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shaving door handle on fiberglass and a few fiberglass questions

4K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  tech69 
#1 ·
so I'm filing holes for the luggage rack by beveling the surrounding area and after that I'm even beveling the very edge of the hole(so air doesn't get trapped) and I'm giving it a nice bed to adhere to. Then I'm taking tape on the back side (can't find aluminum tape) then using mat and cloth to fill. So far it seems strong but will have to go another round directly on the hole, then switch to filler. The 1/8" holes for the emblem on the back are beveled as well but decided to try to droop in some resin while working the other stuff then will kitty hair the rest. Seems suffice for such small holes. Anyhow, I'm not sure about the door handles. Should I use this technique that I used on the luggage rack holes or should I fab up a piece to fill the door handle opening then bevel all edges? Seems like if I don't make a patch I will be laying mat and cloth forever but it seems like it would be stronger in the end. Any suggestions? Not a fiberglass expert, just trying to do a good job.
 
#5 ·
fiberglass is much like metal. it will telegraph a thicker patch. just an fyi . i use epoxy resin to do repairs with. the last layer on a patch should be veil cloth after the patch is done . i despise kitty hair of any kind . it will shrink and swell forever . use evercoat 870 instead .
for a backer you can use thin piece of aluminum with a heavy coat of kit wax .
 
#7 ·
thanks for that. I've watched a few gasser glass vids and he pretty much says the same thing. Boss wants me to go thru this polyester resin we have left before ordering epoxy resin. I use cloth on top to so it doesn't telegraph but it's your standard kind and wouldn't think it's the veil kind you suggested, or maybe it is? Thanks for your thoughts, you seem to be a Corvette expert from some of your posts I read.
 
#6 ·
for the door handle you can lay some mat and resin on foil or waxed glass, when it dries, pop it off and cut out a patch. leave the patch down from the surface and glass over the patch. if you need to hold the patch in place, mix up some hot filler, smuck the edges and press the patch piece into the filler. grind out the filler and taper your edges before glassing.

for those 1/8'' holes; resin by itself has no strength. taper the hole, tape the back and glass it. masking tape works fine, don't need foil tape. it does leave sticky residue, grind it off if it bothers you. you can also add strength by glass on the back.

your patches should be the same thickness as your base panel.
 
#8 ·
thanks! I'll try the foil thing for a quick mold then just use more foil and tape to hold it up while glassing over it. probably use cardboard as a "buck" then form the foil around it. I'm such a true "metal former". :) So if it hangs low I'll under cut it a tad low as well. Boss is over his head on this car so the emphasis on this car is do a good job but don't go crazy.
 
#9 ·
there are many different veil cloths. mat is pretty much the same. i use a very tight mat that helps hide the woven mat. one thing i learned from flynams over at spi is to use black plastic to cook the repair above most any temp it will see. neat trick .:thumbup:

dont know about being an expert . glass does not make me itch for some reason so i have worked with it since my early years in this. glass dont rust !!!!!!!
 
#10 ·
it doesn't rust but there seems to be more guys who don't know about fiberglass than guys that do. I'm sure you've had to give bad news to a few customers about repairs you found.

Yesterday I tried to make a cheapie mold for the handle but didn't like it. I'll just lay some flat and cut out the shape and so that way since it's flat the time could be consumed by laying mat and not pushing out bubbles, since it will be easier to get rid of them on a flat surface.

thanks for you time.
 
#11 ·
many times i will make a backer from 1/8 woven on wax paper then set it behind with resin. once dry i will fill the void with mat and resin. the 1/8 does not seem to telegraph . years ago there were no repair panels for vettes so we had to put the pieces back together . gm sold complet parts but no pieces. then the after market started making corners and such. which all sucked no matter who made it . i refuse to use pieces. if it needs a surround that is what i do but i wont cut through the wheel well and patch one on .
 
#12 ·
I have done a fair amount of fiberglass repairs and I am quick to say I honestly, not being humble, I know next to nothing. It is a tricky mutha and I am enjoying this thread, couldn't wait to see what tricks would be.

I did a Vette years ago, filled a hole in the hood for a velocity stack to stick out of. :rolleyes: I did everything I thought was right, to the tenth degree. Thinned out both sides quite a ways from the edge, used mat on both sides, just did everything to eliminate that hard line at the edge of the hole. It STILL showed when the car got hot in the sun!

I did a lot of "regular old" repairs on motorhomes and the like, they were plenty good, strong, looked good. But that Vette beat me up!

I remember hearing about Epoxy resin back then or in the following years, but I have never used it. Sounds like a good way to go.

Shine, how do you know a good medium between resin and mat or cloth? I am thinking I maybe used too much resin there was too much there at the edge of that hole in the hood of the Vette. I am thinking that is the biggest trick, that amount of resin used.

Brian
 
#13 · (Edited)
the biggest problem is polyester be it resin or bondo. it is a horrible resin to cure. durglass is one of the worst. it takes forever to cure out and is so full of fillers it will map forever .
keeping the thickness close is all important but another thing is to get a full cure before finishing it out. the black plastic in the sun does the trick. epoxy resin is just a better resin, far better cure with better adhesion . for finish over it i use evercoat vpa .
most all repairs can be done with mat . cloth is for strength .
brian, use only enough resin to cover the mat. the mat stops the resin from moving . if that makes sense :)
 
#14 ·
I don't remember the brand resin but your info makes my stomach turn, I can bet I have used Duraglass, yeow.

Yes that makes sense on the amount of resin. You want to hear something funny I worked with a guy who was a life long tech, worked for years on exotics. Be believes that the resin is the strength and I saw him put straight resin over a cracked panel! Yes it came back, in fact it never left a few times, right out of paint, ghost line and re-cracking. Goes to show you "experience" means nothing, it's what do you know. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when he would say and do this. I don't know where he learned this, in some obscure situation it works I guess and he just took that and ran with it.

Brian
 
#15 ·
the old painter did a side job on an old vette for a truck. I think a 58 but not sure. Anyhow, he did all kinds of funky stuff to it. Panel adhesive, smc repair, and filler. He said he wanted to build up an area and THEN glass it so he used kitty hair and glassed over the top, and that wasn't even the part that failed on the come back. That guy better not lose the old painter's number, place of work, where he lives... :D
 
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