Rayvan

I thought I posted about this before but can't find it anywhere.

Anyways, I crashed into somebody by accident and it left my baby with about a 10 inch gash on the front right fender. Will post pictures later but wanted to see if any of you guys think its feasible to patch it up with some sort of fiberglass repair kit as I've seen it done on Speed channel--I think I found a link to a specific item on Amazon last time I was here but probably do not have the right keywords.

For an idea of where the gash is-its roughly above the right signal on this-although its not the same model.


Any help massively appreciated. I want to avoid replacing the entire hood surround.

jay_c3

I'm new to the forum but i have been getting all the repair catalogs and it seems to me it would be cheaper and quicker to replace the whole clip with one from corvette america. Did you look at the mounting locations for breaks?

Easy Mike

Careful there. Some of the wahoos on Speed Channel know nothing about Corvettes or Corvette repair.

Post some pics. Where is your damage? You say fender. You can replace a fender without having to replace the hood surround. Depending upon the damage, you may be able to repair your fender.

Most of the Corvette fiberglass books will advise against using the center wheel wells forward type clip in your pic. A bonding joint in the area is usually weak.

Look for these:


http://www.glas-ra.com/

69 Chevy

zwede

Yeah, pics needed. If it's a few cracks they can be repaired. If it's really a "gash", which I define as material missing, a panel replacement might be called for.

I would certainly hope it was by accident!

Rayvan

Here you go guys, sorry for the delay





Please link me to a repair kit if you guys think that its even possible to patch up with a filling, sanding and repainting.

eddy20

There is a book on corvette restoration; "Corvette Restoration State of the Art by Michael Antonick (1989, Paperback)" that has a chapter on the art of Fiberglass Repair; check it out. You repair looks like not only body but some extensive paint. You may be able to do the repair and only have to pay for the paint?

80Baby

I must agree with eddy20, looks like most of the damage is to the paint. The front clip seems to have separated along the body panel joint and it'll be tough to tell how far back along the right front fender the joint has been compromised. This past summer I renewed all four body panel joints on my '80. It's labor intensive only because of the hours of sanding required.

If this were my car, I'd opt to repair the entire joint seam. Then have the car repainted. That's a lot easier than replacing the front clip.

zwede

That's an easy repair. I'm more worried about the thick paint. Is it firmly attached everywhere? No flaking/bubbling?

Anyway, to fix the gash you will remove the paint around the damaged area, all the way to the fiberglass. With such thick paint that is coming off easily, use a razorblade scraper.

Next use an angle grinder with a 40 grit flap wheel and gring out the gash. You do not want to grind through, leave a thin back wall. Grind up and down to get a large surface area for the patch to adhere to. You want to grind ~1" up and 1" down into good panels so you would end up with a ~3" or so wide valley.

Then get 1 qt of SMC compatible resin and hardener. Either epoxy resin or polyester with SMC additive. Note that the "bondo" brand resin for sale at auto parts stores is not SMC compatible and is no good (won't stick)!

You also need a pack of fiberglass mat (not cloth). Note: this is mat:



Put 2 layers of painters (green) tape under and over the damage. Tear strips of mat, glass the damage until your repair is higher than the surrounding panel.

Use the angle grinder with 40 grit flap to grind it down close to level (leave it a hair high). The tape will tell you when you're there.

Use a rubber sanding block with 80 grit to rough-finish the repair. Go diagonal and follow the curve of the fender.

The repair now ready for a skim-coat of bondo and paint.

Always use a dust mask when grinding fiberglass. The dust is bad for you.

Roco71

From the photos that appears to be very repairable and a lot easier than trying to replace part of the front clip. Do your headlights still work (raise and lower)?

jnb5101

wow! with paint that thick, i'm surprised the glass was damaged.
problem i see is getting the repair and the old/new paint junction level without building up the thickness of the repair area. i suppose that you could shoot multiple coats of epoxy to build it up, but it may not be totally flat. i think you might have to remove all the old paint and respray the entire car.

Rayvan

That sounds quite involved...I'm going to get an estimate this weekend to see if they can save me the hassle. If its as simple as you say, it shouldn't be that huge a bill...and I'll probably spend about the same buying the gear that I'll never use again...

In case the bill is huge though , please clarify this:
"You do not want to grind through, leave a thin back wall. Grind up and down to get a large surface area for the patch to adhere to. You want to grind ~1" up and 1" down into good panels so you would end up with a ~3" or so wide valley."

Q1. By thin back wall, do you mean the fiberglass behind the gash? because if so, I don't think there is any wall left over...its probably just a slit at this point but I'd have to check.

Q2. If there is indeed a back wall left, you want me to run a 3 inch slit through the entire gash to fill it in later?


I really appreciate everyone's input, I'm massively relieved its not a huge deal.

Rayvan

well, I kind of take that "back wall done for" statement back. Now that I look at picture, it shouldn't be a slit at this point.

zwede

The resin is a thick liquid, so you need a back wall to build up against. If you can leave some factory material that's ideal. If it is so damaged that it falls out leaving holes you can tape something to the back side that fiberglass doesn't stick to. I use yellow bondo spreaders.

69 Chevy

Just take it to a bodyshop and leave it to the pros. Believe me, they won't be replacing the front clip or repainting the whole car.

Actually, I can't believe a certain CF member didn't recommend TIG welding.