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I finally found the best way to repair a rubber spoiler
alright guys, i was bored and had the bondo left from my paint prep and was really just playing around. But the final product came out awesome. Check it out i'll show step as the pics are on.
Supplys Needed:
-Bondo (recommend the bondo quick fix)
-Black paint
this is R/C car body paint and it was all i could use becaause i didn't want to spray near my brand new paint job
-Sand Paper 80 grit and 150 grit
-Paint Brush
-Some kinda cleaner, maybe alcahol or what i used, acetone
Step One:
Take whatever previous repair you had in there out of there
Step Two:
clean it with some kinda cleaner such as acetone to get the surface to be able to glued
Step Three:
Get your Bondo Quick Fix and fill the entire hole with bondo, dont be stingy about the bondo get the entire thing full.
in this pic the bondo is a different color because i had already sanded it down but air bubles were inside of the bondo and needed to be filled.
I recommend let this step sit for a couple days becuase you want to make sure it cures all the way through, because once you paint it, it cant get more sun. So let this step sit for 2 days max.
Step Four:
At first sand it down with 80 grit to get it down to the size and level needed. Then once its down to the proper level sand it nice and smooth with the 150 grit.
Step Five:
Alright i recomend a flat black because the stuff i used was realy shiny and didn't really match the rubber.
Step Six:
Set back let it dry and admire all your work, looks great now doesn't it.
Not to rain on your parade, but the end result wasn't all that.
If you didnt want to replace the spoiler, the correct way to repair that would be to use one of these : click here
Next time you do a repair on a spolier, take it off the car so you can spray it with paint without the fear of getting overspray on the rest of the car.
Not trying to insult you, just giving some advice!
well see i saw that product only said it did plastic the spoiler is rubber and i'm not sure if it will still work. And i did this without having to buy anyhting and its still pretty cheap todo. And its more depandable because with that weld kit it will always rip again eventually, since mine was not pulled shut thers no pressure on it at all. SO mine will last longer.
yeah but yours really doesnt look good....maybe if you sanded it down more.....but your car looks better with no wing on it then that broken *** pos....having something like that on my car would make me want to cry every time i saw it....but im f'in picky so....
well d00ds i'm onyl 16 and on a very limited budget, i have not even near enough money to buy a fiberglass spolier, especially after my recent paint job and brake fix. They are $400. If someone has a fibergalss one they would like tos ell to me for cheap then please do so now becuase i need one.
i turned 17 a month ago and am piss poor right now (my car totally bankrupted me i should have bought a cheaper one so i had some cash left over but she was too beautiful ) so i understand where youre coming from. But like i said your car looks 100 times better with no spoiler then with that hunk of crap on it.
i know what it means to be broke. i just got my first job, and it is awesome to have the extra money around. as for the spoiler, nice effort, but it just didnt come out good. kinda like when i tried to fix my busted down headliner. there is no way to get around the fact the you need a new one.
You guys are brutal, it looks better than all split and cracked and stuff...jeez.
I just had mine painted over when i get enough extra cash i'll be getting the fiberglass spoiler but for now i am a broke college student.
Good Job dude, looks good.
better than leaving it split.
__________________ MNformula350 on Fquick <-Click <<<<<< 1990 Pontiac Firebird Formula 350 >>>>>>>
I have to agree that the temp fix makes it look better than leaving it broke. Here is another cheap solution I have used for years. 5 Min. Epoxy. Just let it dry really good prior to sanding and get a good layer of primer on it. I had a teacher in autobody college tell me that if it looks better then befor you started then you did a good job and if it's yours and you are happy with it that is all that matters. Keep being creative thats what made auto sports what they are today
I think you did some solid work there, kidrcth. I doubt you'll get much commendation here anyway, since perfection is what drives most positive comments.
I often see cars with large dents or broken pieces and wonder why they don't at least do something to make it look better. I'm sure with a bit more practice you'll be able to make the fix look seamless. Keep it up!
There's a difference between something that isn't "perfection" and something that's half-assed. I mean jesus. A 5 year old with a handful of play dough and finger paints can fix a spoiler too.
Maybe it's because I see the "potential" in cars, but I'd much rather see something that's in need of repair than something that's already had a half assed repair done that's going to result in 2x more work to do right the next time.
I have to disagree with your decision to not pull the tear back together. Looks a little to messed up otherwise. At least take the wing off and rattle can the whole thing one solid color...
I drilled small holes in my wing (which looked much like yours before the work) and used the drilled holes to "stitch" the slit closed using mechanics wire while the JB Weld was drying in the cracks. I let it dry for 3 days just to be sure it would hold, and it has for over 6 months now.
I'm just now getting ready to finish it off with a little cotton mesh and fiberglass resin over the outside as a shell. If things go well, I may put an extra tall lip under the new mesh too... Make it look kinda like a Mecham wing crossed with a stock areo wing...
hey thanks guys. But my third break light never was on my spoiler, well as far as i can tell. Its on the inside of the hatch. I've never seen another third gen with this, did it come stock?
I already had a silicone repair previously but it sucked and the wind would pull it off. So this time i wante something reasonably permanent. Now i got it. You can only really tell that there is a repair by looking at the angle in the pics guys. Every other angle it is justa different color but you haveto look hard to see the lines a where the bondo ended. It actually looks really nice, its rained so much here in florida that the shine is going away, like i expected, and its looks better now.
Originally posted by kidrcth hey thanks guys. But my third break light never was on my spoiler, well as far as i can tell. Its on the inside of the hatch. I've never seen another third gen with this, did it come stock?.
In '86 only, the F-bods had the third brake light at the top of the rear hatch glass. Later years have it mounted with the spolier and previous years didn't have third brake lights from the factory.
I agree with you guys that a new fiberglass spoiler would look better, but at $400+ delivered it's a friggin joke. I'd rather modify some other wing to fit... hell, I'd even buy a ***** wing over spending that kind of money for $30 in f-glass materials...
Jim85IROC, I do understand what you're saying. I just thought some were being a little too hard on the guy....because I respect his effort and personally I think it doesn't look too bad. Especially since we all probably know what it's like to be young and broke, and have a wonderful f-body you want to fix up.
Last edited by BirdsofPray; 11-07-2003 at 01:33 PM.
It looks good For now man! I understand the money thing..Im 16 also it sucks to not have ne money to buy the stuff u want you jus have to work with what u got until u get enough to buy what u need or want my opinion is it looks better then before :rockon:
i still feel no spoiler would look better then the busted up one. Either way i think people would be much easier on you if you refrained from such titles as "i found the BEST way to repair a rubber spoiler" when you clearly did a half rate job, even though it may look better then before.
Not to just bring up an old topic, but my 91 Formula also has the 3rd brake light on the inside of the hatch glass... so the report that they were all on the wing in later years is not completely accurate.
I also agree that kidrcth's repair looks better than leaving the ugly-a** gaping crack back there. Not too bad a job for a young guy with little or no money to work with (until he can do it better or "right" in other folks' opinions). It's his car, so give him some slack.
I've also go a cracked wrap-around spoiler, but mine is cracked up towards the front on the passenger side, about 6 inches from the front point. I suspect someone leaned on it too heavily without realizing it was sorta fragile. I intend to do some little bondo or epoxy repair on mine to see if it will work, and I'm pretty much a perfectionist. If anyone has tried this I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions and comments on the finished work.
epoxys dont work. Before that idea i tried 5 different epoxies and nothing. I'd take the clamps off after a day and then 5 minutes klater it would come apart. Theres no way to fix that way. THe bondo works well. Still there and now the paint has faded and seems to be looking jsut like the rest.
Just thought I'd mention that my 91 is not the rubber type of spoiler, mine is the hard fiberglass kind that wraps around the rear window on my 91 Formula....
ummm why would anyone want to remove the thirdgen break light. It is a good safety feature. I went fro 2 years without mine working, i'm surpirsed i never got in an accident. But i fiannly found out why, a wire was snipped and when i fixed it, it still didn't work so i had to relocate all the wires, so both the wires go through the gas shocks and that makes it work even when its up.I like it this way better. Now i'm able to make that trunck light go off when the hatch is closed. I drained my battery last nigth with that thing, so now the hatch area interior light dont coem on when the hatch is closed. Very nice setup i rigged.
hey man. I'm 17, and i understand the whole "money issue", but your job needs some work. Sure you may not care what I think about it, but i just think it'd bother the hell out of me. I could never leave it like that. A little more sanding, and make it run with the rest of the spoiler, and it has a lot of potential.
I've been learning through many mess-ups, you just chose to share them with us.
Keep up the good work
Bondo = crap, it's like spreading crap all over your car, painting it and selling it before is falls off, lol
The spoilers is a remove and replace part anyway.
) so i understand where youre coming from. But like i said your car looks 100 times better with no spoiler then with that hunk of crap on it. 
