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surfnc
Samba Member
Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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 Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:08 pm Post subject: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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3/20
Well Spring showed up here on the OBX and we had sunny and 60F weather. Since I am waiting on parts for Brian's chassis I decided to glass the dash on Paul's yellow Manx.
I started by grinding/sanding the edge fair. (not bad just a little glue from PO.
I then sanded the inside edge of the hood so the glass would bond better.
The dash tends to be a little off square out of the mold so you can grind/sand it to match the hood. If it is close you do not need to worry about it since it will be covered by the windshield seal.
I took some welding clamps and clamped the sides of the hood/dash together. (Do this about mid way on the side) I used a piece of wood to protect the outside of the gel coat.
You will/may not be able to get the top corners to match since (I believe) the dash mold was made from the ABS dash that went under the hood. You can see that the hood has an almost square corner and the dash is rounded.
I then took some screws with fender washers and ran them through the holes the the PO put on the hood edge. I used these to "pinch" the dash and hood together. (Saw this in another post)
This helps to get the dash and hood lined up and flat.
I then taped the joint and holes to keep resin from coming through.
Next on to the glassing. You want to glass between the fender washers. I put 3 layers of 2 oz mat. down.
You really want to get it layered up on the corners and the sides. There is a lot of pressure after the clamps come off and you want it to hold up.
After the resin cures, the next step is to remove the screws.
You want to move the clamps up to the top edge of the hood/dash.
This allows the hood and dash to keep that inward curve that the dash has.
Tape up the holes and joint and glass over the areas. Use 2-3 layers.
Again, really lay it up in the corners and the sides.
After the resin cures, remove the tape and clean up the joint with acetone.
Not the best pictures, but they show the corners and how they do not match perfectly.
Again, this is not a big deal since the windshield frame and seal will cover this area.
I will remove the clamps in the morning, I want to make sure the resin has cured completely.
Vince
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herbsflat4
Samba Member
Joined: February 20, 2012
Posts: 159
Location: Greenville, SC
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| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:54 pm Post subject: nice |
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surfnc this is a very well done post. Thank you for the time spent on going through the steps and taking the time to show lots of great pictures.
Looking forward to the finished dash/hood! |
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BL3Manx
Samba Member
Joined: August 29, 2006
Posts: 6767
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| As always a great thread, thanks! |
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Saint
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Joined: August 18, 2008
Posts: 140
Location: Covington, LA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 5:41 am Post subject: |
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This is a huge help, great post. I just called the manx shop for a replacement dash, might be doing this changeout in the future.
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PLM..... |
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herbsflat4
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Joined: February 20, 2012
Posts: 159
Location: Greenville, SC
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| Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:31 pm Post subject: update? |
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| any progress? I think this was a great set of pictures and I am surprised others are not chiming in more on this thread.... |
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Goshen
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Joined: April 03, 2012
Posts: 833
Location: Miami. FL & Cartagena
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j1msm1th
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2020
Posts: 32
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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| Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 6:17 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| 7 years to the day from you posting this thread and I was just sent here to see how to do mine! thanks for the awesome step by step here, and for preemptively answering my concerns about the corners... |
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surfnc
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Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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calebmelvin
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Joined: July 19, 2006
Posts: 3140
Location: Seattle, WA
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surfnc
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Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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calebmelvin
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Joined: July 19, 2006
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Location: Seattle, WA
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surfnc
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Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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j1msm1th
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Joined: February 13, 2020
Posts: 32
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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| Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:58 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| surfnc wrote: |
j1msm1th
Glad to have been of service. Any pictures of your buggy? |
sorry, life got in the way of working on things, so now that it's getting brutally hot.... spent some time trying to mock things up and see what I needed to do. got the dash to sit nicely even with the hood, but if I have it tight in the corners etc it's a good 1/8-3/8 of daylight in spots. I put a level on the hood after and tried to see how much rough edge there was in the hood, but it wasnt terrible. I am not sure, you can see it, but I used a red crayon to give an idea. I need to mess with it some more befor I decide if I am going to grind back the hood and dash so they are tight or get the sides and corners to be good and fill in the gaps with fiberglass and resin.
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surfnc
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Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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EVfun
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Joined: April 01, 2012
Posts: 5475
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:05 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| calebmelvin wrote: |
Done! They are now one.
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I love the simplicity of that dash. Stock speedometer, light switch, and ignition switch. We don't need no stinkin wipers. 
Going with an aftermarket GPS speedometer means I had to add 4 warning light holes on my current buggy.
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j1msm1th
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Joined: February 13, 2020
Posts: 32
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 12:21 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| surfnc wrote: |
| Keep in mind the windshield frame and seal will cover all that. |
yeah - that is what I am thinking - I might knock down some of the lumps to see if i can get it a little closer to get it as square as I can.
oh - while I am picking your brain - what is your process for prepping the fiberglass to seal/primer etc? should I be hand-sanding the body, or a random orbit of DA? what grit do you use? |
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surfnc
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Joined: September 29, 2006
Posts: 948
Location: OBX, NC
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 2:39 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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j1msm1th
If your body is gelcoat (which it looks to be) I use a DA with 120 or 80 grit. I then use a heavy coat of high build polyester primer. This will fill the pin holes scratches etc. I then sand that with 120 and a DA. (I hand sand the edges, DA the flats) I then shoot another coat to make sure all fiberglass is covered. Then guide coat and block sand with 320 or 400 grit. If you are going to flake it you can stop here. If you are going to use a solid color I would prime it with a primer that is compatible with the top coat. The poly will most likely be compatible but you need to make sure
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j1msm1th
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Joined: February 13, 2020
Posts: 32
Location: Upper Darby, PA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 8:20 am Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| surfnc wrote: |
j1msm1th
If your body is gelcoat (which it looks to be) I use a DA with 120 or 80 grit. I then use a heavy coat of high build polyester primer. This will fill the pin holes scratches etc. I then sand that with 120 and a DA. (I hand sand the edges, DA the flats) I then shoot another coat to make sure all fiberglass is covered. Then guide coat and block sand with 320 or 400 grit. If you are going to flake it you can stop here. If you are going to use a solid color I would prime it with a primer that is compatible with the top coat. The poly will most likely be compatible but you need to make sure |
yeah, It's gonna get flaked. It's the original Gelcoat, when I got it and realized there was flake under the brown primer I had high hopes for it, but there are spots where the gel is just shot. but I did find five lb buckets of the meadowbrook golden orange in 0.008 and 0.015 for $20... so it's gonna get repairs and then an idiot is going to attempt flaking! though, ironically my recovering Goth wife is very unsure about me with glitter in our yard.
thanks for the advice! |
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dhubz
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Joined: July 02, 2003
Posts: 61
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 11:44 am Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| What is the reason for this? Not taking away from it, I think it looks great, much cleaner than what I have. On the 2 that I have worked on, the dash panel is separate, meaning once I remove the windshield and hood, I can access all the wiring from the top. Also the steering column can stay in place. Do you have multi wire connectors to disconnect the dash from the wire harness? I feel like it would be a lot harder to work on with it as a single piece. |
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KAmes
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Joined: February 16, 2014
Posts: 877
Location: Illinois
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| Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 6:31 pm Post subject: Re: Glassing on a Manx Dash |
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| dhubz wrote: |
| What is the reason for this? Not taking away from it, I think it looks great, much cleaner than what I have. On the 2 that I have worked on, the dash panel is separate, meaning once I remove the windshield and hood, I can access all the wiring from the top. Also the steering column can stay in place. Do you have multi wire connectors to disconnect the dash from the wire harness? I feel like it would be a lot harder to work on with it as a single piece. |
I have wondered this too, as my dash is separate also. Just the way a Manx is designed? |
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