Dalannex

OK. Here's my next question as I progress on my paint prep. I have spider cracking on both front fenders. It is not cracking in the glass, it's in the paint. Now remember I did have the front end off of this car, and had to do some repairs on it, then rebond it to the body, as well as having the body off the frame. I don't know if the spider cracking was there before, or if it was from all the flexing as I moved the front end from place to place, and tipped it over, then back again. Will the primer sealer or the primer surfacer seal these up after I get them sanded smooth or will they crack right through again? How do I handle this?

CF6873

Dalannex; The way I check spider cracks to see if they are in the glass or just on the surface is wipe on some pre- paint solvent like Dupont Final Klean and quickly wipe it dry. If the wet solvent lingers in the cracks they are probably deep and need repaired. If they dry immediately the primer will take care of them. Good Luck, Craig

Hasbeen

Don`t even think about trying to prime and paint over spider cracks! Even though it sounds great, It`s just a quick fix, and an expensive one in the long run!!!I`ve been a bodyman and painter for 25 years and cut my teeth on Corvettes!!! Been disapointed too many times to think about!!! Sand down to the glass and start over!!!! Sorry to have to break it to you like this, but this is the straight truth!!!!!

HASBEEN

Dalannex

I kind of thought you were going to say that. How would you suggest repairing them then? Sand all the paint off and see how deep they go I suppose? If they sand away, then good enough, if not glass over them?

lars

Dalanex -
Hasben is right: Spider cracking is nasty stuff, and you can't rely in the K36 or other fill primer to simply fill them up and produce a lasting fix - the cracking will re-appear very quickly.
The only thing to do is to sand the cracking completely out. Bring the crazed area down to bare 'glass and feather the sanded-down area into the rest of the contour with a long sanding board. You can use your 80-grit to cut through the cracked paint quickly, and the switch over to your 150 once you're down through the paint. Once you're down to the bare 'glass in the area, go over it with some 220-or-so sandpaper to smooth it out, and then wipe the area down really well with a wax and grease remover like PrepSol or whatever. When you wipe it down, you'll be able to see if the cracking/crazing is in the 'glass or not. If it is, you're going to have to do a little 'glass repair to eliminate it, or the cracking will go right up through your new primer and paint. If there is no evidence of cracking into the 'glass, you're ready to seal it up and fill prime it.
Isn't this fun...?

Dalannex

Thanks Lars, I guess. I was kind of hoping for better news, even though I knew the answer before I asked the question. I am wondering if I bit off more than I can chew lately. I took the back bumper cover off to sand and straighten the seam, and the fiberglass part of the body where the bumper cover attaches is missing some chunks, so I need to fix that. I also found a couple of little cracks on the rear quarters behind the wheels that need fixing. I don't think I'll ever get this job done. And now the cracking on the front. :rolleyes: :nonod: :mad I guess it's too late to turn back now. I absolutely need to get it done by spring, so I better stay on it. I'll be posting more questions for you later.

Justin

Paul 75 L82

You can use Evercoat- Corvette Panel Adhasive. It works great to fill any voids. Lars recommends it's use for this in his paper on painting. It really sands good.

lars

Justin -
Don't despair! I know exactly how you feel with being a little overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to be done - I get the feeling every time I go through the process and start another job. The key is to keep the process going - a little bit at a time and a little bit every day: I force myself to touch the car and do SOMETHING on it every evening - even if it's just running the sanding board across a panel a few times or grinding out a defect. If you keep at it like this, the job will move along at a faster and easier pace than you would imagine. I even try not to look at the big picture of the whole project: I find it gets discouraging! Instead, I just work one little thing at a time: I set a goal of finishing 1 panel per week, for instance. This week my goal is to do a door and have it in primer. Next week, I repair the quarter and get a coat of K36 on it.

Paul is right - The Evercoat Corvette Panel Adhesive is some pretty good stuff. It will let you get away with a few shortcuts.... It mixes nice, goes on like yogurt, and sands like butter. Since it's a polyester product, it essentially acts like gelcoat, and it will seal up anything you smear it on. If the substrate is actually cracking, the cracks will eventually come through again, but this stuff is pretty forgiving and durable...

Drop me a note if you start loosing motivation - we'll get you kick started again...!

Dalannex

I've been staying on it. 2 hours every night after work, and all day on my days off. I guess it actually hasn't been that long. I put it in right before christmas, and through the holiday season I didn't have much for time to work on it, with traveling to family get togethers on days off and all. I have more motivation than I need already. I am trying to get it done for the big Corvette rally in Spearfish, SD July 17-21. I have been making reservations for hotel rooms and such during my "off time". I have been planning attending this event since last summer, so I absolutely need to have the vette ready.

I do have a quart of Ecklers spray gelcoat. Would this help my spider cracking any? I assume not, but it never hurts to ask.


[Modified by Dalannex, 4:35 AM 1/6/2002]

Dalannex

I found the problem with my spider cracking tonight. The fiberglass is all cracked to cr*a*p on one side, so I will need to finish grinding that down to bare glass so I can repair with resin and mat, and the other side, for some reason had 3/16" of Bondo in it. That was cracked. I ground out the bondo and laid in 4 layers of mat where it was. That should keep the level at about the same height after I sand it a little and give it a final skimming of body filler.

I know I asked before, as well as in another thread today, but I am still not sure of if I am doing this right. I sand with 80, then 180. If I examine REAL closely, there are still some sanding scratches. Will these fill with the primer, or should I hit it with 220 before priming?

CF6873

Make sure you sand out all the 80 grit scratches with the 180. The urethane primer will take care of the 180 with no problem. Craig

Dalannex

Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear. :D

Justin

vettfixr

Hi Dalannex
I was plagued with cracking on the front fenders of my 74 and with a black car it's even worse. You can take all of the suggestions so far and do a good repair job but the problem will return unless you attack the cause. The real cause of cracking on the top of the front fenders is the lack of an inner fender guard on C3s. If you look under the fender you will see that there is a large portion of the fender that is unprotected from rocks and debris that are thrown up by the tires. To cure this I got some heavy foam mat (used a 3/4 inch thick indoor outdoor kitchen mat) and cut it to size and glued it to the bottom of the fender with Liquid Nails adhesive. This creates a nice cushion for the fenders and after probably more than 10 years I've yet to have a crack return. After you've glued the foam to the underside of the fender and it's dried you can use a rubberized undercoat on the entire wheel well and you'll never know that the foam is there. Good luck with your project.

Dalannex

Hey, thanks for the tip!!! :cool: I should have thought of that. I worked on fenders for a step side chevy pickup a few years ago that had cracks all over them for exactly the same reason. I put a factory GM fender liner in those fenders, then reglassed the cracks, but since we don't have factory liners, the foam mat idea should work fine. Thanks.

Justin

dewayne4

I know how you feel about spider webs in the paint. Only problem is I have them all over the WHOLE car. I understand what vettfixr said about rocks coming up through the fender wells, but what could have caused this over the entire car? :confused: :mad

vettfixr

Hi Dewayne4
If you've got spiderweb cracks over the whole car you've got a paint failure problem. I see from your sig that you're in the process of stripping the entire car. That's the best cure because somewhere along the line someone either prepped the car wrong or used the wrong paint combination or used incompatible products. When I got my 74 I had much the same problem because of multiple paint jobs and a mix of lacquer and enamel paint jobs to boot. Once i took it down to the fiberglass and repainted with products from one manufacturer the problem didn't return. Since you're prepping the body I would pay close attention to the seams along the fenders. I ended up restripping and repainting my 74 because I didn't grind these out and glass them in the first time around. If they look solid and the filler isn't dried out or separating from the SMC you might be OK (I thought I was) but on a car as old as ours it's only a matter of time before the problem occurs. A little prevention now may save you from a repair or repaint in the future. Good luck. :seeya