Technical Glass Frontend Rescue Thread

Mine looked like this when I test fitted it to my '39 Chevy. Talk about crappy fit!




I ended up cutting the hood off, and sold the fenders to some dork making a "R" rod. After a lot of work I gotthe hood "bent" to fit my car's cowl and grille.

 

Some great examples here. Was planning on getting the paint off and leaving it. If I can’t do that I need to prep for the next step. Which is; A) Resin and hardener, B) Gelcoat, C) Two part Epoxy or D) something else? Which is beat for this?

 

ONLY resin/hardnener if youre putting matt on. Painting with resin is just making it brittle and not helping anything. Gelcoat could work. Epoxy, if youre doing a repair.

Id see how it looks, repairs from the inside as needed, add some matt in places if you feel they need more strength. then go at it with heavy build primer

 

Gel coat is best, can go in any direction from there.

 

With bad cracks like I saw in an early photo, the glass fibers are all broken and resin alone is not a strong fix. You have to 'bridge' the backside with FG mat and then V-cut the outside to remove any weak, 'resin fixes'. Then overfill the V with fresh fiber and just enough resin. You will have a ridgeline to grind down but there's no getting around that.
Like Mongo says, "Fiber strong. Resin, no strong".
Just thinking about it makes me itchy.

 

Taking advice from here I added the nickel brake line tubing to the inner lip then held it in place with bondo. Hopefully it will be strong enough to sit on the ground without collapsing.

 

Just saw this thread...or maybe saw it again after a long time. Doing the same thing right now and fixing glass the way I have before for Corvettes or even a wheel standing tractor that I built a hood for. I just put this 55 front end back together after it got into a wall. Almost there and just lacking some final bodywork on the outside to make it look like it wasn’t in 10 pieces with some areas missing. Strangely enough, I kind of like fiberglass work.

 

@guthriesmith - The king's men should have let you work on Humpty Dumpty. Great save!

 

Thanks! But the time vs. money to buy new likely doesn’t make sense on it. However, sentimental value can change that equation at times. Just glad it could be saved.

 

That front end is part of the car's racing history. Therefore worth saving, when you factor in that it wasn't junk in the first place. Valid points posted about time, money and the aging of parts. UV light isn't kind to 'glass parts. We've all seen ''fuzzy'' pieces that were left outside.

 

Exactly. When I saw the story on the car, I knew the front end needed fixed. Car should be racing again soon according to Rusty.

 

Matte/ resin builds more bulk ,less strength. Cloth / resin builds less bulk/ More strength .There's nothing wrong with using polyester resin to fix polyester resin . A skim coat of bondo , then primer , then paint is an acceptable method for repair . metal or wood imbedments can be attached many different products , do some reading on boat forums & suppliers websites , you'll gain some knowledge ..

 

Subscribed! Need help with the glass front end on the 55!


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I recognize that front end! Good job! Are you going to sand down and gel coat?

 

No sir, I will just skim coat the repaired areas with body filler, then prime it with a good filler primer. I have never worried about gel coating glass when I either built parts or repaired them and it has also never caused me any issue. I built the majority of a hood for a marketing tractor at my work about 8 years ago now that we did that way and it has never had any issue at all. If it did, we would see it in black if any color. I have also done multiple repairs on vettes and boats as well the same way. Glass really just needs a good seal coat prior to paint to fill any porosity as best I can tell.

And, thanks!

 

If using gel coat I hope they have a better formula than in the '70s, couldn't keep the sandpaper from clogging up back than.............................

 

Getting close now. I was sure to use my “paint booth” for the primer application.

 

It doesn't look like you needed any advice!

 

Lol...I was just showing the rescue of another 55 Chevy fiberglass front end. The OP was asking about a different one.

 

Yep, not mine but he is moving along!

 

What primer are you using? Looks great.

 

just an aside. when repairing a crack, the correct way is to sand the crack out and sand down 3 to 4 inches around it on both sides to thin it. apply resin/mat to level it out. just applying resin/mat to one side is just asking for it to crack again. another tip. use tooling resin. doesn't shrink, as it is used in mold making.

 

Thanks. I am just using an inexpensive 2K catalyzed filler primer from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I can't remember the brand name, but I have used it on a few other things recently and have been happy with it. I used to solely use Sikkens products and was always happy with them. But, the price of materials is ridiculous anymore, so I am looking for alternatives.

 

For anyone wondering the method I used to put it back together, here is a quick explanation.

I first ground the back about 3” back from every crack, then put the pieces back in place backing it up with packing tape on the outside along the joint. Then, I used strips of cloth and resin along the seems to make it one piece again. I had to put it back together in multiple steps since it wasn’t stable enough to do all at once by any means. Once I had all the joints glassed back together, I filled any missing parts by just building up glass and backing it up by whatever I could use to make the right shape (2x4’s, or in one place foam that I carved out). Then, I flipped it over and ground the joints on the outside too. Then, I basically did the same on the outside although not as many layers. Anyway, this is what the inside looks like before I try to somewhat hide it to help explain.

 

you obviously know what your doing. good job.

 

Lol...not sure about that, but this method has worked for me so far. Thanks!