BRISLS1

I was trying to repair the weatherstrip for the back top of window last night, and when done applying and removing Goof Off ( so I can glue the weatherstrip once again ); I pushed down the hatch to close it and be sure it was closed. It looked like rain coming, and I had some nervous energy lingering from a long day of coffee-drinking at work, so I pushed on the hatch in various places. Turns out I cracked the body panel of the hatch right about where those curves are sculpted into it beside the rear window.

Can a hairline crack like this be repaired, or do I have to buy a new hatch?

This is embarassing beyond belief, but I still think a shop would send me home to do my own weatherstrip repair (have been shooed away from shops before), and think I am just sick of messing with it.

1968swbbigblock

Yes it can be fixed - the question becomes financial - a replacement correctly colored part from salvage or spare parts from someone's race updates is likely far less expensive.
No one gets out a paint gun for less than $500 buck today.

BRISLS1

Thanks! I'll include a spare/used part as a potential solution.

Dale1990

It depends on how bad the crack is and where it is located but, generally, yes the panels can be repaired. The trick is that it takes folks that know the right techniques and materials to use on composite panels. Luckily, composites are more common these days so it shouldn't be too hard but it pays to check around.

BRISLS1

Again thanks! I have noticed a bunch of this part on EBay and vendors from this forum that can be bought.

Body shops seem to hate discussing this over the phone, and one even told me not to even stop by until Tuesday, because they are just that busy. Just calling around and being told how hard it is going to be to get an estimate.. may just buy the used part and be done with it. One shop only gives estimates up to 4:30PM and refused to do an overnight drop. I am completely in the wrong career, lol.

BRISLS1

Turns out Corvette Recyclers did not have the part in stock; there seems to be a lot of risk in the EBay pool (some outward warnings about condition or wrong color).

So I may be back on the hunt for a body shop that can do "bondo" or some other non-metal filler. The crack is not all the way through, so there is time.

BRISLS1

Just closing this out.. the body shop which finally agreed to do the work, completed it for about $800. So that was just too low to make it worth an insurance claim with big deductible, and high enough to create misery in my entertainment budget. Most good shops in my area all reported "heavy hail storms lately, no time to fit you in with all our other customers". So I went with a very popular, highly-advertised, known by all shop, which had no real negative reviews, just not the super-positive reviews of the shops I have used in the past and know intimately. I have worked in the car insurance business, so I do have a tiny bias to some names given to me in the past by claims experts.
All that said, they repaired the crack. You can still see it if you get your eyes level with the car, and they dripped paint in some areas about 2 feet away from the damage. All of this took weeks for me to notice, so it's a done deal. No time to argue, just not going back to that shop.

If you crack a panel, specifically, the rear hatch, buy another on Ebay and get it installed, or make the body shop install one new. Thanks