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Fiberglass body patching? Goin' under the knife...

cdoggwsu

cdoggwsu

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Is it a good idea? This is what I'm facing:

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I found some decent repair tutorials (for example, http://www.tpub.com/content/firetru...210-230-14P-1/css/TM-5-4210-230-14P-1_356.htm)

One recommended using this stuff:
612009_front200.jpg


I don't really have the resources to get a replacement panel and weld it in so something like this will have to do.

Any thoughts?:confused:
 
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I would replace the panel or try to cut it out. if you selling it resin it up:D looks like swiss cheese. mines getting there i think i caught it in time though to where i can cut my fenders which i need to do anyways because of tire clearence. maybe you can do the same?
 
blackk5350 said:
I would replace the panel or try to cut it out.
Click to expand...

???

cdoggwsu said:
I don't really have the resources to get a replacement panel and weld it in so something like this will have to do.
Click to expand...
:whistle:

No, I'm not selling it.:D

Some old guy at the hardware store (dead seriously!) told me to fill it with a can of spray foam, sand it smooth and paint over it.:eek1::doah:
 
The genious PO of my truck went ape shiz with fiberglass over rust.

the corners of my doors are all fiberglass, since the metal is completly gone. Fiberglass on the windshield frame, on the floor, and was even on part of the fender that i cut off.

for the sake of everything... just cut and replace
 
it'll hide it for maybe 2 yrs, maybe.... but it'll begin to fail and come back pretty quick as that rust will continue on it's merry way underneath...

that coming from a fiberglass guy...

if you blast the area prior, zinc it, then glass it, it'll last substantially longer.... but eventually it will start to crack as inherently, steel is a poor substrate for polyester adhesion.... there are a few tricks I know to help this out.... one being to skimcoat all the metal prior to fiberglass with a dynaglass... it sticks better to the steel and the resin sticks good to that...

if you can find anyway to get metal in there, do it.... even a pop riveted patch will be better.. scrap sheetmetal, tinsnips, pop rivets and a tube of panel adhesive.... follow it up with some dynaglass at the seams and a little mud... either way, if you leave ANY rust, it WILL come back... at a minimum i'd throw some rust convertor on it...
 
:(

Not even if I use some of this?
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I guess I'll start looking for a patch panel....
The wrecking yards around here haven't seen a square body chevy in months.
 
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ah, the powers of miracle product advertising.... I really like SEM products... haven't used that stuff, but from the data sheet it appears to be another encapsulator, like a POR15 or Rust Bullet... which most in here know how I feel... there are a few circumstances where i'll use it, but most times i prefer a converter... this being one of them.....

it's like polishing a turd.... you can buff it, put fancy waxes on top, make it all shiney, but in the end, it's still sh*t underneath... your just burying it.... contrary to the RB and POR devotee's, it will come back... cutting out or blasting is THE only way to stop rust..... tho convertors can do it in the right circumstances... eastwood mkaes one...


doesn't LMC sell a patch for that spot?
 
So what's the best procedure if going that route? The SEM rust shield was recommended by the paint shop in town, but they also make a converter. What's the difference between the encapsulator and the converter in terms of adhesion of glass and/or body filler? What's the preferred method? Converter then primer?(I asked about zinc and he said they don't carry it anymore) Then skimcoat and glass over that? Really for the time being I just don't want it to get any worse. I'd like it to not look like dog sh!t anymore, too.

Yeah LMC has it, $40 + the ride and then getting someone to weld it in. No welder in my garage quite yet.:doah: I suppose by the time you add up the prep supplies, glass and paint it wouldn't be a whole heck of a lot cheaper depending on how much it'd cost to have the replacement panel welded in.

My plan was to get that panel fixed up and then paint the whole thing from the side molding down to the rockers with Chassis Saver. It's not supposed to be show quality, I just want something durable.
 
you could try it... i'm not gonna say it sucks... just saying what my 30 yrs of experience tells me... i'd run a convertor...

the difference between an encapsilator and converter is the RB, etc are putting on top of rust and bite into it.... a convertor is a liquid (tannic acid) that changes the actual rust (into iron tannite) as deep as it'll penetrate...

you then rough up the black iron tannite.. than either patch it... or go with the dynaglass skim, glass method, glass patch ....
 
ok, just saw your edit......


i'd get the patch panel and install it with panel adhesive...
 
Panel adhesive as opposed to welding it in?

Sorry I'm a total bodywork noob...what is this panel adhesive you speak of?

*EDIT* OK just watched some vids on youtube, I see how it works. Actually looks like quite a bit less work than all the rust prep and patching.
 
yup, glue, it's like windshield urethane.. fancy guys kleko fasten it in place while the glue dries, but you could substitute rivets.... and obviously body clamps wherever possible..

SEM makes one... 3M and Lord Fusor too....


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So would you cut all of the old panel out leaving just a bit to overlap for the sealer, then putty the seam on the outside?

BTW, thanks for the input Paul. This is helping a lot.
 
cdoggwsu said:
So would you cut all of the old panel out leaving just a bit to overlap for the sealer, then putty the seam on the outside?

BTW, thanks for the input Paul. This is helping a lot.
Click to expand...


yup, when ya get the panel, pm me and we can go over install.... you'll want some supplies.. ability to cut the panel out.... grinder of some sort, can of primer, rivet setup, etc....



haha, i feel like we're on AIM or something.... :haha:

gotta go to work..... :doah:
 
If not for galvanized stove pipe ,heating ducts and pop rivets,most of my trucks wouldn't pass inspection...:D...anything is better than rust,but bondo alone aint the hot setup,you NEED to replace the lost metal to restore structural integrity..my door bottoms on my pickup and on my mothers 93 Caravan are covered with stovepipe,pop rivets and aluminum mobile home roof coating..not very pretty,but they pass inspection and keep cold drafts out!...Buying ready made patch panels speeds things up,but they aren't too hard to make from scratch,and I would rather use galvanized than tiwan patch panels that dont fit too great often and rust away rather quickly..

One thing NOT to use is aluminum roof flashing..aluminum + steel = severe corrosion,as the two dissimilar metals make a electric current and electrolosis will eat them both away..one Blazer I bought had roof flashing on the floor ,the previous owner pop riveted in,and it made ten times more rust damage than if the holes had been left open..:(
 
well im no pro but i put my patch panels in my truck for about 200 bucks, floors rockers and corners plus the price of the welder (harbor frieght pos) the welder sucks but it is ok if you dont mind useing a grinder to make things look pretty. from what ive seen your best bet is to just wait and weld them in, ive seen glued in panels and riveted and they can look good if you finish them out but i just never cared for that style to much, my vote is to wait and weld them in
 
so i guess my advice is wrong and bad then..... :rolleyes:

absolutely nothing wrong with panel adhesive.. it's the route the body biz has been headed for yrs..... it has many advantages over welding....
 
no i wasent saying panel adhesive is wrong or anything heck its prolly stornger than some of the panels i have put in. its just in my head i think welding would be stronger but your prolly right it is prolly better than welding them in in some cases, ( faster easier stronger) im stuck in the past haha ive still use lead as body filler haha
 
ryoken said:
so i guess my advice is wrong and bad then..... :rolleyes:

absolutely nothing wrong with panel adhesive.. it's the route the body biz has been headed for yrs..... it has many advantages over welding....
Click to expand...
:haha::haha::haha:

Of course your wrong Paul, the noobs know best.:doah:
 
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