When you pay $1200 for an AAR hood, you expect more from Stinger Fiberglass

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It has more traction than people sometimes realize. How well does it w
So when someone googles stinger, or autosolutions this thread will pop up. Bad juju methinks. All this bs due to the lack of a couple layers of cardboard and some high density foam. As far as @autosolutions i smell a rat.

Your preaching to the choir about the packaging. Part of my business was crating and shipping (Fedex drop off.) That crap in the corners is a joke. Plain and simple. Way too much technology that is reasonably priced to have this type of damage in shipping from inferior packaging. I would just fix it and be done with it and put my energy to other uses. This problem was absolutely avoidable!

JW
 
Yeah my radar is going off. I dont think I will be buying from stinger.


@Autoslutions

What is the name of your shop?

I think at this point you should tell us.
I find it hard to believe that anybody that crude could possibly own his own shop. The first time he talked to most customers like that, he'd be picking himself up off the floor.
 
I find it hard to believe that anybody that crude could possibly own his own shop. The first time he talked to most customers like that, he'd be picking himself up off the floor.
Well that is because like most internet bullies, they do it from behind a keyboard.
 
So when someone googles stinger.....this thread will pop up.
That was the intent by editing the title to include "Stinger Fiberglass." So whether this turned out great and the situation was resolved, or they ignored by correspondence and stuck me with a brand new, damaged hood, potential customers would be able to read about my experience.

I really did want this to turn out better and I gave them multiple opportunities, but here we are.
 
That was the intent by editing the title to include "Stinger Fiberglass." So whether this turned out great and the situation was resolved, or they ignored by correspondence and stuck me with a brand new, damaged hood, potential customers would be able to read about my experience.

I really did want this to turn out better and I gave them multiple opportunities, but here we are.
In other words, you took the bullet for other potential buyers.
 
@harrisonm You mentioned you're skilled with fiberglass. How would you go about repairing this?
I have completely restored several Corvettes and done a lot of other fiberglass work. I will say that it is an easy fix (at least from what I see in the photos), but it will take a little longer than 0.5 hours. Which, in case you did not know, is $32.50 at a labor rate of $65 per hour. LOL. Anyway, I would use a grinder of some kind (I really like my 90 degree die grinder with a 3" roloc disc adapter) or DA with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damaged area and gently feather out about 2" past the damage. Be gentle; you don't want to grind off too much fiberglass. Then you need to either use fiberglass fabric and resin or short strand fiberglass reinforced filler. I'll cover each.
1. I would recommend using a short strand fiberglass reinforced filler. There are several brands, but they are all going to work fine for you. when cured, it is hard as a rock. I always use Evercoat products when I can, but for a small patch like yours, the Bondo brand will work fine. Clean the patch area by blowing it with compressed air and a little bit of some cleaner. I like spray cans of Pre Cleaner by Eastwood, but you could use a LITTLE lacquer thinner or Urethane reducer. You don't want to soak the area, just put a little of whatever you use on a cloth and wipe the area down. Then blow on it a bit more to make sure it is dry. Then mix up a little of the filler. I assume you have mixed up Bondo, it is pretty much the same. Spread it over the area. If it 'drips' over the edges, no problem. Don't put it on too thick. It is harder to sand than regular filler. In fact, if you can spread it out so that it is level with the undamaged surface or just a hair above it, you are good. When it has cured, block sand with dry paper on a sanding block. I'd probably start with 120 grit, and then go to 220 and 320. All you are doing here is smoothing it out and leveling the area. Don't sand too much. If you applied the filler at a good thickness, the repaired area will be flush with the surrounding area. Now smooth the area out a bit more with some spot putty (sometimes called glazing putty). It is thinner than regular Bondo, and it will perfectly level the area and fill in any sanding scratches. Plus, it sands easier than regular filler and way easier than the fiberglass reinforced filler. Sand it gently with 220, 320 dry paper. It is now ready for primer. I would use 2K high build primer. An easy way to do a small area is to buy a rattle can of Eastwood's 2K primer. There is a button on the bottom that breaks a capsule filled with hardener giving you a good quality 2K high build primer.
2. If you use fiberglass fabric and resin you could probably get by with a kit that is available at most car parts places. It will work fine, but it is messier and harder to use. They usually have a few square feet of fiberglass cloth, about a pint of resin and a small bottle of hardener. Cut out several pieces of the cloth to fit the shape of the patch area. I'd make several patches the size of the original damaged area, and a few that go out to where you stopped sanding. WEAR GLOVES. Mix up a about 4 ounces of resin per the instructions. Using a disposable brush. brush some on the repair area and then saturate each patch piece. It is best to tape some plastic wrap aluminum foil to a board as a working area for this step. Place the saturated pieces on the damaged area putting the smaller ones on the bottom and the largest one on top. Using some type of a roller, gently roll the patch area to get rid of any air bubbles. Let it cure. Then block sand with 80 or 120. Then apply regular filler and sand it smooth. Use spot putty if needed for pin holes or other irregularities. Then sand and prime like above. It is something you can do in one day, but it will take longer than 30 minutes.
 
In case You are messy, and are likely to get resin on the hands, keep DOT3 fluid, moisturizing soap, & extreme-care lotion by the wash tub.
Any Toolbag that can't take the time & small expense to protect a quality $800 product, then acts arrogant about it when it turns up at Your door jacked-up, doesn't deserve the patronage....."it's only a half hour to fix My F-up/shitty packaging". Well, it's MY 1/2hr., Dipshit. I can think of 100 other things I'd rather do with it than fix Your negligence.
 
Thanks for the tip.

And I agree, the owner's attitude screwed this whole thing up. Honestly, he could've sent me a $50 gift card to Chili's and I would've been cool with it. Just some gesture on his part to say that he tried to make it right. But instead, he ignored my correspondence and we'll never do business again. It's his loss, because now my experience has been documented on the internet forever for the entire world to see.
 
It really is a shame. Sorry that happened man. Not that it helps any. If you were local you could come by and we'd do a few shots of Fireball and I'd **** it up worse than it is since I can't do fiberglass work. How's that for help? lol
 
Thanks for the tip.

And I agree, the owner's attitude screwed this whole thing up. Honestly, he could've sent me a $50 gift card to Chili's and I would've been cool with it. Just some gesture on his part to say that he tried to make it right. But instead, he ignored my correspondence and we'll never do business again. It's his loss, because now my experience has been documented on the internet forever for the entire world to see.
He chose the asshole route. He probably doesn't realize and may not care that this site has over 50K members. What a dumbass.
 
Too bad this happened, it's all water over the dam now. As an old body man, there most of the time is some type of damage that comes through on new parts, dings, dents, folds, scratches. As a body man/painter when it gets into my hands it's grab on, get the prep work done, make sure all the imperfections are out of the whole part, then get it painted.

On to the next step, always hated depending on others especially when things are less than perfect. That was just part of the business and we were the ones that had to make it work right and look great. Nobody cared what we had to go through to make that happen.

Lot's of times things would get sent over to Paint from the body shop, and because of their sloppy finishing work we were the ones that had to make it all look brand new again.

Always loved the looks of things when they were done right, regardless of the work that took to get them there. Was all part of being a craftsman.

__________________

No one knows the work it took to get this '67 quarter panel to look 100%.

Labor of love, all original panels on that car yet.

Screenshot_20220109-085758_Gallery.jpg

If it was easy everyone would do it.

☆☆☆☆☆
 
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It really is a shame. Sorry that happened man. Not that it helps any. If you were local you could come by and we'd do a few shots of Fireball and I'd **** it up worse than it is since I can't do fiberglass work. How's that for help? lol
Haha, thanks for the sentiment! I'm confident I can get good and buzzed on my own before taking a crack at it.... :lol:
 
He chose the asshole route. He probably doesn't realize and may not care that this site has over 50K members. What a dumbass.

Absolutely. It's easy to just see the handful of folks that are posting in this thread. In reality though, for every 1 person who posts in this thread, there's probably close to 50-100 reading it. The business owner screwed the pooch on this one for sure. Regardless of how minimal the damage may be, that packing job was an absolute joke.
 
AAR fiberglass use to be the good one I thought. When did they change to stinger? Did they get new owners? Thanks
 
Yes, Stinger Fiberglass is the company. I bought an AAR style hood for my E body from them, but it also looks like AAR Quality Fiberglass is under the Stinger name.
 
Yes, Stinger Fiberglass is the company. I bought an AAR style hood for my E body from them, but it also looks like AAR Quality Fiberglass is under the Stinger name.
What a way to ruin a great reputation. I have a AAR Six pack hood on my 69 Dart now for about 16-18 years now. Super quality and has held up great.
 
What does your original E Body hood look like?
It was a twin bulge in fairly good shape, but I wanted a hood with a functional scoop so I could increase air flow to the engine compartment. Summertime temps get into the 110s, so I am of the opinion that my cooling system can use any help it can get.

I sold the original hood to a guy doing a restoration who wanted an original hood.
 
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