New adventure into fiberglass repair

[cdrd03]

I am almost ready to tackle the fiberglass issues that I have on my Sebring. The PO had an accident with it, tore it apart and started to do some of the repairs. I have NO experience with fiberglass other that all the reading and youtube videos that I can watch. Please comment on how I should attack this. I have quite a few photos to post.

(could not get this pic to post will try again later)
I have 2 spots on the nose that are missing pieces (one on each side) Pic 1 is of the rt front where a small section is missing. This is the larger of the two. Is it better to recreate the missing piece or repair if I have the missing piece. I have one of the two but havent check which it is.

The Next 3 are from around the rt headlight.

Pic 2 is a spot that the PO has repaired. In the photo you can see that it has a raised surface from the car. Does this need to cut out or will sanding it down work. This is the only damage on this part of the car that did not go all the way through.

Pic 3 and 4 are of the came crack. It extends all the way from the missing piece on the nose to near the top of the headlight opening. It still needs built up as it still is a little concaved. Again is it better to cut out and start fresh.

The last pic shows the outer edge of the headlight section. It is wavy and rough.

 

[cdrd03]

Here is the first photo that would not load.

 

[cdrd03]

What is going on here

Here a pic of the inside and I have no idea what is happening. I do not have a pan for the car - only the tunnel. It appears that he was glassing in a perf board across the bottom instead of using the pan. The rear attachment for the napoleon hat has been cut out. Can I make a plug from the front attachment to recreate the rear or are the different? Any ideas about what the PO was trying to accomplish with his interior bottom plate?

I am having trouble loading photos so there is only one here. I thought that they were just to large and reduced the size, but still no go. I will post more photos when I figure it out.

chuck

 

[cdrd03]

These photos are of the damage to the drivers side. Lots of the same questions one new one. In the first photo where the gel coat has been damage and some of the fibers have damage, how do I repair that, or do I have to. I have a few small areas around the car like this and not sure what to do.

Thanks
Chuck

 

[letterman7]

Ouch... lots of work there, Chuck. I'm going to defer to Brett and Nic on how to proceed with most of those repairs. What the PO's plans for the floor were is anyone's guess. That perf board will need to be cut out and removed. The chassis connections at the Napoleon hat and the rear torsion housing are not the same. You may want to slide a chassis under the body and do your fiberglass work to match up with the chassis.. might save some aggravation. Or... find a tube chassis to put it on!

 

[Nic]

Ouch... so... much... ouch...

I can't tell from the pictures, but the proper way to repair that damage is to grind away the fiberglass and get coat in a very wide V, about 2 inches out from the damage. So, thinnest amount of f/g AT the crack. I would then get to the underside of that crack, use 60 or 80 grit sandpaper and rough up about 2" out from the crack. Then put 2 layers of .75 oz chop mat over the sanded down area. Once that has hardened (a few hours) then your going to need to start filling in those grinds you did on the top side.

you want to start a thinner strip/piece of .75oz chop mat first. Then one slightly larger, then larger, and so on until you have a final piece just smaller than 4" (total inches across the grinds your did above). Im estimating you'll need about 8 pieces of chop mat starting at 1" wide, then larger up to 4" wide. So it should look like this...



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*not to scale.
As you layer, make sure to get bubble out of each layer before continuing. Once done, sand down if you are above the top surface of the gel coat, and use body filler to finish. Do NOT use more than 1/8" of body filler. You'll regret it later.

Regarding the peg board floor... I can only assume it was a misguided approach to a sandwich layer. Wouch. You've got some work cut out (no pun intended) for you. Ask questions and keep updated.

Good luck.

 

[cdrd03]

Rick I was being hopeful that the front and rear hats were going to be the same. I dont have a pan yet, so it will have to wait, besides I have plenty of other body work to accomplish anyway. I would love to have a tube frame. Daves are nice, but I cant pony up that kind of cash anytime soon. expecially at one time.

Thanks Nic. What about the damage in the first photo of the 4th post? Its the nick in the wheel well. The gel coat is chipped off, but the glass isn't to mangled. How should I evaluate that area and any areas like it that I come across?

I wont be cutting the perf board out until later as it will help keep the body from skewing should I have to move it out of my way. But when I do finally get to that point, how much of a lip should be made for the body to mount to the pan and how many mounting points should I have (each side)?

Chuck

 

[Brett Proctor]

Don't know if your familar with the different resins out there but I would use a laminating resin and not a finishing resin. Getting the right amount of hardener is critical so you might want to do some test runs first. Not enough and it may take forever to cure then you might have to use a heat lamp to get it to harden and to much hardener it could cure before you finish laying down the glass and that then can be a pain and extra work.

Once you get the hang of it it's not that bad.

I go through a bunch of latex gloves when I'm working with fiberglass. The minute it starts to get tacky and sticks to the gloves I put on a new pair.

I would like to add one thing to Nics post. When using a mat fiberglass I like to add a cloth layer of glass over it. That way when your working the air bubbles out you don't pull the fiber strands out of the mat and its not as messy.

Rick I was being hopeful that the front and rear hats were going to be the same.

If I remember right, those are the major load carring spots(areas) of the body to the pan so the fiberglass should be thicker in those areas to carry the load

Brett

 

[Nic]

That does look like the fiberglass is damaged and split. But if it isnt, then I would sand that area down by hand with some 80 grit paper and little bit of sanding in the surrounding area too so the filler has something to bite into. You can probably get a way with either body filler, do 2 passes at it, 1 thin layer and let it cure, sand it with 80 grit, then another layer to fill it all in. Then sand to shape with 100 or 150 to get it close, then 220 to finish and hit it with a layer of filler primer.

 

[cdrd03]

Brett - No I am not familiar with the resins, but will look into the laminating resins. As for getting the correct mixture, the company that I was looking at, (don't remember the name right now) has a calibrated pump for the hardener. They have a chart describing how many pumps are required per amount of resin used. I have read to make smaller batches so none go to waist.

Nic - I will check that area again thanks.

Chuck

 

[Nic]

Smaller batches are good. I've never worked with more than 4oz at a time. When it's in a cup it heats up much faster than when it's spread out. So try to keep it small batches.

Additionally, since resin is a thermo set (can't think of the proper term) it hardens with heat. So in the summer, use less MEKP than recommended. In the winter or cold weather, use more. My rule of thumb is at 70-80 degrees ambient weather temp, I use about 12 drops of MEKP per ounce of Resin.

When its hotter, 80 -90, I use about 10 drops/ounce or resin. Colder sometimes up to 15 drops. You'll have to mess with it a little to find the sweet spot for your area. But generally those hold up pretty good for me.

 

[cdrd03]

Thanks Inc. I will keep that in mind.

Chuck