I am thinking of buying a fiberglass car that has a wider door gap than I like between the pillar (body) and the door. I am familiar with 'glass cars but not with filling the gap like this. I would think the door pillar would need to be built up with fiberglass? If I had an experienced guy do this, what are the odds of a successful repair? I mean, would this be a difficult job? The gap to be filled is on the order of 3/16 inch or less. Not real bad but it bothers me and if I cant do a good repair I won't buy it. It's still in gel-coat of that matters and was made six years ago. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks in advance.
fiberglass is very easy to work with,itch.you must keep everything saturated with resin and continously work the air bubbles out of the mat/cloth, scratch.if its done right its almost bullett prove,itch.for your situation you could build up the area and finish it with a scim coat of filler,scratch.there is one thing that you need to know about this stuff however,itch.
This is not a tough repair, building up fiberglass is not rocket science. But it will take a lot of time and effort to make something like that look nice. Make sure the body is on the frame the way you want it before you go modifying any fiberglass. Go for it, you can do it.
Most people just add to the door not the pillar.But you can cut a slit along the pillar push it to where you like it ,then glass it back in from the back side.After doing your glass from back side use a skim of body filler on outsideThat way you still have a clean line on the outside.
What he said BUT glass the outside also................... than skim ........... On glass I use a thin paint stick as a guild gap, remembering that "skim", primer & paint will make it tighter.........................
That would come out the best and look the most professional, IMO. Treat it like metal except using different materials.
Thanks to you all for letting me know this can be done correctly. I wish one of you body guys lived closer. If I buy the car I need to find someone capable near Columbus, Ohio. Thanks again.
I have a buddy that was into experimental aircraft. He used "micro ballons" like the boat guys do to strengthen his stuff. Sands like butta... the gaps on his 33 coupe were amazing. You might want to go outside the auto areana for some help. Gary
Not to mention that the door MIGHT have gaps because the body might need to be shimmed a bit as it sits on the frame...