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I posted this in the paint and body section as well but haven't gotten any traction there so I thought I would post it here as well.
This weekend, while putting the car up on some cinder blocks, I got complacent, forgot to chock the front wheels and the car rolled off of the blocks, causing the front to crash down on the blocks. This caused some damage to the passenger side 1/4 panel in front of the wheel. I am looking for options on repairing this damage. Does this repair require replacement of the entire panel or are there other options? If the panel needs to be replaced, what is the best way to go about the removal and replacement? I have not done any fiberglass work to the car so I would appreciate any help or advice that you can offer.
So, I removed the air dam and front valance to get a closer look at the damage. Does the fact that the bonding compound in the area of the damage (inner front fender skirt) has detached change your opinion about repairability? Can fresh bonding compound be pushed back into the joint to make it solid? Also, here are a few better pictures of the damage. As always, I appreciate the help and feedback.
Are you trying to get this back together while leaving exterior paint intact? It is down where you gotta look to see it. Or are you planning on redoing the outer surface and landing the paint? Ho well does the crack close when pushed backtogether? Maybe get some sheet metal and bend it to approximate the curve and a couple of c clamps. Put sheet metal on the outside and clamp the 2 sides of the crack to pull it back closed. Then lay up some glass mat on the back side while it is pulled back into shape. Wax the orange paint. That way resin leaking through won't bond to the outside. What year? Looks like 75-up bumper guards. Removing whole bumper cover may give you more work room. A word on paint. You start doing this corner. Then you see those 2 chips. And that 1 scratch. Now you have 4 touch ups that don't match that you hate. 2 years and 10,000 dollars later you get the car back from the painter...
Are you trying to get this back together while leaving exterior paint intact? It is down where you gotta look to see it. Or are you planning on redoing the outer surface and landing the paint? Ho well does the crack close when pushed backtogether? Maybe get some sheet metal and bend it to approximate the curve and a couple of c clamps. Put sheet metal on the outside and clamp the 2 sides of the crack to pull it back closed. Then lay up some glass mat on the back side while it is pulled back into shape. Wax the orange paint. That way resin leaking through won't bond to the outside. What year? Looks like 75-up bumper guards. Removing whole bumper cover may give you more work room. A word on paint. You start doing this corner. Then you see those 2 chips. And that 1 scratch. Now you have 4 touch ups that don't match that you hate. 2 years and 10,000 dollars later you get the car back from the painter...
No, I realize that I will need to remove the paint in that area. The crack pushes back together pretty well, the trick will be to get it to stay together long enough for the repair to set up. I will look into some type of clamp arrangement. I am thinking to sand back all of the paint in that area, grind the cracks out a bit and then add a couple of layers of glass and matt. Then clean up the inside of the fender and add a few layers of matt and glass for strength. That is, of course, unless someone comes along and offers a better plan. The one question that still remains though is re-bonding the fender to the inner fender skirt (for lack of a better term). The panel adhesive pulled apart at the bottom of the front skirt, about 3-4 inches or so. Can I just pull it apart, push in some adhesive, leave it to cure and expect a good bond? There must be a way of doing this since the only solution remaining would be complete panel removal, which seems excessive. Oh, and yes, it is a 75, and I am fully aware of how far down the rabbit hole this can take me. The car is in need of a re-paint as it is. I am just trying to buy some more time before taking that pill.
You start doing this corner. Then you see those 2 chips. And that 1 scratch. Now you have 4 touch ups that don't match that you hate. 2 years and 10,000 dollars later you get the car back from the painter...
Are you trying to get this back together while leaving exterior paint intact? It is down where you gotta look to see it. Or are you planning on redoing the outer surface and landing the paint? Ho well does the crack close when pushed backtogether? Maybe get some sheet metal and bend it to approximate the curve and a couple of c clamps. Put sheet metal on the outside and clamp the 2 sides of the crack to pull it back closed. Then lay up some glass mat on the back side while it is pulled back into shape. Wax the orange paint. That way resin leaking through won't bond to the outside. What year? Looks like 75-up bumper guards. Removing whole bumper cover may give you more work room. A word on paint. You start doing this corner. Then you see those 2 chips. And that 1 scratch. Now you have 4 touch ups that don't match that you hate. 2 years and 10,000 dollars later you get the car back from the painter...
I'm a rookie at fiberglassing, but do what Derek said so you will have depth to grind the valley in the cracks on the front side without grinding through the repair on the back side.....
cclean and sand the "back side" of the damaged area plus some extra area for the resin to penetrate.
Also clean and sand between the area that came unbonded so you can rebond it while you are there.
Make a valley in the cracks so you get a good thick repair on the back side and let it cure for a day....
then you can sand away all the paint and grind a valley in all the cracks ON THE FRONT SIDE to fill them in with fiberglass mat.
Last edited by doorgunner; Oct 1, 2019 at 05:32 PM.
you can just basically slap a glass tab on the inner skirt to fender. 4 by 6 inch piece of wetted mat. 2 inches on the inner skirt, 2 inches on the inside of fender. then if it ever has to come off, just cut the area between the 2. wait until repair is done and slip skirt back to where it originally was.
I'm a rookie at fiberglassing, but do what Derek said so you will have depth to grind the valley in the cracks on the front side without grinding through the repair on the back side.....
cclean and sand the "back side" of the damaged area plus some extra area for the resin to penetrate.
Also clean and sand between the area that came unbonded so you can rebond it while you are there.
Make a valley in the cracks so you get a good thick repair on the back side and let it cure for a day....
then you can sand away all the paint and grind a valley in all the cracks ON THE FRONT SIDE to fill them in with fiberglass mat.
Thanks doorgunner. I appreciate the advice and guidance.
you can just basically slap a glass tab on the inner skirt to fender. 4 by 6 inch piece of wetted mat. 2 inches on the inner skirt, 2 inches on the inside of fender. then if it ever has to come off, just cut the area between the 2. wait until repair is done and slip skirt back to where it originally was.
Thanks for the advice and filling in that blank for me. Totally makes sense fixing the separation in that way.
1/4 Panel Damage help needed
