Honolulu 818S Hana (work/build) Thread

[Aloha818]

as far as the fg, 2x2 twill weave is the easiest to get to form around complex curves. for the panels, you can actually beat the panels gently with a stiff wire brush from the gelcoat side to find the voids if you can't see them because of the bedliner. it's going to be worth it, as you stated, it would be bad to find after paint. I mentioned in an older thread that if they made fg panels for the 818, there would probably be voids and they would require the same attention as the other ffr kits when it comes to prep. not really no paint. that said, I'd still rather have the fg panels because they're easy to modify or repair.

The brush works very well thanks carbon !!

I'm glad I found it. The more I fit the panels the more I realize it's not really a no paint body. Even if you don't paint it, it still requires almost as much work to get it good and fill in the gel coat so you might as well paint.

Thanks Carbon for posting the great advice and helping to promote great builds! And thanks Metalmaker and Mechie for acknowledging the benefit. This is so helpful to me and others sharing our tips for success!

And Mechie I agree with you 100%, the more prep I do for paint the more prep I see I need to do.

Having no previous experience with fiberglass body panels (except for my son's '77 vette) I don't know if this is normal or not. Having said that, for a $10k kit I'm only slightly disappointed.

I'm sure with some prep and some gel coat patching you could make the body acceptable for track use or a daily driver for fun only. Not going to win any awards at a car show probably though.

[wleehendrick]

I'm sure with some prep and some gel coat patching you could make the body acceptable for track use or a daily driver for fun only. Not going to win any awards at a car show probably though.

Agreed... a fun, reliable daily driver, capable of the occasional track day, has been my plan from the start. I have to keep reminding myself that to keep on budget. I'm not building a race car, so I have to resist most of the pricey go-fast parts I see on the forum. I'm also not building a show car, so I'm forgoing the time and expense of a nice paint job. Maybe eventually... but I'm already close to my $30k total budget, so not right away. I got the gel coat patch and will do the best I can with it. My goal is not a 100pt show car; I want it to look good from 5-10' away; I realize it won't be perfect on close inspection. I will be doing a few things to augment the white panels, so I'm hoping to pull off the 'storm trooper' look. I will look on with envy on those, like you, who have poured far more time and/or money into their 818s!

[Aloha818]

Agreed... a fun, reliable daily driver, capable of the occasional track day, has been my plan from the start. I have to keep reminding myself that to keep on budget. I'm not building a race car, so I have to resist most of the pricey go-fast parts I see on the forum. I'm also not building a show car, so I'm forgoing the time and expense of a nice paint job. Maybe eventually... but I'm already close to my $30k total budget, so not right away. I got the gel coat patch and will do the best I can with it. My goal is not a 100pt show car; I want it to look good from 5-10' away; I realize it won't be perfect on close inspection. I will be doing a few things to augment the white panels, so I'm hoping to pull off the 'storm trooper' look. I will look on with envy on those, like you, who have poured far more time and/or money into their 818s!

Perfect! I am glad that my comments about the finish did not come across as disrespectful. The lines on the body look great and draw attention alone. In my posts I am trying to be as open and honest as possible. The kit is what the kit is and anyone ordering and buying should know what to expect. I could see with some prep, some gel coat work, and polish, the car can look amazing! But your not going to bolt it together and be 100%.

[wleehendrick]

Perfect! I am glad that my comments about the finish did not come across as disrespectful.

No, not at all. As you say, the panels are what they are. Not as pristine as I was hoping for, but with a little work, they'll be more than presentable. I've wet-sanded and compounded a few scratches out and polished/waxed about half of them, and they look pretty good. The surface finish over the large sections is actually smoother (less orange peel, etc...) than our new BMW! Once I have them mounted, I'll do the the gel-coat touch-up. I can see why FFR went for white, though... it does hide defects; this level of surface quality on a dark color would require much more work to look good.