Glass Fender Peeps/ Bodyshop Folk… What’s my issue?

[CoronaRaptor]

If you see light through, better get a refund on those fenders!! lol

 

[scarrjack]

What brand fenders do you have Tom? I am interested as I have some Glassworks on order, I plan on having my local Shelby shop do the install as I know the owner and he will be very particular about them.

 

[Yukon Joe]

That beautiful truck ain't no street queen, that's for sure. Lol.... I'm pretty sure theses are the Fiberwerx fenders from the group buy. Have you contacted the manufacturer to see what they say?

Yukon Joe

 

[Sitdown]

Thanks for all the responses guys, let me know what info i'm leaving out

Fenders were new, installed this January. They were not dropped that I know of, or repaired for any reason, and were boxed well when in transit. Were a fresh batch I believe, so unlikely they were kicked around a warehouse etc. I don't see a case where anyone could have backed into me and not hit my bumper which does protrude out, and this would have occurred this weekend which is more unlikely.

Most of the shop prep that I speak of was relating to getting even spacing/alignment between doors and headlights, so mostly aesthetics. Only filler that I believe would come into play were in the headlight edges opening (which would not have been up near the brow where cracks are), and one of the corners by the a-pillar which he "repaired" prior to installing and has held up. This type of work (offroad apps) is not traditional for the shop, more of a insurance fix place, but w/ 2 shops in biz for over 40yrs i'd imagine this isn't out of their realm. Some pics of the process are below

I removed the headlights to peak inside last night. From the inside no obvious cracks are visible, all looks normal. I did do the flashlight test as mentioned from the exterior, and looking from inside. Behind paint I obviously see nothing, over the cracks light clearly comes through to expose where the paint is cracked. Would this indicated the gelcoat has cracked? confirmed all the mounts and are factory bolt up spots. As for the headlight moving, it is held in with the 3 OE bolts the rear brace was not used. If headlight shifting were an issue, i would expect the area around the light to be damaged, which doesn't look to be the case, just above the brow.

Had not mentioned a brand, as i'm not out to bash anyone, or looking for a handout. They are the fiberwerx fenders, got thru the GB. One tire cost more than these fenders so that less an issue than the ~$1k into the prep n paint. I did reach out to travis@fw after getting the hole (mostly to ask what i could do to prevent, bedliner inside etc), figured i would get some more info/knowledge before proceeding, especially if this were paint related. Again this truck gets used hard, so i'm ok if this is part of the game. It did see a couple hard front G-outs this weekend, but has seen much worse. Mostly curious about the cause to figure out what route i go from here...

some pics of process... scroll 1/4 way down
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f65/sitdowns-build-27220/index7.html

 

[CoronaRaptor]

Wow dude, you definitely have a lot of fun with your raptor, "balls to the walls". Its great to see you using your truck that way, don't think many would constantly. I am wondering if you could linex the inside to give them some more strength, but I think you are beating on the truck (not saying too much) and fibreglass isn't going to last forever. Look at those trophy trucks etc, with the full bodies, they lose panels all of the time. I had one of my stock fenders move against the a pillar after a run from constant whoops, but didn't crack. So those cheap little bolts that save weight aren't as rigid as a guy might think, holding the fenders in place.

 

[Sitdown]

If there is just too much flex in these fGlass fenders to paint, maybe wrap is the way to go, and im ok with that. Most guys I know with fG fenders are wrapped, so it makes sense. Although im sure there are plenty of trucks on this forum who hit it much harder than I with painted fG fenders

 

[CoronaRaptor]

I would do some easy testing of the fitment and movement of the fenders. Take a dab of model paint (or equivalent) and place across a couple of fender bolts, making sure the paint hits part of the bolt and part of the fender. I would then put some grease (thick paste) along the edge of the fender only at the "A" pillar location and the front by the recess for the headlight, this way you'll know if any of these areas are rubbing or moving.