Well, I was able to find some, but not here in the states, in Malaysia. They need a little bit of repair and new paint. What do you think, will it be worth the $500 to have them shipped here (then repaired/painted) or should I stick with my Duraflex skirts and just have them repaired/painted? I'm weighing both sides of the question and am undecided.
Topic starter
Posted : October 14, 2019 4:52 pm
Is that 500 shipped?
Seems like even having the Duraflex, you're still thinking about the genuine TRD ones. Might be a good spend for peace of mind.
How often do you make impact onto the Duraflex ones? Maybe look at it in terms of cost to repair/repaint and at what frequency.
Posted : October 14, 2019 5:48 pm
Stay away from duraflex unless you like fiberglass work. I got rid of my side skirts and bought a pair of used original urethane TRD that needed cracks to be repaired and I’m much better for it.
The duraflex will show a wavy finish once its painted because the mold is not true. It was an eye sore when ever the light hit it.
Just pay up and save yourself a ton of trouble.
Posted : October 14, 2019 6:21 pm
duraflex is definitely wavy out of the shipping box.
However, if you're willing to put in the effort, you can use a block sanding tool to level the waves out, fill, block down, prime, block down, etc. until the waviness is gone. It's almost a requirement when it comes to old classic cars to do body panels this way (even OEM panels). it's no stretch to apply the same method to make some cheap cruddy fberglass parts look good if you're doing it yourself. Paying a shop to do it? nope. don't even bother. go OEM.
03 spyder
Posted : October 16, 2019 7:50 pm
I actually tried to get the waves out by block sanding it but it was so bad that it was going to go though the gel coat so I stopped. It turned out better but still wavy.
It would certainly require an experienced fiberglass man to fix them as its out of most peoples capability to get true. The only redeeming quality is that the side skirts are more flexible than the real TRD which are thin urethane but the downside is it will crack is you hit a curb.
Posted : October 17, 2019 8:57 am
Well, I went ahead and pulled the trigger. I will probably get the TRD side skirts around Thanksgiving. They have a couple of scratches, some minor and some deep. Plus a mounting tab is cracked. Any recommendations on the best way to repair them? Bondo, fiberglass ?? Maybe epoxy that mounting tap with a small washer?
All the damages that happened to my Duraflex side skirts were my own fault (three on the right and two on the left) Misjudging driveways, parking curbs and parking islands. I am much better now 😊 and getting better daily. I do not want to try and replace the TRD skirts so I will be very careful. Here is the Spyder when I first purchased it in Jan of 2014. It does not look that pretty right now.
Topic starter
Posted : October 17, 2019 6:09 pm
The red ones I received needed work. There were a few 3-4 inch cracks on the underside and one on the mounting tab.
I used Something like this.
This stuff will not only fix the crack it will also fill gaps. I would glue it from the inside and join the crack together. Use a clamp if you have to get the edges to fit. After its glued for a few days go over the part again and this time use the glue on the inside and widen the spread of the glue (not too much) to give it structure.
One thing to keep in mind and that is the red 3M tape that is applied will be the majority of the strength not the mounting tabs. I also added screws on the ends where it meets with the wheel arch because that is how the Duraflex skirts mount and figured its gives it more support.
Posted : October 18, 2019 9:31 am