You won’t go to the local Home Depot and find a section for fairing tools! For that matter, since fairings are becoming more popular, maybe I should make up a tool kit for fairings. Now there’s a thought.

So if there are no specific fairing tools, what do you use? In part, whatever you have at hand that will work. Inventiveness is necessary many times to come up with just the right “gizmo” to make things easier.

It also depends on what you are using as material for your fairing. is one of the easiest, most inexpensive materials many homebuilders use, and the easiest to find. Lexan and some of the other polycarbonate materials are heavier and very expensive. So for now, Coroplast it is.

It is best to find the 4’ X 8’ sheet to work with. Under normal circumstances, one sheet will be sufficient to make just a front fairing, and two if you’re more energetic and want to do a streamliner. Salvaging the scraps of what’s left can often make tailboxes and wheel discs.

For fairings, 4 mm Coroplast is the thickness of my choice. For wheel discs it would have to be 2 mm. The thin 2 mm Coroplast is a little more difficult to find.

Some planning ahead will be needed as you may have to get your local supplier to special order this. I have found they are usually willing to get up to five sheets if it can be combined with one of their regular orders. There was never any obligation to buy all five sheets.

Now, fairing tools. The very first would have to be a good utility knife. Stanley sells many different models. My favorite seems to be out of production. The retractable blade knives are best. Be sure to get a pack of blades, maybe 20 or so. Sharp blades make a world of difference when cutting Coroplast.

Another useful tool is a double blade knife for cutting mats used in picture framing. This is used for hollowing out a flutes in the Coroplast to facilitate bending or curving along the length of the spine. The width of the knife is just right to cut inside both spines of a flute, removing the entire strip of plastic. This little tool can save hours of work.

A soldering iron is really important. There are several uses, such as making holes in double layers of Coroplast. The heated tip cuts through the plastic like hot butter. It’s much easier than drilling or using a punch.

Different tips can be used for different purposes. There is a blunt point for making holes. There is a round, knife-edge tip that is great for cutting or welding. It’s also great for melting hot glue to take something apart.

Next are Zipties. I know they wouldn’t be considered a fairing tool, but in a way they are. So many things can be held together with them they become indispensable. Because so many holes have to be made to use them on a fairing, it doesn’t help to keep a nice smooth surface for laminar flow needed for good aerodynamics. But hey, nothing is perfect.

A Hot Glue Gun is a great help as a fairing tool. Glue does not like to stick to Coroplast. Since Coroplast is a plastic, there is an oily residue that prevents a good seal, unless the surface is cleaned with an acetone, or roughed up with sandpaper to give the glue something to adhere to.

Hot Glue can best be used in areas where there is very little stress. It works well until it gets very cold, and then it is prone to loose its adhesion completely. Silicone glue really is not much better, and it takes longer to set. “Crazy Glue” has some possibilities, but it’s very difficult to work with over large surfaces. So glue can work in some areas, but not so well in others.

Electric or battery powered drill, or both would be essential fairing tools! They will be important for drilling PVC, Aluminum flat stock that might be used for support structure, any number of other applications.

Dremel, or small high speed crafting tool makes a great fairingtool. This is great for sanding, grinding, shaping and any number of things, that require working in a tight restricted area. It really gets into those hard to get at places with other tools.

Hand files will be needed for smoothing cuts for joining tubes together. They aren’t used much in building a front fairing, but you never know what makes a good fairing tool.

Flat Head and Phillips Head screwdrivers are absolutely essential fairing tools, and will be needed, along with some wire cutters if Zipties need to be cut. Also, either a hacksaw or a PVC tube cutter. Most builders use a tube cutter rather than try to hacksaw through PVC. The cutter usually costs less than $10 at Home Depot, and cuts almost any diameter PVC.

Last but not least of your fairing tools is a heat gun, for shaping the Coroplast or for adding stiffness. It can even be used for bending PVC. When bending Coroplast in the direction of the flute or lengthwise, heat will help to reduce the stress of the plastic. It will also help to maintain the bend as it eliminates the “spring” which would cause the Coroplast to try to go back to the original shape.

A rivet gun might be an optional fairing tool if you prefer that to gluing and/or Zipties.

An aluminum bolt commonly called a “sex bolt" has become a key part of my fairing tool "kit," and a great discovery for me. It comes in lengths as short as ¼” up to 2” or perhaps even longer.

It is used to hold blueprints or site overlays together in a book on construction jobsites. The female shaft will be the same length as the bolt, keeping the threaded surface covered when screwed together so it won’t tear up the hole in the paper of the plans.

I have found these to be extremely useful instead of rivets, Zipties or glue. They are lightweight, and allow the fairing to be completely disassembled for repair, redesign, or to be salvaged if a piece is recycled or thrown away.

Having to remove rivets is not easy. Rivets are not reusable and generally destroy the hole or the surface around the hole. Trying to unglue pieces can also destroy the surface of the Coroplast.

When pieces are riveted together the fit is not always tight, and it’s hard to go back and fix that. Lots of holes are necessary with Zipties, and over time the holes get bigger. Tape has to be used to cover the holes, which increases weight, costs and labor.

The sex bolts eliminate all those problems. They’re not cheap, but since they can be reused they are worth it. Have you ever tried to take something apart that has been riveted or glued? It’s a pain! These little rascals save a ton of time and frustration. As a fairing tool it's great!

A utility knife, Zipties and a pointed object to make holes may be all you have at the start. All the other tools you can get over time new, or at flea markets or garage sales, as you continue to improve fairing construction and design. The first effort is rarely the best so you can just about guarantee you’ll try it again.

Fairing tools. They can be just about anything that serves your purpose. The right tool for the job will always make the work easier and more efficient. But sometimes you just have to invent things. Now there’s the fun in it! Coroplast is one of the easiest, most inexpensive materials many homebuilders use, and the easiest to find. Lexan and some of the other polycarbonate materials are heavier and very expensive. So for now, Coroplast it is.

It is best to find the 4’ X 8’ sheet to work with. Under normal circumstances, one sheet will be sufficient to make just a front fairing, and two if you’re more energetic and want to do a streamliner. Salvaging the scraps of what’s left can often make tailboxes and wheel discs.

For fairings, 4 mm Coroplast is the thickness of my choice. For wheel discs it would have to be 2 mm. The thin 2 mm Coroplast is a little more difficult to find.

Some planning ahead will be needed as you may have to get your local supplier to special order this. I have found they are usually willing to get up to five sheets if it can be combined with one of their regular orders. There was never any obligation to buy all five sheets.

Now, fairing tools. The very first would have to be a good utility knife. Stanley sells many different models. My favorite seems to be out of production. The retractable blade knives are best. Be sure to get a pack of blades, maybe 20 or so. Sharp blades make a world of difference when cutting Coroplast.

Another useful tool is a double blade knife for cutting mats used in picture framing. This is used for hollowing out a flutes in the Coroplast to facilitate bending or curving along the length of the spine. The width of the knife is just right to cut inside both spines of a flute, removing the entire strip of plastic. This little tool can save hours of work.

A soldering iron is really important. There are several uses, such as making holes in double layers of Coroplast. The heated tip cuts through the plastic like hot butter. It’s much easier than drilling or using a punch.

Different tips can be used for different purposes. There is a blunt point for making holes. There is a round, knife-edge tip that is great for cutting or welding. It’s also great for melting hot glue to take something apart.

Next are Zipties. I know they wouldn’t be considered a fairing tool, but in a way they are. So many things can be held together with them they become indispensable. Because so many holes have to be made to use them on a fairing, it doesn’t help to keep a nice smooth surface for laminar flow needed for good aerodynamics. But hey, nothing is perfect.

A Hot Glue Gun is a great help as a fairing tool. Glue does not like to stick to Coroplast. Since Coroplast is a plastic, there is an oily residue that prevents a good seal, unless the surface is cleaned with an acetone, or roughed up with sandpaper to give the glue something to adhere to.

Hot Glue can best be used in areas where there is very little stress. It works well until it gets very cold, and then it is prone to loose its adhesion completely. Silicone glue really is not much better, and it takes longer to set. “Crazy Glue” has some possibilities, but it’s very difficult to work with over large surfaces. So glue can work in some areas, but not so well in others.

Electric or battery powered drill, or both would be essential fairing tools! They will be important for drilling PVC, Aluminum flat stock that might be used for support structure, any number of other applications.

Dremel, or small high speed crafting tool makes a great fairingtool. This is great for sanding, grinding, shaping and any number of things, that require working in a tight restricted area. It really gets into those hard to get at places with other tools.

Hand files will be needed for smoothing cuts for joining tubes together. They aren’t used much in building a front fairing, but you never know what makes a good fairing tool.

Flat Head and Phillips Head screwdrivers are absolutely essential fairing tools, and will be needed, along with some wire cutters if Zipties need to be cut. Also, either a hacksaw or a PVC tube cutter. Most builders use a tube cutter rather than try to hacksaw through PVC. The cutter usually costs less than $10 at Home Depot, and cuts almost any diameter PVC.

Last but not least of your fairing tools is a heat gun, for shaping the Coroplast or for adding stiffness. It can even be used for bending PVC. When bending Coroplast in the direction of the flute or lengthwise, heat will help to reduce the stress of the plastic. It will also help to maintain the bend as it eliminates the “spring” which would cause the Coroplast to try to go back to the original shape.

A rivet gun might be an optional fairing tool if you prefer that to gluing and/or Zipties.

An aluminum bolt commonly called a “sex bolt" has become a key part of my fairing tool "kit," and a great discovery for me. It comes in lengths as short as ¼” up to 2” or perhaps even longer.

It is used to hold blueprints or site overlays together in a book on construction jobsites. The female shaft will be the same length as the bolt, keeping the threaded surface covered when screwed together so it won’t tear up the hole in the paper of the plans.

I have found these to be extremely useful instead of rivets, Zipties or glue. They are lightweight, and allow the fairing to be completely disassembled for repair, redesign, or to be salvaged if a piece is recycled or thrown away.

Having to remove rivets is not easy. Rivets are not reusable and generally destroy the hole or the surface around the hole. Trying to unglue pieces can also destroy the surface of the Coroplast.

When pieces are riveted together the fit is not always tight, and it’s hard to go back and fix that. Lots of holes are necessary with Zipties, and over time the holes get bigger. Tape has to be used to cover the holes, which increases weight, costs and labor.

The sex bolts eliminate all those problems. They’re not cheap, but since they can be reused they are worth it. Have you ever tried to take something apart that has been riveted or glued? It’s a pain! These little rascals save a ton of time and frustration. As a fairing tool it's great!

A utility knife, Zipties and a pointed object to make holes may be all you have at the start. All the other tools you can get over time new, or at flea markets or garage sales, as you continue to improve fairing construction and design. The first effort is rarely the best so you can just about guarantee you’ll try it again.

Fairing tools. They can be just about anything that serves your purpose. The right tool for the job will always make the work easier and more efficient. But sometimes you just have to invent things. Now there’s the fun in it!