Were 95 factory bumpers hand laid fiberglass? If so when was the switch to SMC press molded fiberglass front and rear bumpers. Thanks Johnny
I would say it is hand laid with a chopper gun. I know 430s are SMC press molded. Not sure about the 360.
I had to look up "chopper gun". Never heard of that before. Very cool. Reminds me of Tim Allen... What into hardware store, see a tool and says "whats that" Store replies "it's a conduit bender" Tim: "what's it do?" Store: "it bends conduit" Tim: "I need to get one of those"
A chopper gun is a cool production method, but not so cool for parts that need weight performance. It is considered a mass production technique. Gets the job done quick, but usually sloppy. The resin to fabric ratio is high, which makes the part heavy and brittle. It is a quick way to build up a desired thickness. You can control weight much better with traditional hand laying methods, but it is much more labor intensive.
The "classic" use is for fiberglass boats. Strong and light = hand laid up. $$$ = chopper gun. Chopper gun uses short lengths of fiber glass strands mixed with resin sprayed like a very thick paint. It is intuitive, (even for Ferrari owners) which is better.
Well press molded parts is where the really expensive **** happens as its smooth on both sides. Can anyone confirm or deny that 96-99 front bumpers were press molded SMC?
