Originally Posted by martini3

well, I was gonna chime in but RMMGS4 beat me to it.

To make a long story short, I always back into a parking space first and when I did that, I went in too far.

My rear WALD lip (which is bolted onto the OEM rear bumper), got caught on the edge of the concrete ledge.

When I pressed the gas, my car got stuck so I pressed harder and "Oh My",
I heard the horrible sound of a loud crack.

I went behind and looked at the damage and as a result, there were two massive cracks on the Fiberglass WALD rear lip.

The next day, I called a few body shops around SJ to repair the entire lip and they didn't go into specific details on how exactly they would repair it. They just seemed not that knowledgable in repairing aftermarket bodykit parts (fiberglass).

So I thought about it and asked my other non-Lexus friends and they suggested a Corvette body shop.

Well, I knew of a shop that I pass by frequently and I called them.

I met "Chico" who was specialized in fiberglass, primer and restoring classic vettes to current models.

I asked him if he could repair in a way that it would be like brand new again.

This is what he said:
- I will repair the cracks and make it stronger back to original form
- I will bond the cracks, sand and prime the entire lip cause it has other rocks chips and scratches. No sense of doing it in different spots when I can do the re-do the entire lip.
- I will re-edge the inside of the upper lip so that fit snug and tight
- I will use the OEM paint code to paint the entire lip (97-99%) match.
- I will use a professional two-sided tape so that there are no gaps around the perimeter of the lip flushed and snug up against the OEM bumper.

NOTE: The original bodyshop who installed my bodykit used silicon gel (liquid) at certain spots and as a result of that over the years, the kit would warp and there would be empty holes around the perimeter of the kit. I dindn't know that but "Chico" explained that to me and was right.

I asked him about his background and the tools at the shop:
- How long have u been doing this type of work? --> 25 years
- Do you have the necessary tools to get it done properly --> YES
- What else do you do at the shop? --> rip out old deteriorated vette interiors and put in new ones. I also do bodywork as well.

I found my man. Who would have guessed an import bringing in a high-end luxury car to get fiberglass work done. I was the only Lex among the sea of rare classis vette to newer ones at the shop.

- next day I brought my car to shop --> 30 minutes to un-install the bolt on rear WALD lip
- one week later, the repair, mold, sand and prime was done - he called to ask for money for the paint
- one week later, lip was installed (about an hour) and paid for the rest of the work - I was out the door.

The shop has on-going projects so he did some stages of the lip and waited for it to dry and worked on the other projects. He came back to the lip work and finished it a timely manner. In the beginning, I also said "NO RUSH" cause I didn't leave my car w/ him and he had all the time in the world to get it done.

I stopped by again to check on the work and "Chico" was working on re-doing an the interior of a '67 vette. I asked him about the that. He said, the owner paid $10K to another shop previously to have them do the interior. The owner was dissatissfied w/ the work and so now, the owner specifically brought it to this shop to have them do the job the right way. This is a Corvette Shop and that's what they do and specialize in.

That was the beauty of bolt-on bodykit parts. you can leave it at the shop and be on your merry way. So if you don't really have an immediate rush timeline, then the work will get done.

As far as the paint, no matter what body shop you go to, the paint will never be 100% match so you'll have to accept that.

But if you need more than fiberglass repair such as bodywork that involves metal, you'll have to ask them if they'll be able to do that and how long will your car be at the shop. It's kind of tight w/ all the vettes they have there. A few of the other workers came out and admired my car so i knew that it was cool w/ them. They didn't even say anything about an outside car at their shop cause they have the right people w/ the right tools to get work done properly.

But for minor fiberglass repair, it was like finding a needle in a haystack when I met this guy. I couldn't be happier w/ the price and workmanship.

Sorry, it was a long story but I had to describe the details cause I'm kind of OCD about these things. I know some of you also with the expensive modified aftermarket kits.

PM me if you have any further questions.

I've already gave a heads up to "Chico" so just mention my name "Tee" w/ the Lex and he'll know.

martini3