Fiberglass Help

[RickSE]

Hey Guys,

I need some advice. Our daughter has been Jr Drag Racing for the past year and we just picked up a new car. The body on the new car needs quite a bit of cosmetic work. Can anyone give me some advice on the best way to fix some of the problem areas? The body is pretty light weight and thin, so there is not a whole lot of material to work with.

Also, where's a good place to get materials for the repairs?

I'll break out some of the problem areas.

[RickSE]

Delamination at some of the edges.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0425.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0425.jpg.html)
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0424.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0424.jpg.html)
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0426.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0426.jpg.html)
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0423.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0423.jpg.html)
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0422.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0422.jpg.html)

[RickSE]

Worn away edge, should be a straight edge.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0427.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0427.jpg.html)

[RickSE]

Broken out holes. I probably just need to glass over these holes, fill-in, and open up new holes.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0428.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0428.jpg.html)
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0429.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0429.jpg.html)

[RickSE]

Not sure if you can see this but someone repaired a large crack across the nose. The glass repair behind looks pretty sound but I'll have to sand down the outside repair and blend it in better.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y331/RickSE/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0430.jpg (http://s1027.photobucket.com/user/RickSE/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMAG0430.jpg.html)

[hardcrab]

I'm sure you'll get several schools of thought on this subject, here's the way I would approach it;

Use a sheet of waxed paper as a non-stick barrier on the finish side and back it up with cardboard (not preforated) to form the desired shape.
On the backside, lay up some chopped mat first, backed up by woven cloth overlapping the mat.
When the patch hardens, the mold (cardboard / wax paper ) will peel away leaving a contour ready for surface finish - Several types of products like resin- gel, re-enforced putty (tiger hair) and Bondo, provide various viscosity to work with.

talk to these folks; www.uscomposites.com



BTW; what's up with the Maryland tag?

[RickSE]

...

BTW; what's up with the Maryland tag?

Thanks for the advice. I didn't think about the wax paper method.

The Maryland tag is off of my Dad's truck. I picked the truck up from him several years ago and brought it out to AZ, kept the plate. Sorry about all the clutter in the background.

Anyone want to buy a boat? We never use it anymore, :( been too busy drag racing. :)

[hardcrab]

saran wrap and aluminum foil can be used also, the foil should be peeled off sooner than later though so it doesn't tear off in little pieces

The better you make the backing contour, the less finishing you'll have to do. When the waxpaper or saran wrap is peeled off it leaves super smooth surface.

[justleft]

I have used Fibre Glast (Ohio ?) http://www.fibreglast.com/
They have some good DIY videos

[Morgan's Cloud]

I'm going to go out on a limb here , but I'd take a guess that hardcrabby has done this before :tooth:

You'll have to fair all of those edges to a taper as well first and a dremel with the sanding drum attachment will do the job just fine.
There's just such a thin edge to work with compared to regular fibreglass boat construction , but the good thing is that fibreglass with a little patience is infinitely repairable .

Take your time and be very patient. The finishing work for respray is what's going to take all the time if you want a great end product .

[RickSE]

What do you guys think is a good material to use for repair? I assume a woven fabric. Is there a weight that would be good to use, 6oz, 9oz? I'm not really sure which one would be best.

How about the resin, Epoxy, Polyester, ...?

[Morgan's Cloud]

I LOVE epoxy .
Chopstrand is chopstrand but match your woven to what is there already.

You're going to have to remove (grind away) a considerable area of the paint/gelcoat around the areas you want to repair before even getting started with the actual glass work .