cayenne
07-19-2015, 02:06 PM
After reading all the posts about the Corsa's sandblasting the inner fender lips and taking a trip last weekend down some asphalt roads myself, I saw how many small chips were being picked up especially on the front wheel well directly behind the tire. I was inspired by John B's post regarding the boomerangs he made, and will purchase a set from him if he does a production run, but wanted to make something in the mean time that looked professional and would be stronger than paint protection film. Having owned another GEN V without the Corsa's I can definitely say the stickier tire does a great job of picking up debris and hurling it at the fender lips.
This was a simply DIY, and turned out very well for what I'm claiming as a first revision prototype. I looked around at various materials and decided to order some Kydex plastic. Ordered a 24" sheet of ~1/16" (.060 nominal) and ~1/8" (.118 nominal) to work with.
Step 1:
I lined the inner fender lip with 3M painters body tape after removing the 3 bolts that run the length of the lip. Once the tape covered all of the exposed paint you can take a permanent marker and run it along the edge to make an outline of the piece you want. I chose to make a template for the entire length of the front inner fender lip. Once you have this you can peel the tape away and stick it to a piece of thin cardboard or poster board. This will allow you to use an exacto knife and cut the final template out.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150719_134529_zps1a8p5iwp.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150719_134529_zps1a8p5iwp.jpg.html)
Step 2:
I taped the template to the .060" Kydex and traced out a left and right hand version with a paint pen. Use a fine tipped pen as this will give you a guide for cutting that isn't much thicker than the final width you are looking for. I didn't take a picture of this step, but you get the idea.
Step 3"
I used a scroll saw to cut the shape out. Go slow and you won't melt the Kydex back together. It behaves much like ABS when cutting. I cut to the very outside of the paint pen outline and then used an oscillating belt sander to fine tune the shape and sand through the paint pen mark. Any fine tuning can be done by hand with a rough sanding block but it's difficult to remove much material without speed... You could also use a jig saw with a fine tooth blade but I think it would be much harder and you would have to sand a lot more to get a smooth shape. After I drilled the three holes, I had to go back and oval them slightly with a dremel to allow me some adjustment so I could fine tune the positions.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150718_100926_zps1co203s8.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150718_100926_zps1co203s8.jpg.html)
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150719_114438_zpszx5hvsbx.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150719_114438_zpszx5hvsbx.jpg.html)
Overall, I'm happy, I need to go back and fine tune a few things, and then I'll make a final version with the thicker sheet. I plan on making a set for the rear as well, but the front was priority as they seem to take the worst beating. With the final version, I will likely add the thin double sided tape used for emblems to hold between the bolts. There is a slight bowing between holes based on bending to fit the radius. The way it's made I should be able to use John B's boomerangs in addition to provide additional exterior protection or a similar design could be worked in to the final one piece 1/8" version.
Just wanted to share incase someone wanted a simple DIY project. The material is cheap and I probably have about 2-2.5 hours invested.
This was a simply DIY, and turned out very well for what I'm claiming as a first revision prototype. I looked around at various materials and decided to order some Kydex plastic. Ordered a 24" sheet of ~1/16" (.060 nominal) and ~1/8" (.118 nominal) to work with.
Step 1:
I lined the inner fender lip with 3M painters body tape after removing the 3 bolts that run the length of the lip. Once the tape covered all of the exposed paint you can take a permanent marker and run it along the edge to make an outline of the piece you want. I chose to make a template for the entire length of the front inner fender lip. Once you have this you can peel the tape away and stick it to a piece of thin cardboard or poster board. This will allow you to use an exacto knife and cut the final template out.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150719_134529_zps1a8p5iwp.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150719_134529_zps1a8p5iwp.jpg.html)
Step 2:
I taped the template to the .060" Kydex and traced out a left and right hand version with a paint pen. Use a fine tipped pen as this will give you a guide for cutting that isn't much thicker than the final width you are looking for. I didn't take a picture of this step, but you get the idea.
Step 3"
I used a scroll saw to cut the shape out. Go slow and you won't melt the Kydex back together. It behaves much like ABS when cutting. I cut to the very outside of the paint pen outline and then used an oscillating belt sander to fine tune the shape and sand through the paint pen mark. Any fine tuning can be done by hand with a rough sanding block but it's difficult to remove much material without speed... You could also use a jig saw with a fine tooth blade but I think it would be much harder and you would have to sand a lot more to get a smooth shape. After I drilled the three holes, I had to go back and oval them slightly with a dremel to allow me some adjustment so I could fine tune the positions.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150718_100926_zps1co203s8.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150718_100926_zps1co203s8.jpg.html)
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/ULragin_cajun/20150719_114438_zpszx5hvsbx.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/ULragin_cajun/media/20150719_114438_zpszx5hvsbx.jpg.html)
Overall, I'm happy, I need to go back and fine tune a few things, and then I'll make a final version with the thicker sheet. I plan on making a set for the rear as well, but the front was priority as they seem to take the worst beating. With the final version, I will likely add the thin double sided tape used for emblems to hold between the bolts. There is a slight bowing between holes based on bending to fit the radius. The way it's made I should be able to use John B's boomerangs in addition to provide additional exterior protection or a similar design could be worked in to the final one piece 1/8" version.
Just wanted to share incase someone wanted a simple DIY project. The material is cheap and I probably have about 2-2.5 hours invested.