Fibreglass front end
Turbo Mini Forums

I'm in the process of fitting a 2 piece fibre glass front end and a friend of mine is telling me I need to fit some kind of inner arch to protect it from getting stone chips (star bursts) from sharp stones flicked up by the wheels.
Anyone have any thoughts or experiences of this?

I said I'd do it, there's no need to remind me every 6 months!!

Ive had no inner arch for 10 years shit gets everywhere lol
It was run as a daily
Without turbo, with turbo, fg front, steel front 1 peice and as a 2 peice lol
I dont see it as a problem tbh

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

For stones hitting the inside of the GRP and crazing the gel coat on the outside, it's a common problem in the Kit Car world.

Most modern synthetic based stonechip products - the ones made for the outside of sills etc. and are overpaintable - are compatible with GRP and do just as good a job on the inside of arches where you don't see them.

Avoid older bitumen based underseals, the solvent in them weakens GRP.

If you want specific brand recommendations, visit some kit car forums.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Gravitex stone chip works very well.

I have, upol acid etch primer, gravitex and the 2k body colour on top.

You want a gloss on top as the gravitex dries matte and is hard to clean.

On the actual flitch panel itself i have only one stone chip thats gone through the paint in 6 years, hardly any in the fibreglass and mud etc never really gets as far as the engine.. ive used it in all weather. I have seen inner arches made to stop mud n stones but they look gash, if your mate actually means brace bars thats a whole different thing..

Need is the key word here. You don't NEED them but you could fit them. Really depends how much of a tart you are. I'm not going to weigh my car down with inner arches for the sake of a few paint crazes. Others might think otherwise.