Body restoration

[AussieJohn]

Hi John, it was kept dry and there was not a lot of filler used but would it be better to have a bit of heat applied while drying?

[nebogipfel]

Hi John, it was kept dry and there was not a lot of filler used but would it be better to have a bit of heat applied while drying?

Filler will pretty much cure in any temperature, there is an ideal range specified in the tech' data but even in very low temperatures it will cure albeit slowly.
As with all catalysed reactions a bit of external heat will speed up the process.
In high temperatures the curing reaction can be quite violent. It is an exothermic reaction and the filler can get too hot to touch.


I don't think it's an issue with reference to your shrinkage problems.

I would suggest as general good practice on fiberglass repairs to try to do a complete panel (eg a wing) rather than to do a spot-in repair. That way when the spray polyester has been applied the paint system will be going on to a uniform substrate.

[AussieJohn]

Hi John, if you only had one or two star cracks on a bonnet [my +2] would you recoat the whole panel with spray filler even if you were not taking the whole panel back to glass? [sorry if the answer is obvious but I am on a steep learning curve]

[reb53]

Hi Les,
There is a lot of info here but it can be hard to find. Here's a bit more...

elan-f15/paint-removal-t13385.html

Cheers
Ralph.

[nebogipfel]

Hi John, if you only had one or two star cracks on a bonnet [my +2] would you recoat the whole panel with spray filler even if you were not taking the whole panel back to glass? [sorry if the answer is obvious but I am on a steep learning curve]

No, I wouldn't recommend using spray filler over paint (I strongly suspect that the manufacturer wouldn't either)

Obviously there is only one way to do the job properly because you can never be sure what new paint will do on top of old nor can you be sure how well the old finish is adhering.

That said, you could grind the stars out, repairing with tissue and then a skim of filler. If the whole thing was then sanded well (dry) and a good quality 2k primer used you would probably get away with little or no shrinkage problems.

I would add here .......please ignore any advice to just chase cracks out with a sharp tool and then fill them. Total waste of time