Just been reading the thread about the Viento V10 and the owner said his bonnet had 'gone flat' as it was stored incorrectly. I have my GRP viento bodywork in the shed awaiting the moment I put in on the car (probably a while). Should I store it in a particular fashion? Does damp have a effect? Sunlight bleaching the gelcoat?

It would seem to me that common sense is the best system for this but I thought I would ask?

[Edited on 4/11/09 by Irony]

GRP should never be stored against a wall, or on the floor, as it can take six months to 'set' properly and can therefore take on a new shape.

Ideally it should be stored over the chassis or, failing that, stored in a way to duplicate it's proper shape.

quote:

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Originally posted by designer
GRP should never be stored against a wall, or on the floor, as it can take six months to 'set' properly and can therefore take on a new shape.

Ideally it should be stored over the chassis or, failing that, stored in a way to duplicate it's proper shape.

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Yup. I made panels for my car and in the time between finishing the filler (on the car) painting and refitting, they've all moved. End result: uneven edges that were completely hidden are now visible and one panel that was a perfect fit is now off by about 5mm in the corners.

I should have made it in one piece and to hell with it.

You can always heat them gently with a heat gun, they'll become rather flexible then and you can carefully hold them in place until they cool. Don't overdo it because GRP burns very quickly. My bonnet had sagged slightly during my build. All I did was put it in place, run the engine up to temperature and let the radiant temperature heat it up then used some straps to hold it in place whilst it hardened. Worked nicely...