FG Bumper Filler help

[slaphappyjacko]

I am putting on my fiberglass bumper fillers from gbody parts (VERY fast service BTW). I had no expectation of them bolting straight on.

I keep reading how easy the rears are. I am not finding this to be the case. The dimples for the drill holes were a fair bit off on the passenger side. That just required the holes to be carefully expanded. No big deal.

I have the driver's side rear lined up fine with the body lines, but it doesn't tuck under the tail light The passenger side filler tucks under neatly.

There never were fillers on my car so I don't know exactly what it is supposed to look like, but I assume it is supposed to tuck under the tail light bezel at least a bit.

I started to get frustrated so I called it a night and sleep on it. I didn't want to start sanding them down or cutting until I know for sure.

Anyone have any experience or pics? Pictures of factory lines would be helpful.

I will try to post pics of what I am looking at tonight.

Thanks in advance.

-sean

 

[bigbrother715]

i also purchased bumper fillers from gbodyparts but i received them damaged two weeks ago. received them in four days but one was broken. I was not at all impressed and assumed they would be just like stock, only fiberglass.
currently i am waiting to hear from fed-ex as they have filed a claim for the damaged one. dont know how they can blame poor packing on their part on fed-ex but in the meantime i am stuck with a unusable piece and no way to put my car together.
first time buyer from gbody and i can guarantee it is my last!!
anyone know where to get quality body fillers?
thanks steve

 

[jlat]

hello people; Slaphappy, any pics of your car without the fillers and bumpers mounted?
thanks
IBB

 

[slaphappyjacko]

One of mine had a decent sized chip/crack on it too. I planned to just epoxy it or give it a dab of bondo and take care of it during painting. They would look terrible if you just put them straight on. They came pretty scratched up.

I honestly would have sent them back, but I find the idea of fixing it more palatable than standing in line at the post office, waiting for a new set (that would likely look the same) and eating the shipping.

I took pictures...now I just have to find my camera...

jlat:

here is the original post I found my car on. You can kind of see what it looks like. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/cars-sale/281662-87-gn-7500-a.html I still get thumbs up on it when I drive around, but I am eager to get these fillers on. I will post more pics when I figure out where the hell I put my camera.

 

[slaphappyjacko]

Ok here are the pics.

Not in love with them.

 

[bigbrother715]

they look just like mine only i am not a body guy and i refuse to pay someone to "fix" a new part. guess the only thing to do now is lower my expectations to rock bottom then i wont be upset. guess this is just an expensive lesson and i will just have to keep on lookin.
steve

 

[slaphappyjacko]

they look just like mine only i am not a body guy and i refuse to pay someone to "fix" a new part. guess the only thing to do now is lower my expectations to rock bottom then i wont be upset. guess this is just an expensive lesson and i will just have to keep on lookin.
steve

I know what you mean. I am afraid the driver side one is beyond repair. I don't think the material is thick enough to be sanded down to make it work.

I still can't believe they would sell them as "passable for average GN's" That is total BS.

I am too busy to mess with it right now, but I will probably just have to send it back. If I start cutting on it and can't make it work then I can kiss my money goodbye.

I honestly can't afford the $20 return shipping right now especially if they tell me it is how it is supposed to be and just send it back.

It sucks too because there aren't that many vendors for our cars. I still have a lot of money to spend on little stuff...I have dealt with Kirban's (minor crack on a new air dam. Not worth me eating return shipping), Cotton's (no problems, bought remote oil kit) and gbodyparts.

They were fast, and I am sure they are a decent business, but there is no way they put those things in the box thinking they looked good. They should delete "passable" from the description.

I can assure you that every member of the local Buick club that asks will get my honest opinion. Seek fillers elsewhere.

 

[bigbrother715]

my eye sight must be way better because they wouldnt even pass muster on a beater car!! good luck getting them to take them back. i cant even get them to ship me a left rear to replace the damaged one while they try to blame their poor shipping on fed-ex, all i get is "i filed a claim with fed ex so you will just have to wait for them" that was 2 weeks ago. twice she has said she would call me back and let me know what is going on and never does. customer service is a joke!! they have your money so you are just out of luck. in this economy can you seriously afford to treat people poorly and stay in business??? you just have to believe in karma!
steve

 

[Mark E.]

Just curious if you were expecting a nice shiny coat of black paint on them?

I was pretty impressed with the set I bought a few years ago. Went on in no time.

I did have to fill one spot on one of the rears that was a little low, but that was easier than sending it back. A coat of paint and that was it.

Mark E.

 

[bigbrother715]

Just curious if you were expecting a nice shiny coat of black paint on them?

I was pretty impressed with the set I bought a few years ago. Went on in no time.

I did have to fill one spot on one of the rears that was a little low, but that was easier than sending it back. A coat of paint and that was it.

Mark E.

i was expecting what was advertised "good enough for the average GN" i assume the average GN is not cracked, gouged and has blemishes and been sanded on. i knew i was going to have them painted just wasnt figuring on having to have them repaired. i wish i would have bought mine when you did because the fillers i got are not the fillers you received steve

 

[slaphappyjacko]

Just curious if you were expecting a nice shiny coat of black paint on them?

I expected that they could have been handled from the factory to my door without excessive scratching. I don't think they were damaged in shipping. I think it is from careless handling in the warehouse (maybe at danko not at gbodyparts)

These may have been in a warehouse since you bought yours a few years ago and have picked up plenty of scars.

I didn't expect them to be cracked.

I was planning to have to sand them and paint them and was prepared for fitment issues.

I don't think anyone expects to have to repair new products.

I didn't expect them to be "passable" even though they were explicitly sold as such.

I didn't expect for them to float out of the box and install themselves, but it would be nice if they resembled new quality.

I make $10.50 an hour. These things cost $255 to my door and will require several hours to be "passable" on my average GN.

I will make them work because I have to, but if I was looking at them in person I wouldn't have bought them.

The point of my original post was not to bad mouth the vendor or cry because they aren't pretty enough. It is to ask if anyone else has had this problem. If they have, were they able to fix them? If not, what was their experience.

With work and school (no days off) this means my GN will sit undrivable (no bumpers) until I can find time and energy to finish this. I have another car so I don't care, but if someone reads this in the future they should know what to expect.

I'm glad you didn't have any problems.

I looked at it again, and I think I can sand down a couple of places and make them fit. Once they are painted and polished they will look fine.

 

[Thumper]

Gentlemen, just to answer some questions about my experience with danko fiberglass fillers, I have fitted, painted and installed about a dozen sets now, none of which have come from gbody.com.

Every set has had to have some filler to touch up areas similiar to those pictured above, most have had the driver side taillight fitment issues and some have had poor fitment on the pass side also, I use a washer to space out the bottom of the taillight a little, if you do not they can crack the bezel when tightened down. They seem to touch on the drivers and pass side 90 bend of the taillight area about 1 inch in either direction and on the 90 bend of the tailight going into the licence plate area about 1 inch toward the plate.

I have tried to file down the edges so they will tuck under the taillights better, but there is just not enought material, even tried to file the taillight bezel to make it thinner, it all helps to fit better but it seems the driver side mold may be off a little bit.

The scatches in the gel coat are common, very common. All the fillers I have dealt with were sanded with 400 grit wet with a block then primed and painted. I may have seen one or two sets that may have been able to go on right out of the box.

I do feel that if danko were to spend a little more time cleaning the molds and making adjustments for a better fit they would definitly increase the price.

By the way, the final fit should be done with the bumpers installed, mark the bumper fillers where they can be notched so not to rub the inner portion of the bumpers and mark the height you want on your slotted holes to help get it right before you scratch the fresh paint.

I will continue to deal with dankos short comings, as the others have impressed me even less.


Thanks
Bill

 

[slaphappyjacko]

Thank you so much, Bill.

You just helped me out a lot.:biggrin:

The lack of material to remove makes it hard. I was thinking of carefully sanding both the inside surface of the bezel and the offending edge of the filler, but there still just isn't that much material there.

I will try doing a little sanding and a little shimming. All it takes it one little spot to keep it from getting under there.

This will be no problem. I'm going to mount these POS fillers so clean gbody's business doubles.

They aren't THAT bad.

At the end of the day the strategy is "by any means necessary, so long as it pleases the eye." I will just make a labor of love out of prepping them.

Only "problem" now is I'm thinking about stripping and painting my bumpers and header panel (and fixing cracks). It might be sitting there for a bit. BUT it can't get me in trouble when it is parked.

I will post pictures of whatever I come up with.

Thanks again.

 

[SPOOLFOOL2]

Use the search...

This issue has been beat to death like a pinata at a mexican kids birthday party. These are not "plug-n-play" items. They are a very nice starting point to "make" very nice fillers that will outlast the soft factory ones.

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/sh...air/299465-bumper-fillers-abs-fiberglass.html

Happy spooling.

Mike Barnard

 

[Mark E.]

This thread made me go out and take another look at mine. They are not perfectly equal below the tail light just like your picture shows.

I may have noticed when I installed them but it is no big deal. At least to me.

 

[jlat]

hello people; These pcs. are going to be a thorn in the sides of Buick owners from then and into the future. I really can't wait to see the latest from the men who are hopfully doing it right.
from a fellow turbo owner with crappy, cracked, taped up fillers.
IBBY

 

[jlat]

never mind
IBBY

 

[slaphappyjacko]

Thanks for the PM reply, Mike. I will get these things on and looking right.

Like you said. These things are a good starting point for making decent looking fillers.

This thread made me go out and take another look at mine. They are not perfectly equal below the tail light just like your picture shows.

I may have noticed when I installed them but it is no big deal. At least to me.

I wondered if this was the case with many of the folks that had "no problems" installing theirs.

 

[bigbrother715]

Gentlemen, just to answer some questions about my experience with danko fiberglass fillers, I have fitted, painted and installed about a dozen sets now, none of which have come from gbody.com.

Every set has had to have some filler to touch up areas similiar to those pictured above, most have had the driver side taillight fitment issues and some have had poor fitment on the pass side also, I use a washer to space out the bottom of the taillight a little, if you do not they can crack the bezel when tightened down. They seem to touch on the drivers and pass side 90 bend of the taillight area about 1 inch in either direction and on the 90 bend of the tailight going into the licence plate area about 1 inch toward the plate.

I have tried to file down the edges so they will tuck under the taillights better, but there is just not enought material, even tried to file the taillight bezel to make it thinner, it all helps to fit better but it seems the driver side mold may be off a little bit.

The scatches in the gel coat are common, very common. All the fillers I have dealt with were sanded with 400 grit wet with a block then primed and painted. I may have seen one or two sets that may have been able to go on right out of the box.

I do feel that if danko were to spend a little more time cleaning the molds and making adjustments for a better fit they would definitly increase the price.

By the way, the final fit should be done with the bumpers installed, mark the bumper fillers where they can be notched so not to rub the inner portion of the bumpers and mark the height you want on your slotted holes to help get it right before you scratch the fresh paint.

I will continue to deal with dankos short comings, as the others have impressed me even less.


Thanks
Bill

thanks very much for the insight. i had different expectations of these parts but at least i know what i am in for now. steve

 

[DailyDrifter]

It appears some of the fillers were de-molded to fast and possible cause the part to sag or deform.