Prepping a fiberglass body...

[towd]

In the last 5 years I've done 5 body's,,, 3 were in pieces,, I do mean pices..... I would pick up resien a glass at places like napa...and walmart

Of course learning Via doing and reading sites like this,,,,,, one body cost me just over 300 to repair,,,god knows how much time,,

Time became the factor,,,, I had 100's of hrs into just two bodies,,,
Then I found out about using a roller,,, The fiberglass roller,, so the search starts to find someone that sells this,, ( I don't live in a city)
I finally found a small fiberglass shop about 50 miles away,, The Guy use to build buggy bodies in the early 70's,, He sell materials to anyone...we talk for hrs,, he give me the whole show of the place...

Better yet he tells me why it's taking so long to do this glass work...

It's the resin I'm using,,, it's no good........ I have yet to see anyone ever post this...

ALL,, fiberglass resin has a shelf life of 6 months..after that yes it will still work, but it will takes hours to days as much as weeks to setup,,often it will stay tacky until it get sanded....

I started buying from him,, the resin / glass sets in minutes......after mixing it still stay in a liquid state,, you can brush it on,,,, having already cut the clothe to size,, just lay the clothe or mat then brush again,,,,,, using a paddle to work the resin in....

Often there's no need for the roller....Do as many layers as you want....
another trick,, when you are cutting the clothe ,,, you have hairs / scrap take a pair of scissors cut this into a fine fiber,,, then as you need filler use that,, at times you may want to mix this into some resin...
So the key is do not buy the stuff in gallon cans,,, even at tap plastic's.....

Afew years ago I was at an auction,,,, some guy had died,, The family was selling his stuff,,, He built boats in the back yard,,, There was most everything there,, but mostly there was 6 55 gal barrels of resin,,,, that would be worth afew 1000 ... problem... It was all 3 years old.... So It wasn't worth a dime..

[john morris]

I think I may have made my post too long and asked too many questions. So I will try again.

What is sprayed on the underside of new bodies? Is it just paint or gelcoat?

Has anyone had problems with bondo cracking/flaking or falling off a fiberglass body?

I did read the post above about the need to skim coat, thanks Charliew.

[john morris]

Thanks for the advice on expiration date Towd!

[jspbtown]

1. Can't say for sure on "new bodies" but on the 1/2 dozen or so kits I have rebuilt it was just raw fiberglass. The last few I have done I coated the underside with Herculiner bed coating to help with spiderwebbing.

2. I have never had any issue with Bondo flaking off. I assume you mean "Bondo" in a generic term? I use Rage Gold and I have seen some of my kits 5 years out that don't have that issue. Of course preparation of the surface and thickness that it applied makes all the difference in the world.

[lostinbaja]

I brush on gloss black Rustoleum. It looks killer and lasts forever.
_________________
Jerry...
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[A E Numan]

I have been watching this subject for a long time, thanks to everyone for all of the information!. Sooner or later I'm going to have to take on filling all of the extra holes in my buggy and all of this information is going to make the job go a lot smoother. Thanks!

[gr8cobbler]

I've worked with epoxy and like it, no itch or odor, Works well for my odd project. Just aquired a tub which will need lots of love, not to mention a couple gallons of goo.

My question is are the materials interchangable? I'd like to perform my repairs with epoxy, is it 100% compatible with the resin based tub? Can I use the same chopped glass and mat with good results?

Also considering patching the larger holes with donor material from a similar construction like an old boat hull to save materials and time. is this a standard practice that gets good results or am I being penny wise and dollar foolish?

Thanks for your expertise.

[wythac]

gr8cobbler,
I have only tested part this theory myself by experience, so take it for what it is worth:

I have been told by the guys at my local marine shop that you should not use polyester resin for repair if the original layup was done in epoxy, BUT, you can use epoxy resin to repair cured polyester layup.

I can attest only to the latter. I have used epoxy resin (West Systems) for numerous hole filling, repair work, and gusseting on my buggy body that has a polyester resin, FG layup. I found the cure time good (and easily adjustable) and the lack of odor while working a welcome change from using poly resin. The repairs I have made are very strong. I used some carbon fiber composite in spots to add to the strength, and the epoxy resin works really well with that.

I would imagine a buggy body constructed of composite material using epoxy resin might make it cost prohibitive, so having to be concerned about using poly resin when you are not sure of the type of layup shouldn't be an issue. I have never shopped for a new buggy body, but I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I think a body made with epoxy resin is probably pretty rare, because of the cost.



My .02. Good luck with your project.

[Yellermanx]

[towd]

I'm not sure if I already posted this in here.... I found out to late,,

The guy I buy my resin from..Told me to just done the prep work fill my major holes ....Like baseball size.... basically just get the body back to is original form ... Some of mine have been in pieces.

Then bring it to him.. He will chopper gun the outside .. The cost is for materials used.. Which was something like few bucks per OZ..

not understanding what an oz would be,,He showed me what the coverage rate was,,plus it would be up to me how thick.... just guessing it would only cost around $50 to respray the whole body....go real thick,, maybe 100 $....
In the long run,, for me,, it would have been cheaper and much faster...

Working with these old boys,, two have been undercoated,,,, after doing those,, I Will never use undercoating on a body..

[wythac]

One other thing I would add: Even given the fact that I had only minor repair and alteration to do to my buggy body, I have quite a bit of time and itching invested in bringing it up to par, probably $300 in materials, and I have yet to paint it. I expect that by the time I am done, I will have $700+ in the body.

My point: Mine is a clone and not a real Manx. If I had it to do over again, I would seriously consider laying out the $1500-2000 for a new body and start with that. Unless you are interested in learning about FG work, or have limited funds and place minimal value on your time, or unless you have a Manx, you might consider just getting a new one ready to go.