How fixing a crack in the body?

[Austria]

Hi
I have a crack in the body by the outlets Sidepipe, how do I fix it with which materials?

thx

[AJ Roadster NJ]

Well hello over there in Austria. I used 3M High Strength Repair Filler (3M HSRF) anywhere in my bodywork where structural strength was important, as opposed to simply building up low spots with a normal body filler. I learned of this from auto body professionals on this forum, and most of us use it for that purpose.

Here's a link so you can see the product http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...4633&langId=-1

I know you don't have West Marine stores over there, but maybe you can find someplace that sells it. Note, it is pricey!!

Good luck!!

AJ

[Blate]

On fiberglass repair (if a small crack) I use dyna-glass. If it's large you should use a mat and fiberglass resin on the backside for strength.

[Austria]

Thanks AJ and Blate!

MK3 body is fiberglass with gelcoat or?

do you know of a howto (with pictures) doc in the web?

the 3M filler can be directly filled in the crack, or do I have to do some prepares?

for strongen the parts I will use the fiberglass mate or can I use a carbon also?
with 2 component epoxy glued
some aditives oder prepares needed (because of gel coat)?
good?

thx!

[AJ Roadster NJ]

Austria, can you post a couple pictures of the damage? That would be very helpful in suggesting a precise course of action.

AJ

[Austria]

not jet, my car is currently at the mechanix and I get it back next month
I want to have the needed parts then ;-))
will try to make a shot by next visit

break-even line, streight break, no fray
should I drill at the end of this a hole to stop continuing ...
fiber brakeage with epoxy into to the hole?

THX

[TimC]

Yes, drill the hole at the end to stop the cracking. I would feather out from the crack on the back side and use the 3M HSRF. Make sure to press it into the crack really good. On the front side I would feather out and use a little of the HSRF depending how deep it is. Then put a filler on top of that. You do not want to try and paint directly on to the HSRF.
BTW I think it was you I sent an email to back in October/November. I was in Steyr for work and was wanting to meet up with some Factory Five owners. The guys I was working with was really excited to see a car like this so close to them.

[Austria]

Hi Tim!
no, you did not contact me about a meeting, Steyr is about half an hour... maybe next time you are there!

i do not understand : feather out

which filler, depends on my painting, or?

[TimC]

Hey Austria,
i tried one of the links from your web page to send the email, I must have gotten something wrong somewhere. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back over there. I really loved that area.
Feathering- Hmmmm, how can I describe it? When you grind out the cracked area the deepest part will be right along the crack and taper it away from the damaged area. It will create a wide shallow indentation. This is the best example I have. Notice the fiberglass has been completely cut out at the cracked area and it's a smooth transition away from the crack? This is known as "feathering" I filled this crack with the HSRF then ground it smooth with an 80 grit paper. After that I topcoated with regular auto body filler. On both sides. Pics will help us a lot so when you get the car back post some. This doesn't sound like a too difficult of a repair. This took me a couple of hours to fix.

[Sailor]

With fiberglass, I always remove ALL the damaged material. That will likely leave you with a hole. You won't need to drill the hole to ensure it doesn't spread because you'll have removed all the damaged material. Then, with a right angle grinder, taper or feather the edges all the way around the repair. If it's a large flat area, the easiest way to make the patch is to make it off the piece. On a large flat table, lay down some wax paper, or plastic sheeting to prevent it from sticking to the surface. You can use a large sheet of aluminum for this. Lay up a single thickness of chopped mat. A thin one. I often use a 4 oz piece of roving here, roving or mat will work as you're just trying to get a shape. Strength comes later. Once it's layed up and has cured (give it a couple of days if you like but depending on temp and humidity, 5 hours should do it) you can remove it from the flat table "mould" you have it on. It will be flexible enough to conform to a curved shape without any trouble. If the shape is something more complex, and it would need to be fairly complex) you can do the same thing but do it in place rather than on a flat table type surface. Build up with more layers until it's reached the thickness of the original part. Sand the whole thing fair using typical bodywork type tools, a large sanding block, air file etc would be perfect. Nobody will be able to tell once you've painted it. PLUS, you can fix it the same way later if needed and once again, after paint, it's invisible. Except maybe from the inside unless you treat it to the same sanding and paint it.

[Sailor]

Pop on over to the boatbuilding forums and they'll have all you need to know about fixing fiberglass panels. I've done my fair share of fiberglass boat repair work. It is daunting but once you have an idea of how it's done, aside from the fact that it's a messy job, it's really not that hard. Just get into it. Mabye even try on a practice peice that you made up with the flat surface I mentioned in my last post.