TOPIC:

Just brainstorming here - Would it make sense for the new owner to consider some kind of internal coating or a sticky-back reinforcement mesh tape all along the inside of the body, to prevent further cracking and to have something for the current cracks to seat against? Kinda like how glass has a laminate film, so it can still break but not shatter into a million pieces?

Another idea is to buy a tbg body and mciracing decals and keep all the plastic hardwares and keep this one to run.

I'm thinking of a scenario where it doesn't get run at all, just something to help with future deterioration of the thin blow molded plastic.

Or only keep it as it is with its history.

I think, adding any additional material inside will be difficult. And in the end, the body itself sill cracks while moving, so you can only keep the cracked parts together.

The only thing i can imagine, which could work: spray on several additional layers of a flexible coating (on the inside). The original body still can get cracks, but it hopefully gets kept together by the inside layers.

Sometimes, winning race cars are retired just as they finished, dirt, tire marks and all. Even the confetti is left on . I always liked that as it seemed more realistic and period correct.....

EddyCH wrote:

I think, adding any additional material inside will be difficult. And in the end, the body itself sill cracks while moving, so you can only keep the cracked parts together.

The only thing i can imagine, which could work: spray on several additional layers of a flexible coating (on the inside). The original body still can get cracks, but it hopefully gets kept together by the inside layers.

Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking - like clear Flex Seal or Plasti-dip - even hand painted on just the repair areas maybe. I guess I was hoping some folks here had some experience with this scenario before, with delicate car bodies.

Personally, I would look for something else than Plasti-Dip. Plasti-Dip is very flexible, but tensile strenght is very low. Unfortunately, I can't tell you, what could be better. It needs some strenght, but also some flexibility.

A small strip of race/gaffer/cloth tape on the inside....  Perfect stuff for repairing/strengthening body work.  My daughters Frog already has some 'reinforcing' in the front.
 

The Porsche survived it's journey to it's new home unscathed! This is not only my grail Tamiya model, but it also completes my collection of all the 580xx Tamiya models for 1986. I'm absolutely thrilled and plan to start a thread soon to showcase all 8 models as they currently sit, and then update it as I restore 5 of them and bring them back to box art. This Porsche will reside in a small section of models that have never been run, including the Road Wizard.