Reproduction Fiberglass Guide
Fiberglass components are commonly used in vehicle restoration because they can reproduce complex shapes while remaining lightweight and durable. Because fiberglass parts require fitting, preparation, and finishing during the restoration process, there are a few important things to understand before installation.
Professional Fitment
Every restoration project is unique. Vehicle age, previous collision repairs, factory production tolerances, body movement, and earlier restoration work can all affect fitment. Minor trimming, filling, sanding, shimming, drilling, or adjustment may be required to achieve the best possible fit.
Test Fit Before Finishing
Always test fit fiberglass panels before primer, paint, or final installation. Do not remove or permanently modify the original panel or surrounding body structure until the replacement component has been received and its fitment has been verified. Completing all necessary adjustments before finishing helps ensure the best possible fit and appearance.
Normal Panel Characteristics
Fiberglass components may exhibit small chips, minor surface imperfections, mold marks, uneven edges, or variations in the gel coat finish. These characteristics are typical of unfinished fiberglass parts and are normally corrected during standard preparation. Fiberglass components are not supplied in a finished, ready-to-install condition and may require filling, sanding, and other surface preparation before primer and paint.
Quality Inspection
Due to the fragile nature of fiberglass products, each component is inspected for major damage before shipment and carefully packaged to help minimize shipping damage. Minor gel coat imperfections or small chips that can be corrected during normal preparation are not considered product damage.