I did some searching on here and just through the net as well, for "Fiberglassing How-To's".. I came across a few things, but not really what im trying to look for.
What I'm doing is repairing a fiberglass bumper. It apparently has 2 small dips in it that need to be repaired. As well as it is a Sunfire bumper and has a section the goes through the middle of the "mouth" part (similar to the stock ones and some after market).. and i plan on cutting that out, and then glassing over where I have to cut on the top and bottom of the "mouth" so it is nice and clean.
The middle sections is basically V shaped to i will need to fill in that slight V shape that will be left empty on the top and bottom of the "mouth".
I have not worked with fiberglass before so this will be my first project. I know some people use tape/tinfoil/felt and glass on top of that, but being that i will be connecting 2 pieces almost im not sure what the best way to go about doing that would be. As well as filling in the dips.
If anyone has a link to a good tutorial or can give me some pointers, that would be great. Thanks
when you say "dips" what exactly do you mean?? like wavy spots? or gouges?
for the part you cut and have to seal, easiest way is to tape over the bumper to the exact shape you are looking to get. so tape from the outside where the paint would be....then from the back(inside the bumper) lay a coat of resin, then add glass and wet it out. this way you create your back "wall" and leave room to fill from the front to smooth out.
ive done things in the past the exact opposite, and when you add from the front, you go over where you want your line, then have to sand back into it which sometime releases the bond to the 2 edges.
did any of that make sense, lol?
As far as the dips i was told they were just 2 small low spots in the fiberglass. The bumper hasn't been shipped to me yet so I don't know for sure.
Ok I think I understand... So place the tape underneath so it creates a spot for the new fiberglass to sit and that way its level with the sides. That makes sence. Then I can just pull the tape off when its done and don't have to worry about glassing on top of it. sorta. lol.
Like I said I haven't tried glassing before... After you fiberglass do you sand down the fiberglass smooth or do you use a little body filler to help smooth it out as well?
The bumper is the RK sport one that they no longer sell, its the one that Meckster has - I cant remember the name of it. Im taking that divider type thing out of the "mouth" so the FMIC sits nice and viewable
if anything is cracked, make sure you drill a hole at the end of the crack before you glass or else it will keep cracking
Jazer {AzulKav} Turbo Chica wrote:Ok I think I understand... So place the tape underneath so it creates a spot for the new fiberglass to sit and that way its level with the sides. That makes sence. Then I can just pull the tape off when its done and don't have to worry about glassing on top of it. sorta. lol.
After you fiberglass do you sand down the fiberglass smooth or do you use a little body filler to help smooth it out as well?
ya, when you're done, you just pull the tape off and you will have your new "wall". from there i usually scuff it up with a 36 grit and then fill. the tape should allow you to have basically the entire shape needed, and you shouldnt need much filler at all. you may even be able to get away with a little icing instead of filler. much easier to work with and sands very fine!
and like Mike said, if theres cracks, drill at the end of it so it doesnt spread
ok thanks for the tips guys
if you want, ill go out to the garage tonight and do a quick how-to w/ pics just to give you a better idea....show you exactly what i mean by the taping process and glassing from the back, etc.
i owe ya some of my time anyways
If you don't mind that would be great.... I think the org needs a good
glassing how-to sticky anyways
But ya, don't rush to do it. I don't even have the bumper yet so take your time.
Thanks again Joe
ok, bare with me here....one of these days ill do a full out write-up for everyone, but for your purposes....i did this.
obviously i didnt do the whole process, but to visually show you what i meant.......
im using my trunk lid/spoiler as an example, but same principal for your use. lets say i wanted to glass the spoiler to the trunk but wanted a flush edge on the painted side like you will want for your bumper........
i would tape from the front, so when you glass, it wont go further than the line you're attemting to match
this here being the side you want flush to the body
and this is where you would lay your glass.....
this way once you lay the glass and its dried and thick enough, you can pull the tape off and you have your pretty much final shape.
same way i did the addition to my cav hood to fit the S15 headlights, as well as the bumper for the headlights. heres how it was with the glass a laid up from behind and ready to be filled. you can see it follows the same contour as the hood
and since i had little shaping and sanding to do for the top side, i was able to skip filler and go right to the icing.....
hope that helps a bit more
thanks for the mini-tut... thats how i pictured doing it.
Your baby needs a bath
lol, ya, shes quite dirty. fiberglassing and sanding covers her up all the time, even though i blow the bgarage out with an air gun every day
if you have any other questions or need clarification on anything just let me know and ill help the best i can
aw at least she has a garage to sit in, mine has to sit outside in the cold
thanks tho, when i start glassing i may send you a pm if something comes up but, as far as the actual process i have a good idea of what to do, just have to play with fiberglassing in general.
I believe its straight from RKsport so hopefully its good quality. But I will keep that in mind anyways. Thanks
One thing that I dont think has been mentioned was the material of the body kit. If it's RK sport it is PROBABLY urethane. In this case you will want to cut out as lil of the urethane arround the crack as possible. Then reason is because fiberglass doesnt bond well with urethane. I dont think you will have a problem with this, but just dont create an oversized slot that you have to patch because you will want as little surface area as possible to fill back in. Another tip would be to drill a couple holes directly arround where slot you have cut out. Next, place your tape on the outside of the body kit, covering both the slot and the holes. Then flip the bumper over so that you are facing hte inside where you can see the bare urethane. lay the fiberglass matt over the top and holes and then soak with resin. you want to be sure to use something to poke the glass into the holes make sure it filles the holes and then has some excess ontop to connect to the glass ontop of the tape. This will give it an area to grip onto. I would recommend to only use the glass about 1" past the holes. The reason for this is because when the urethane contracts in the cold and expands in heat, there wont be a huge patch of fiberglass (Fiberglass doesnt expand) and it wont crack with the expanding of the urethane. Check out the picture below, it might help...order maybe my drawing sucks ass, lol. either way I hope this helped.
^^^thats a very good point...i just assumed it was a fiberglass bumper
so Jazer...which is it?
I was told that it was fiberglass, i thought that RK had maybe made that style in glass. I guess ill have to find that out. I mean its easy to tell, so it must have been a mold of it if Chris was correct that its glassed.
I meant its the same style bumper meckster has, not his specific bumper
You should not fiberglass over polyurethane!! I am a body man adn there are products for fixing polyurethane! Many different types of bonders and glues. All of which are expensive but when its said and done you can take the bumper and twist it and bend it any which way and you cant pop the repair if done properly. I personally like 3M's Automix. Its an easy sanding glue. Works great. However to use any of these glues you need to get one of the dual cartridge guns.
ShowFire
ShowFire wrote:You should not fiberglass over polyurethane!! I am a body man adn there are products for fixing polyurethane! Many different types of bonders and glues. All of which are expensive but when its said and done you can take the bumper and twist it and bend it any which way and you cant pop the repair if done properly. I personally like 3M's Automix. Its an easy sanding glue. Works great. However to use any of these glues you need to get one of the dual cartridge guns.
way to go, try reading next time.
Yea....
And yea he confirmed it is definitely fiberglass
I did read, and it still hadnt been decided/confirmed that it was fiberglass. So there was still a possibility of it being Urethane.
ShowFire
You are correct, at that point in your first post there was no definite answer on my part whether or not it was urethane, if it was in fact direct from RKsport. Although I knew I was told from the beginning from whom I am purchasing it from that it is fiberglass, and he did confirm it definitely is. If it was urethane I wouldn't cut it up
sndsgood's point was very good as well, if it isn't truly direct from Rksport (if their's only come in urethane) than it may need more support. If i find it seems thin (i can compare to my fiberglass trunk which is very sturdy, and has a nice amount of glass on there. I honestly think i could throw it down the stairs and it wouldn't do anything other than scuff up the paint). If i do see that the bumper looks thin ill probably put a few layers on the back side of it, that way I can practice more and it wont be visible, haha
