Ken Sungela

A friend of a friend has a '71 he had dustless blasted (water and glass bead). He's looking for a drive paint job and was quoted $20K to do the job given the condition of the car. I looked at it the other day to offer some advice and to potentially do the job, but was kind of in awe regarding the roughness of the surface. The front clip was the roughest:



The t-tops and rear clip were not as rough:






The top of each fender was cracked and repaired in the past:



Other previous damage to the nose.



Regarding the rough surface, what would be the best method for smoothing? VPA, lightweight filler, many coats of spray polyester filler?

The front needs repair and has the roughest surface, so a new front clip is an option. I understand the hand laid will require more work to install, which leads me to another question: who has the best hand laid c3 front clip?

The car will be a driver and is moving to florida soon to spend the rest of its life.

porchdog

Seen the same thing with soda. . Anything can do that . It can be resurfaced with ggel coat or slicksand.

DUB

I agree. I have seen the surface get like what you have shown when soda was used.

Knowing that the 'damage' is already done. I will say that if this car were in my shop. I would grind out ALL body filler that you can see and fill it back in with VPA or laminate where needed not knowing what is under the large ares of body filler at the front left fender.

Then I would gelcoat it...then polyester prime it and then seal it and paint it. Obviously this advice is FREE and it is your car and you can do as you wish....so...taking away some of these steps is entirely up to you....and thus....any potential problems resulting from changes in the process and or end result later in the future are all on you.

As for whose front clip is the best...I have no exact answer. I use American Custom Industries...and I hope that who ever is setting up the molds...they actually take the TIME to get them fitted correctly....so when you get it. The parting lines in the front clip are flush with each other so blocking down the gelcoat flashing will take the panel to being what it needs to be.

Just be aware that there are special retainers that need to be attached to the front clip prior to installation so other parts can be installed. I use the correct factory solid aluminum rivets and buck them....but some people will use pop-rivets. Like I wrote...its your car...do as you wish.

It will be all depending on how much time you are willing to spend on this front clip install....and YES...they can be FUN. ESPECIALLY when you are fitting and getting the proper gap for the wiper door area. IF you do this..it is wise to take numerous measurements...so you are not scratching your head wonder how it 'should be'...and wishing you knew 'what it was'. There is a lot going on to get one back one and correct...and is not as easy as some may think. And if using hand laid...getting it prepped and fitted does take a bit more time due to the panel is not a consistent thickness like the factory press molded fiberglass panels are.

And you know they can be done....so not trying to scare you...but it depends on how good of a job you want when done...regardless if it is 'driver' or not.

DUB

porchdog

i would block it with 100 grit, do the repairs , gel coat it and go. was this done mobile ?

Ken Sungela

Thanks guys. It was a mobile blasting setup, on a trailer. Worked great on a metal chassis, but too harsh on the fiberglass.

porchdog

my media supplier sells those rigs. the majority of them have no experience and get a 20 min explanation and a book. first give away is when they tell you it wont warp because the water keeps it cool. heat has nothing to do with it.
anything that will remove paint will destroy glass. when i blasted the 57 it had some texture in places but the glass was degraded and needed to come off anyway. really rough body to start with . it's not a complete disaster . just hairs blown out . few coats of slicksand or gel coat will bring it back .

Ken Sungela

After sleeping on it a few nights, I think repairing the front end is a better alternative than replacing.
So, is this resin acceptable for use on this year car/fiberglass?
http://www.fibreglast.com/product/Is...lyester_Resins
What brand gelcoat do you recommend?
How do you recommend I "shoot in" VPA between 2 panels that are separated but cannot be completely taken off the car?
Thanks.

DUB

This resin...if you read it...is for making molds which is a different type of resin than the regular Evercoat laminating resin.

http://www.evercoat.com/product-deta...art/100498/us/


If you have a boat repair place around you...you can more than likely get it from them. IF not...look back into the archives in this 'paint/body' section of the forum and you will find where the Evercoat gelcoat was used by someone...and also some other brand. I would get the gelcoat that DOES NOT----repeat----DOES NOT have the wax in it and you have to apply the PVA on top of it. I get my gelcoat across the state line in South Carolina so I know he can not ship it.

'shoot in'???? You can not 'shoot in' VPA....so I am a bit confused. I kinda think I know what you mean...but I need to see good photos of what you have going on....and a good description of those photos.

DUB

Ken Sungela

Thanks Dub. I'd have to go back to the garage where the car is to get pictures, but maybe "squirt in" is a better phrase. VPA in a caulk tube with a pointed tip would be perfect to get the material in between two panels that can be separated 1/8" -1". I can just get some VPA on a 1" scraper knife and work it in between the panels.

DUB

When I am applying VPA in between two panels...I make sure the gap is CLEAN and prepped...and if I can slightly separate the panels I do so...then I use my plastic bondo speared and pack it in the area...then remove my tool that separated the panels and see if it oozed out...then pack some more in and let the VPA set up.

You should be good to go...just make sure the areas for the VPA to adhere are CLEAN.

DUB