Technical attaching wood to fiberglass coupe interiors

Hi guys. I am new here. Can you recall anyone posting info on bonding or attaching wood to the inside of fiberglass coupes? And if they used an epoxy what was the brand name.

 

The problem with that is if you bond wood to the glass itself it was distort the glass and you will see where the wood is when you paint the car.

I am not a authority on this but I am speaking from experience.

I have heard or read somewhere if you lay glass mat in the area you want to add the wood and the glass the wood it would not cause any distortion. HRP

 

(Ply)wood is often sandwiched inside the fiberglass laminate during the manufacturing process, to make stronger areas where things can be screwed to the part. Not sure if that's what you are after, or if you just want a wood inside for looks.
Not sure I'd want to do the latter.

/Former fiberglass boat builder.

 

Check out my thread Glass 32’ 5w. I did a lot of bonding, metal and wood. Used several different products. I think they are mentioned in the thread. The one two part adhesive is used in building high end interior for aircraft. The others are from the boating industry! So far so good! I don’t think they imprinted on the glass, but if it did the primer and body work will hide it!

 

I am into the looooong slow build of a "T" touring with a fiberglass body. When I cut out the firewall for clearance for the bell housing, I ended up with a big chunk of fiberglass from the body to work with. When I first joined the "H.A.M.B." over 10 years ago, one of my first posts was this same question. When I didn't get a definitive answer, I decided to do some experimentation. I cut about 10 strips of the oak I was using to reinforce the body and used just about anything I had to make test bonds. I used regular fiberglass, two-part epoxy in a "double hypodermic", JB weld, and a few others. The winner? "Liquid Nails" that carpenters use everyday. When I posted the results, I was warned that over time, the "Liquid Nails" would react chemically with the fiberglass and discolor or deform it. Over the next couple of years, I checked my test panel a number of times and never saw any adverse reaction.

When I get back on this project, I'll be using the "carpenters friend".

 

I bonded wood reinforcements into my fiberglas T body nearly 23 years ago with short strand polyester body filler , the car now has 50k miles on it & believe ms , Illinois rods are NOT smooth . There have been NO failures with bonding & NO " imprinting" or distortion problems that I can see & no one bass ever pointed any out to me . Epoxy is a better chemical bonding agent but is ( to me) cost prohibitive & unwarranted .

 

WEST System epoxy is pretty standard in boatbuilding. They usually sell it at West Marine stores. Probably other marine stores, as well. System 3 is another good brand. You can thicken epoxy with sanding dust, talcum powder, and all kinds of specialty powders. It is expensive, but I don't know of anything readily available that will fill gaps and make a stronger joint between fiberglass and wood.

 

I would use epoxy to bond it and then lay up over it with glass. This seems to be a decent instructional video on how to work with the epoxy's....

 

A little tip , when you prep the area to be bonded, sand the glass or wood lightly with 80 grit to make a fuzzy texture, helps in the bonding process!

 

"Marine-tex" is one brand name of epoxy putty that works very well & has very thick consistency , will easily fill 1/4" + gaps .

 

I'm going with the construction adhesive myself. But i wonder if the vette panel adhesive that is used to bond Corvette panels on would work in this situation? It's awesome stuff, no mapping, but I'm not sure how good it would adhere to the wood

 

Thank you, I will check it out.

 

Got it, thank you.

 

I need to duplicate the wood that was in a coupe from the factory. To install upholstery.

 

I spent years doing Corvettes at a place called Corvette World, San Antonio. When we attached panels we mixed up the resin with a little bit of milled fiber. Milled fiber is fiberglass powder. I was like a paste when we used it. The panels where located and clamped with clecos. Remember, if you drill holes that are visible 0n the outside, don't use bondo to fill in the holes, the bondo shrinks with age. Use fiberglass.

 

Oh I'm not building anything fiberglass, i use the bonding agent when i replace fiberglass panels in my bodyshop. I meant that i would try the construction adhesive to attempt to bond the wood. I use the same vette adhesive to fill any anchor holes.

 

fiberglassing wood on wont do anything bad, its how many bodies are done by pros.

however DONT use liquid nails. someone did that to my T body before I got it. I did a LOT of sanding to get those marks out, and they are still there somewhat.

 

Epoxy mixed with microballoons works well as does urethane construction adhesive. Be sure your wood is absolutely dry and seal it well with West epoxy when installed. Bare wood absorbs moisture and expands and contracts with changes in humidity. If it's well sealed it will be dimensionally stable.

 

West system is good stuff and I've used it extensively, but in its natural form it's pretty thin and runny. They make additives to make it thicker, easier to sand, etc. But it's stong as can be when cured.

 

Just say the hell with it and get a steel car, problem solved

 

My former team race partner used micro balloons for filler with West System. Thickened it right up, ready to stir and use! (Amazon, 15 bucks a quart!)
I also used the same mixture on my '23 T for some metal tubing bracing...Thin skin of Bondo applied to the tubing where fiberglass was to adhere to it. ('Secret trick' of Dick Williams, of Polyform Industries)
Funny, we used the stuff on our 110 MPH control line team race airplanes, never a crack, never an engine mount failure. Balsa to Maple, West was 'Church'!

 

WEST makes all kinds of fillers, from micro-balloons that make an easy sanding fairing compound, to a high density filler that dries hard and strong enough to drill and tap for cleats and deck fixtures on boats. In between is colloidal silica and such for bonding. Like I said, you can also just use wood sanding dust for bonding. Usually ends up a little lumpier than the commercial products, but makes strong joints and fills gaps well. Epoxy is a much stronger bonding agent than polyester glass resin or liquid nails.

 

Wow ! That is one that I never thought about. Well done on the testing. I am going to try Liquid Nails. Thank you.

 

Thank you that was pretty good.

 

That seems like good advice, thanks.

 

Thanks for the good advice.

 

Got it, thanks for the info.

 

How does it stand up to the vibrations from road use ? Thanks!

 

That stuff turns dry and brittle over time.

 

Mix up your resin, take a piece of fiberglass mat and cut it into 1/4” to 1/2” strands and mix that into the resin. Thickens it right up and it will stay where you put it! Another idea would be to purchase all the interior metal and wood from United Pacific , make your own using their pieces as a template and then return them to get a refund! Sneaky but it would make it easy!!