Body kits add style and excitement to your car. Using them you can personalize your car and make it stand out from other similar cars. If you choose to add body kits to your new car you will need to choose the material of construction as well.
One option is you choose a fiberglass body kit. Fiberglass body kits are made of a composite material made out of thin glass fibers held together by a matrix material polymer. Fiberglass has the desired properties required for a body kit. It is strong and can be molded into complex shapes. It is also light though not as light as carbon fiber based composite materials.
The invention of thin glass fibers led to fiberglass products. Fiberglass product term usually refers to glass reinforced plastic products. The two components of the composite material have complementary properties which makes their combination very strong. Glass fibers have high tensile strength where as the plastic matrix material has high compressive strength. Fiberglass also has good insulation properties.
Glass being a relatively cheap product glass fiber is not as expensive as carbon fiber. However quality glass reinforced plastic is not very cheap. This is because quality glass fibers are expensive and also quality matrix polymers are expensive. Very cheap glass fiber reinforced plastic products can be seriously deficient in quality. They may not have uniform strength and also there may be fitment issues because the manufacturing process is weak and doesn’t deliver products within high tolerance limits.
Fiberglass products can be molded into very complex shape. The surface finish can be made glossy and painted into desired colors. This makes fiberglass ideal for making body kits. You will find some of the most some products have a combination of both glass and carbon fiber.
Fiberglass is also very durable. It does not get affected by environmental conditions and does not corrode. Fiberglass is chemically inert and will not react with other substances with which it comes into contact.
