[catdog]

Hi guys,

Not strictly a hot-rod, but still a fibreglass shell, so seeing how helpful this forum seems, im giving it a go.

Please see the picture for reference:



Im confident I can repair the blisters / structure of the body, however my worry comes from repainting it, so this is where i need help.

I was planning to use aerosol cans to re-lay the base coat and clear coat, however this car has such few 'body joins' I was worried when it came to applying the clear-coat that i would have to clear coat the entire panel with an aersol spray can, and had doubts regarding the quality of the finish.

Can anyone suggest exactly how I should approach this?

The choices as I see it are:
1 - Just use a decent 2k aerosol clear coat and zap the whole panel.
2 - Forgo the clear coat altogether and use orbital sander with some pads and compounds to bring the gloss into the base coat.
3 - Fork out for a compressor / gun / paint outfit (last resort, but still far cheaper than the bodyshop quoted me).

Thanks.

[Stu D Baker]

Forget #2. Way wrong. Maybe #1 but don't expect stellar results. I would try #3 and practice on some junk fenders until I had it down pretty good. Good Luck. Stu

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Stu D Baker

Forget #2. Way wrong. Maybe #1 but don't expect stellar results. I would try #3 and practice on some junk fenders until I had it down pretty good. Good Luck. Stu

Good advice.

Brian

[C-cab dreamer]

Number 3 without a doubt. Don't look at the compressor as a cost for doing that job...you needed one anyway, right?
As the guys say, a little practice goes a long way.
But a black car...oooohh, gotta get that body just about perfect.
But good luck with that.

[mitmaks]

One thing I can tell you is don't cheap out. I had a guy bring me a black Mustang that he "fixed" with rattle can. It wasn't pretty, he just wasted his time/money rather than having it done professionally. On a repair like that one you'll have to blend it, not very friendly repair for someone who doesn't know much about bodywork/paint.

[boatbob2]

Hi,ive been in the fiberglass business for 35 years,the only time i have seen that type of damage,is when the boat caught on fire,OR was very close to something burning.OR some EXTREME HEAT,to repair those chips (for lack of a better descriptive word) i would take an AWL,(pointed instrument) (before sanding) and pop those suckers out of there,take your time,and dont miss any.then using a spray gun,i would shoot every hole with ACETONE (after checking that your paint will withstand the acetone) AFTER all are popped out and sprayed with acetone, (and dried good)DONT use BONDO type materials,fill all those places with a 2 part epoxy,with a little filler, (micro baloons) make sure that those places are a little high, THEN you can sand. BUT forget #1 AND # 2,number3 is the ONLY decent option,have fun....

[OneMoreTime]

For the cost of a pro and they are worth it one can buy a good compressor and gun setup do the job and throw the compressor and gun away and still have money left on a lot of jobs. Take Boatbobs advice and go with number 3. West systems makes an excellent epoxy system for this kind of project and thatis what I would bite it and use..When you get to the paint part let us know and we cn guide you a bit on materials and technique for that piece but do the repair part first and get that done..

Sam