searched the forum and found a couple of posts about skirt repairs but no real details. I’m interested to know if anyone else on here has either repaired skirts before or had theirs repaired? If so then what technique was used and has the repair lasted? Also does anyone one know if the plastic used to make original skirts is weldable? Any comments welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supe Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Dont know if they are 'weldable' or not, but I beleive they are made of Polyurethane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKMMK2N Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 If these are indeed OEM skirts then they are made from Polyurethane which is a thermoset plastic and therefore cannot be welded using conventional plastic welding techniques. The damage shown in the photo cannot be repaired by welding in my opinion. However, that doesn't mean the skirts cannot be fixed and polyurethane is an extremely strong plastic. As you will know these skirts cost a fortune new and second hand and I reckon it would be worth having a go at getting them fixed. The damage looks pretty severe though and it would really depend on the length of that crack. If these were mine and the crack was less than around four or five inches long I would (and I'm sticking my neck out here...) bridge the gap using fibreglass from the inside if possible and then repair using flexible bodyfiller and refinish as normal. Many would disagree with this as this type of repair would not be as strong as the plastic surrounding it which means that any slight pressure on this area will cause it to crack again and they are right but it is worth a try in my opinion (but then again I would be DIYing this so the cost would be minimal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superpaulwilson Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hiya, i repaired my OEM spats with this stuff. They were very badly damaged and even required part being rebuilt and the plastex was great to use. The final finish was almost perfect. I'll see if i can dig out the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superpaulwilson Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 These are before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superpaulwilson Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 these are after Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldy Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 the oem skirts are weldable i did mine with a bit of care and time none of the repairs have come back in 18 months if the being on the car hth simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Hardly suitable for technical. Do you see that Supra Chat? That's your new home, that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersupra3 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 had body shop weld and repair one of mine, was really badly shattered, looks and feels fine. only repaired about six weeks ago though.cost me £150 take off, weld,spray and refit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I had one welded and a quick kerb knock later it split again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turnerjr Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 i repaired a front bumper on a supra by plastic welding, my bodyshop has a special kit that includes a range of plastic rods that can be used to fill any gaps that are left, skim over both sides with fibreglass resin, fill and paint. its been fine for over a year now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madwoody1 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 i used stick o flex on the inside of my skirt and it seems to be ok been on the car and the crack has not returned, they use stick o flex to stick body parts on to cars so it is slightly flexible and it can be rubbed down and sprayed that might be an idea for a repair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyby Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 well i got the same problem. Mine was fixed whit fiberglass, but ther were noge problem to remove it. As it do not stick as well on polyurethane. I also try some "rubber" glue, it work, but was to flexible. Then i try some 2 component epoxy glue. It also did not stick on polyurethane . My last try was to fine a nother box og polyurethane, take it to smalle bits. Heading it up to where it was fluently. Then got it over the crack and let it cool down. It is working but not healty to inhale... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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