The spat on the 02 E825 that I recently bought has holes broken through where it attached to the mounts in front of the rear tires. My hope is to repair the holes using fiberglass repair or plastic welding but unsure of the spat material. Looks like some type of plastic with a gel coat. I’m sure others have had to do repairs. Any input on materials or recommended approaches would be appreciated. I’ve done fiberglass repairs on boats and snowmobiles so have a little experience with that. No experience with plastic welding but I’m sure I could find someone locally who does, Thanks.
Do a search for Painting a Gem.
Some tips on fixing cracks
Thank you. Searches I did didn’t produce anything but well def try that.
Howdy
I have successfully repaired my spat with the same issues you are describing. I used polyester resin and both fiberglass matt & cloth depending on the location. The matt was more effective in the corners. I first cleaned the areas, then sanded. I put large, 1 1/2 inch fender washers on both sides of the repair area to reinforce. The fiberglass can be sanded and painted when finished. I also made sure I put rubber cushions between the metal GEM frame and the spat to reduce vibration and eliminate the spat to metal frame connection. In my case I used the softest shock absorber rubber bushings I had available. My GEM lives offroad and I have had no further cracking or breaking where I did the repairs which basically was at each connection point. One last note of interest. Make sure you thru bolt and use nylock nuts. Even when using the nylock nuts there is alot of vibration and I’ve had a nylock nut fail but again my terrain isn’t the smoothest…Best of luck!
Hasta,
markos
Thanks Markos. I’m leaning toward the fiberglass method because I’ve worked with it before. Glad to hear it was successful for you. I’ll post info as I do mine so others can see the outcome. Might do glass on one side and try ABS welding on the other.
Pat