Body repairs

[purplepete]

Does anyone have any wisdom to offer on the subject of gelcoat cracking,and more serious damage??I know I'm supposed to grind out the cracks and then lay in new resin,but how far does one go??Also,given that most of what has been written on the subject was written twenty years ago,has new technology made matters any simpler??
Specifically,I'm wondering about the use of Isopon P40 Bridging compound-a readymixed resin/chopped strand mixture-has anyone had success with this type of thing on elans?
Am also wondering if modern bodyfillers ca be used?
Any comments/feedback would be very helpfull!

[riverkeeper]

If you have some bad cracks, damage or previous poor repairs you might end up cutting out sections of bodywork at times. And then making up cardboard patterns as backing plates to lay in the new matting and resin. But the beauty of fibregalss is that it's quick and easy to work with. And if you do make a mistake it's easy enough to remove and re do. Something which can't be done when welding in steel panel sections !

I usually make up most of the repair with fibreglass, and finish it off with a skim of filler to get the final shape. I've never used a Bridging compound though. I'd personally stick to the resin and chopped strand matting method of layering up and repairing as it's pretty proven to last a good while.

But whatever you do, make sure you do remove any cracked, damaged, or dirt ingressed areas otherwise you may find the cracks come back within the year...

Wayne.

[chicagojeff]

On this subject, does anyone have photos of what stress cracks look like that should be repaired? In other words, how small is okay to leave alone? thanks all.

[marcfuller]

[i]".....how small is okay to leave alone?"[/i]

Any stress cracks that are large enough to see (or photograph) need to be repaired. Otherwise they will soon reappear in your finish.

[nebogipfel]

PurplePete.

Most of the info from 20yrs ago is still valid (If it was correct at the tme of course) Paint technology has moved on but if you are repairing conventional glass laminates the techniques are well established.

P40 has been around for years and is fine for corners where it is difficult to laminate properly but it is best to repair with mat and tissue.

Miles Wilkins book on fibreglass repairs is considered the standard text and the advice is basically sound.

Agreed, any crack however small is too big, if you know what I mean

John

[steve71]

PurlePete,

Here is a link to the Miles Wilkins book. I'm not sure if it is just an extract or the whole text though.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fillpoke/glass1.htm


Cya,
Steve.