Thread: Rear Window Garnish Molding Fix

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The place I retired from made large collapsible containers from fiberglass reinforced plastic. On occasion they would warp out of the mold and if not cooled properly the pieces didn't fit together very well and we would use heat to bring them back into shape. Sometimes it would work and sometimes not and we had to be careful with the amount of heat applied and where it was being applied. Just a thought.

I marked & cut a piece of 2x4, then rounded the cut edge with a 1/2" quarter round bit, which fit the contour great.

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Looking at the back side, there's a nominal 5/8" gap at the center.

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At Ken's suggestion I clamped the molding to the form and applied heat to the outer ends, and then along the bottom of the molding. Thought it had worked when I took off the center clamp, but when the ends were released it sprang back to the original shape so I cut a series of reliefs in the front edge and did another test clamp.

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Next I'll grind away the gel coat across the front and 1/2 of the thickness in the cut areas. After a coat of wax on the wood form a couple of layers of fiberglass & resin should have it in good shape.

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