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Old 07-09-2011, 03:07 PM   #373 (permalink)
3-Wheeler
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Location: Southern WI
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AlienMobile - '00 Honda Insight
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Well, I've been busy working on "mods" to the Insight for the last two months or so.

Several of the mods required taking the tail off the car about 5 weeks ago. After removing the tail and standing up on the large side of the tail, water was dripping out from inside the fiberglass! I could not believe it at first.

After further inspection, water from winter's snow and springs rains were making their way into the foam/fiberglass through water soaked passageways of Elmers Glue and soggy light-weight spackling.

The Elmers glue did not seem to be expanded but the spackling sure was, and puffed out the fiberglass in numerous places.

As this point it was a easy decision to remove the entire layer of glass on the underside of the tail. The attached photo shows what it looked like after removal.



You can see other pictures here...

https://picasaweb.google.com/threewh...04201986179906

Summary to this point:

Anyone contemplating making a foam/fiberglass composite structure should take the necessary steps to ensure that the entire structure is water tight.

Of course, my flimsy excuse is that I simply ran out of time when the weather last fall turned cold as it usually does this time of year.

Jim.
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Last edited by 3-Wheeler; 07-09-2011 at 03:14 PM..
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