I've got a cheap fairing panel that needs a lot of tlc. Was going to be fixing some major scratches and some cracks but was wondering what type of plastic Ducati used for early era Supersports? Is it even plastic?
I have a OEM half fairing from an early model and I reckon it is glassfibre, having just done some repairs to it.... AL
Even though the inside is smooth (a bit sort of 'overspray rough') you can clearly (nearly) see the glass mat in this bit of damage.....the Desmo decal tells you it an early one. AL
If it a crack rather than a chip. filler probably won't hold it.......I have used both Rapid Araldite and glassfibre resin (and finished off with filler)......I think out of the two, Araldite is easier to deal with....not as hard to sand down as resin and the resin is also clear so if you have a through hole, you can see light through it even when painted. AL.
Nah, I've deep gashes to the fairing. Need to feel those in but have no straight through holes. There is a crack at the indicator section but it was repaired. However where the repair is, there's a huge gouging along it, so I need to fill that and mould/sand it to shape. Fibreglass the way to go? Was hoping it was ABS as I can find filler for that more readily as I'd like to make a start this weekend. edit: This looks like the stuff? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_194319_langId_-1_categoryId_165625
The product you indicate isn't right for the outside of the panel....it is effectively what the panel is made from (if it is a glassfibre panel).....if you use this on the outside it will be an absolute b*****d to get a decent finish, because it ends up drying like the inside of cheaper glassfibre panels and it is hard so sanding is difficult, leaving you with tiny strands of fibre at the edges of the repair. The stuff you show is best for making reinforcing patches on the inside.....I have been using it on the two panels I have here....If you simply have scratches and gouges you should be able to use Davids Isopon P38 and a filler primer. Can you post a couple of pics of the panel (inside and out) and are there any numbers etc printed on the inside? AL.
I need to fill the area at the start of the crack on the indicator but was thinking about soldering the crack and the sanding down. It's already been repaired before by previous owner. Managed to get a shot of the number on the inside plastic.
OK....that's an OEM panel. The repair that has already been done is the same stuff as the product you indicated.....imagine trying to rub that down if it was on the outside! However.....having just had to do an almost identical repair to the half fairing in my pic (the particular crack doesn't show in the pic) I would reinforce yours from the inside with the mat and resin, give it a good rub down with a coarse grit paper, then wipe some P38 over it......which you can rub down with a finer paper. For the outside, I would rake out the crack so you get a decent groove (I would do it after doing the inside) and then runs some resin (or Rapid Araldite) down the crack.....trim off any excess before it goes completely hard, then finsih off with p38 and filler primer (or several primer coats just over the repair to get rid of pinholes etc). AL
Right finally got all the pics work! Thanks Aquebus. There's a couple more cracks that seem to be cracks in the paint only. I think I'll file them down/chip them out and filler them. Thanks so much.
Break open that big dirty area at the end of the crack and see if you can see white fibres....that way you will know if it is glassfibre.........and if I were you, I would drill right through on the crack every 9mm with a 2mm bit.......but use Araldite Rapid if you do that, otherwise you can get air bubbles in the resin which for some unknown reason decide to show themselves just after you have put the top coat on as the panel warms up.....lovely little red balloons......not 99, but enough of them. AL.
Thanks Arquebus. These are the cracks I was referring to; To me it looks like it's the paint and not the structure itself? Seems fine on the underside. Was thinking about chipping these out and filling. Out of curiousity, with your repaired fairings are you respraying the whole panel?
