Basic Fiberglass repairs on your Classic Corvette, tips from choosing what type resins and fiberglass mat and basic tools needed to repair your Corvette or anything made of fiberglass
Thank you John for taking the time to share your expertise. I just purchased a 2011 C6 that needs a bit of repair. Looking forward to getting into the repairs and using your points. Having someone to guide you initially is nice to have available to move the project along. Again, thanks
Great job. One of the most challenging things in the world is doing a video of what we do. It’s way more effort and trouble them actually doing the work like car restoration. Most of us are just here to learn and we don’t care how great a job the presentation itself is. As long as it’s understandable. keep ‘em coming. I’m not sure I’ve used the kind of fiberglass resin with wax in it before. Let me look on the cam. It all hardeners at the same time. I think.
Hi John, This is Harley Dave from Facebook. Loved the video, very informative with lots of tips and tricks. I know you have seen my 1960 Corvette which will need a lot of fiberglass work. I'll know more as soon as it gets soda blasted. BTW I love your shop with all the old skool items. Keep up the great work and I look forward to watching more of your videos. Thanks, Dave
Thanks for sharing your exp with us as no filler finish work is the only way to go. Not worked with glass yet bur have two vettes that will both need to some degree. I'll stay tuned!
Hey John, great video. I'm having trouble with tiny holes-maybe from trapped air. I'm working on the bottom side of the front fender so upside down before I attack topside damage. I'm using the polyester resin and 3/4 oz mat. After I sand with 60 grit, I can see these pits filled with the white dust. I colored the resin gray. I can sand them out but it seems I'm then sanding off all my work. They're about 1/32 inch deep.
Hi, Glad you liked the video, it sounds like you have air bubbles trapped in the resin, it happens, try and work them out with the brush or use a fiberglass roller to break them up, it akso depends on the resin your using, some resins are thicker then others and trap more air, I use a very thin polyester resin but buy from a supplier that sells to boat yards, Hope this Helps, Thanks for watching.
I bought a 1978 pace car that was in a fire…I’d like to figure out what kind of diy fix would work best on the passenger front where the glass got a little crispy. Could I send you some pictures for advice?
John....As mentioned thanks for sharing your knowledge with all of us....Im looking to buy a 72 Corvette with some frontend damage ....So I will be using your practices to attempt. !!! I will let you know....and maybe inquire some more :)
Thank you for this. I have a 75 and the previous owner went a little crazy on the door gaps and front fender transitions to these gaps, sometimes a guy needs to see another guy with experience, ivwant to leran and fix my car proper, i love thr classic Vette. Thank you...wish i eas your neighbor. P.S. My doors are primed from previous owner, i am assuming that i must remove this primer prior to glass/resin repair? Stupid question im sure. 1975 is SMC? I think this is true. I am very excited to correctly repair my Vette and hopefully do more projects, happy i found your channel, stoked man...
Thanks for watching, Glad you liked the video, always remove paint and primer to do fiberglass work, and yes your year Vette is made with SMC resin so do all repairs using that resin, keep an eye out for more videos coming soon, Thanks Eyeballjohn
@EYEBALLJOHNsKUSTOMKORNER I need to panel bond a 73 rear end onto my 75. Are the smc panels the same formula? What kind of epoxy? resin should i get to do the panel bonding? I'm making a custom rear valance with Mat and glass but using the top part and chrome plate cover.
I was told from a gm trained body guy in the late 70s and early 80s that 73 to bowling Green smc you can use Polyester resins with ONE have to do step.. sand the top layer of the merged material I used his advice and panel strip bonded a cistom 73 rear onto a 75 with evercoat autozone resin and no problems blending or adhering.. He said the releasing agent needs sanded but formula changed in bowling green for the 80s c3s and c4s. And you can't do it with those.
Thanks for the video John. I am a newbie: You use way more resin than I do. My finished product is pretty rough though. I'll use more tomorrow and see if that makes a smoother finish. I love the bowties idea and the way you pick them up. Also: I am glad to see that you make a mess also. I see fiberglass all over your hands like mine, I guess I'm doing something right.
there was an older guy in town we called Geezer....and he was using body filler, and complaining that it was not coming out well....later, my younger friend who does this work for a living, said, he does not put enough filler on to start with - no wonder he can't make it work..
Hi John. Thank-you. This is a superb tutorial. Please would you do a video on how to fix rusted metal supports in a fiberglass body. I'm fixing up a Reliant Scimitar GTE and need to replace the metal A post supports. Thanks. Davic
Thank you for showing the correct way to repair glass on early corvettes.the problem I have I have the front fire wall needs to be bonded to the floor pan located just in front of the seat frame location.on my c2 .the question is do I place both edges butt against each other with a slight taper bonded with 3 layers of shredded glass afterwards ground down to blend with the floor and same operation on the bottom of floor pan underneath?
That would be the way to go, it also depends on if you are going to keep the bottom of the floor bare glass or natural looking for NCRS standards, if the bottom of the floor is going to be painted you could overlap the two pieces and use a glue for extra support but still grind and glass but unfortunately you will be able to see the glue line if left natural, if you want to keep the area natural looking then butt up the two pieces grind at least 6 inches on both sides and glass both top and bottom the same way, you can make the glass a little thicker in this area no one will ever notice, Hope this Helps and Thanks for watching
You did not show the most critical step. Where and how deep you are grinding and tapering down the door skin before doing your glass work? I was also hoping we would see you completely remove the old woven cloth that always shows through a nice paint job on a sunny day like on 53-54 cars that utilized woven cloth instead of glass mat like you are correctly using. Were you referring to Gene McKinney, Lake City, Seattle?
Hi, I usually grind down the repair area as much as needed without going through, if it’s a crack that can be seen I normally keep grinding until the crack is gone, but if you are able to do glass work on the back of the panel I would only go half way down in front and then do the same to the crack on the back of panel, 53 and 54 were the only years that cloth was used on some panels, if your restoring those years to original you want to see the pattern in the finale paint work, if you want to get rid of the woven pattern you would need to grind off enough glass to be able to put 2 to 3 layers of Mat fiberglass over it, Hope this helps Thanks for watching, More videos on the way
I have a 88 vw vanagon front bumper, it is smooth, it's probably SMC, it has been shattered into at least 11 peices, and I use 36 -80 grit to rough it up, I'm about to find out if polyester resin will work, I did not know about SMC and I think, think I am almost done rebuilding it...thanks for the video - and bow ties, I do have a inside corner edge, and like you said, the edges crack...
Great Video!! I have a quick question, would you recommend gel coating c1 corvette before paint? getting ready to have mine done and I've heard different opinions.
Hi, Glad you liked the video, gel coating is not really necessary to do but I would polyester primer the car, I do this to all the Corvettes I work on, polyester primer seals all the glass work on the car and uou can block sand it very easily to get the car straight, then top coat with a urethane primer then paint, Hope this Helps, Thanks for watching
I am another beginner, so my questions are basic. Your help is appreciated. Before that door was stripped of paint, were those stress cracks visible? Those stress cracks look to be a surface problem. They don't go all the way through Vette panels do they?
Hi, Glad you liked the video, some stress cracks can be visible through the paint, usually only on original paint cars where paint is not multiple paint jobs, to really see them the paint most be removed down to bare glass, and spray with a wax and grease remover then the cracks will show up clearly Hope this Helps 👍👍
Hi, honestly I've never used the epoxy resin before except with carbon fiber, but a friend of mine who repairs boats for a living swears by it, and he uses it on all his corvette Restorations he does.
Hi Eyeballjohn, Thanks very much for the video. It's such a gift to learn from someone who has years of experience at their craft. I have been restoring a 1966 Corvette over the last six years and I'm on the body work phase now. My panel gaps are not very good and I will need to add material in order for them to look right. My question is can I add to the gap by using the bowtie process you taught or is it possible to mix resin and glass fiber together to extend the panel? I only need to add 3/16" at the most. Any help is much appreciated! Thanks again! Jeff
Hi Jeff, Glad you liked the video, gabs are a pain in the butt when restoring a Vette or any car for that matter but it’s what makes and breaks a high end restoration, if after all possible ways of lining up the doors or hood or whatever it is, is exhausted then the only thing left is to add on the end of the door or what ever panel your working on, I wouldn’t use a lot of resin on an edge cause it will be more brittle and could crack off, you can use the bowtie method but it might take a while to build up, I would grid the edge down about 1/2 inch in from the edge about half way down then back the inside with 2 inch tape for a backing, cut fiberglass matt 3/4 inch strips the length you need and build up the edge that way, build up higher and a little wider then you need and sand down to what you want, I’ve had a few people ask about this so I’m going to do a video just on this procedure, if you can wait a little I should have one up in a few weeks, Thanks for watching and the questions, John
@@EYEBALLJOHNsKUSTOMKORNER Thank you for your time and response to my question. I look forward to your panel gap video and any others that you produce.
Hi, Thanks for watching Glad you liked the video, I will be making more videos covering the complete restoration of a Classic Corvette, keep,an eye out for them, Thanks
If your repairing fiberglass it's best to use fiberglass, kitty hair gorilla hair all those hairs are just chopped up fiberglass mat with bondo, it can be fixed using those products but as far as lasting or any strength, it's not going to last, Hope this Helps, Thanks for watching
Depending on how long you sprayed the last coat, if it's within a half hour or close to that it's ok to spray more coats, if it has dried to the touch you will have to give it a light sanding, hope this helps
Hi boss I like your video I have a question I have vw pop top that is flaky from seating in the weather. What you think I should do do I cover the whole thing with resent.or just sand it and put primer over it Thanks in advance.
Hi, Glad you liked the video, first what is flacking off the top, is it the fiberglass? Has it been sitting outside for awhile? The sun will eat away the resin and leave the fiberglass strands, you could mix up resin brush it on and sand it smooth, remove as much of the flackery stuff as possible and try the resin, Hope this helps, Thanks for watching
Awesome information. Question: I have a 79 vette, so I guess that means SMC resin. What kind of primer or sealer, or whatever, should I be using on my glass repairs, or even if I just strip it down to glass before repainting?
Thanks Glad you liked the video, your correct use SMC resin to do your repairs, when I strip a Vette down to fiberglass I always use a polyester primer first, this will seal all your body work and the fiberglass, it’s a heavy primer filler that can be block sanded, then I use a urethane primer on top and you can either wet sand or dry sand that, then paint, Hope this Helps, look for more videos coming soon
I am currently repairing my 1974 Corvette. the right front fender suffered some damage losing the right front rear fender flare. I made the repairs using the left rear flair only to watch your video . What really interested me was how you used the strands of fiberglass to repair the coveing on the door. My questin is can I repair my door gaps using this methid? Could I also use the same mthod by pulling longer strand of fiberglass untill I do the entire edge or should I stay with the short strands and just keep working at it untill I get the entire edge. Can you do a segmount on repaing door edges, Respectfull yours An Old Guy with a OLD Corvette
Hi, yes you can repair a door edge gap using that method, if you have to do the full length of the door you can also grind the front edge of the door about 1/4 inch in about half way down the thickness of the door, line the back of the door with tape , cut 1/2 inch strips of fiberglass and lay them on the edge of the door, when that dries do the same on the back, sand gap down to desired opening, I will be making more videos shortly showing all phases of fiberglass restorations, Thanks for watching, Hope this helps, John
What grit of sandpaper did you use And once you get it sanded down do you use the resin over the top of the repair to get a smoother finish? Thank you for your time great video
Hi, after the fiberglass has cured i take a first cut with 36 grit paper to take it down fast you could use 40 also, after that I use 80, you could use a resin coat on top but I recommend using a polyester primer top coat it seals the body and all work done and it sands much easier then a resin top coat, Thanks for watching
John, really glad I found your channel , keep it up. What are the bonding strips actually.made from?. I have an Exklers nose on my 69 that Inwant to install 69 gills on to and am not sure what I should use for bonding strips?
Hi James, Glad you liked the video, bonding strip are made out of fiberglass, on all early Corvettes the fiberglass panels are glued together using the bonding strips, if you have an Ecklers nose is it a one piece nose? If it is you don’t need bonding strips, and it should come with the side gills as part of the nose, let me know , Thanks John
@@EYEBALLJOHNsKUSTOMKORNER Thanks for replying John. The previous owner cut the gills from the Ecklers nose in favor of the egg crate grills. I am not sure if I want to make the 69 gills fixed or removable just yet. The 69 gills I have will actually interchange with egg crate gills.
John, I have a '68 Corvette that's been sitting for 15 years, I want to strip the paint off of it and come back with a different color. Is there a process for cleaning both sides and sealing it after that amount of time? The car literally has zero damage to it. I just want to know how to strip, clean and seal this fiberglass before the paint process begins. Thank you for your knowlege!
Stripping off paint on a Corvette, this is one of the top questions I get ,and basically, it's where you have to begin when starting a restoration, it really depends on how much paint is on the car and what equipment is available to you. I try not to use chemical strippers on fiberglass but if that is what you need to do, do a small area at a time and wipe down the area you are stripping with lacquer thinner to clean the glass and remove any stripper, fiberglass is likeca sponge and will soak in anything that is left on it. I like to try and razor blade off the paint first, if the paint is thick enough it strips pretty easy, but you have to be careful not to dug into the glass, it usually only will go down to the primer so.the rest would have to be sanded which brings me to the last method which is sanding with a orbital sander but again be careful not to dig into the glass, and another way is to have the car soda blasted which you really need someone who knows what there doing or your car could look like Swiss cheese. After the car is stripped and Body Work is done I seal the body with a polyester primer, block sand that and prime with urethane primer, sand that and your ready for paint. Hope this helps , Thanks for watching
Great video, I learned some things. At age 18 back in 1981 I did a repair on my 1973 Corvette fender. I must have used the right fiberglass resin because it turned out wonderful. I did not know there were different resins up until 1972. I have a 1980 Corvette that I need to work on. What is the resin called I need and what do you recommend for bonding adhesive? One of my fenders popped loose. Also, just curious about a 1994 Corvette, what kind of resin does it need? The fiberglass looks different on it. I don’t need a repair on it but I’m just curious. I tried fixing a cracked hood once on a jet ski and the fiberglass did not bond like you mentioned. I have to watch your sanding technique, I can’t believe you can get it so close you don’t need filler, that’s amazing! Thanks
Hi, Thanks for checking out my video, on 73 and newer Corvettes I use Evercoat SMC resin, it’s a little thicker then polyester resin and it uses the blue cream hardener like you would use in bondo, you can use the regular fiberglass mat in your repairs, as far as bonding panels if you want something that matches factory glue I use Corvette Image glue for a factory look it a a thick black glue that you mix with MEKP hardener ( the same as the polyester resin ) you can also use 3M or SEM bonding glues , Hope this Helps, Thanks for watching
Hi, actually Corvettes from the factory never had a gel coat, it was just fiberglass, after market parts use gel coat, so if your asking If I use the Matt on top of the factory glass then yes, even though gel coat is polyester based and if ruffed up fiberglass will stick to it, I always grind the gel coat away on an aftermarket part and go right to the fiberglass so I don’t have any problems, Hope this answers your question,
John, thanks for posting your video it has inspired me and my two boys to dust off my old '73 Stingray and put it back together. I painted the car about 40 years ago, so hopefully this will be a fun project. I do have a few questions though. The Vette was stripped by a friend about 12 years ago and did a bad job. So, I stopped it, put it in my garage and left it. Now my kids are 20 years old and interested in working on it with me. Question 1, there are some areas that are sanded down and the rough fiberglass is showing, should I just skim over it with resin and sand It? Question 2, the door edge and a few other spots need to be built up from 0" to about 1/4" to make the seams or (door gaps) line up with around the seams, how would you recommend doing that? Also, is there a special primer and type of prep work for fiberglass cars? Any guidance would be appreciated. Lastly, I really like the flame job you did on the bare metal on the truck in your other video.
Hi Derrick, Glad you liked the videos, its a Great feeling to work on an old car with your sons or daughters, to answer your first question bare fiberglass if exspode to the elements especially the sun will start to eat away the resin and leave the fiberglass strands, you could easily fix this by ruffing up the area and apply resin and mat if needed to build up area, 2nd I like building up edges using fiberglass I've seen people use different types of compounds or fillers but to me I'm always worried about the edge cracking off. I usually grind from 1/4 to 1/2 on panel edge that needs to be extended about half thickness down of the panel, then I back the edge with 2 inch tape a few pieces then I cut the mat strips in long 1/ to 1/2 pieces then add them onto the edge of the panel coming out a little further then the gap I'm trying to fill, it takes longer to do this but I've never had an edge come off, to really be done correct after you have the desired gap closer you want and all glass work is hard, I'll grind a little on the back edge and add a strip.of glass, As far as sealing the bare fiberglass I always prime using a polyester primer, its a sealer primer that goes on thick and can be block sanded to take out any waves or low spots, then urethane primer over that, Hope this Helps, keep watching i have a lot of videos coming up soon with complete restoration from start to finish, Thanks again for watching
Hi, not sure by “ what process to use” but if your talking about repairing any cracks or filling seams, I would use only SMC resin and regular fiberglass mat to do any work on your 80 Vette, I always build up the repair area a Lott more then what I need so I can sand down to what ever contour on the car this way you eliminate needing any plastic filler, I always use polyester primer over any repairs which actually will build up the area and seal,the work also, Hope this answers your question, Thanks for watching, more videos to come
Hi John, I was looking for dynagrout poly resin but, I see the company is no longer in business. Would you recommend another good quality poly resin and hardener? Thanks for the videos.
Yes the owner at age 85 decided to retire, here is another company I buy from now www.reinforcedplasticslab.net/, they have a complete line of fiberglass products, Thanks for watching, John
High John. Doing the underside of my "63 and the holes are all finished in mat and resin. A skim of filler here and there. Can I brush finish with tinted gelcoat so that the NCRS like me?
Hi, it will help hide your repair work, not sure to what extent the fiberglass work was done to, if your getting your car judged buy NCRS judges they know what they’re looking at so you can only hide so much, the bottoms of these cars from the factory were not perfect, there was over spray, glue residue, undercoating so don’t go to crazy, Hope this helps and Thanks for watching, John
Hi, basically trying to show how to repair fiberglass panels using fiberglass mat and resin, I must admit this video didn’t come out as good as I wanted still trying to get the hang of filming as I work, more and Better videos to come, Thanks
Well I’m assuming you meant hole in a boat, then yes the procedures that I went through for repairs on a Corvette are the same as any fiberglass repair
On 72 and older Vettes I like to use polyester resin to me it soaks into the mat much quicker on 73 and older Vettes I use the SMC resin, you can use the SMC resin on any year Vette, I just prefer the polyester on the older csrs
1974 Corvette. After I make the repairs, should I gel coat the car, or just use an epoxy primer? I have to get the sharp edges back on the fender, quarters and the sail panels since the car had been butchered by whoever painted it the last two times. Also, the bow ties, is that what I'll use to fix the sharp edges on the fenders and quarters?
Hi, yes to repair edges I use the bow tie method, it takes a little more time but worth doing it in glass, also make sure you use an SMC resin to do all your repairs, the polyester primer is also the best way to seal all the body work and also use it to build up low spots. Hope this Helps, Thanks for watching
Hi, the way I fix any hole in fiberglass no matter what size it may be is to grind down the area around the. Hole making a dish shape so I can lay pieces of fiberglass and resin in it to fill it up, some may use epoxy or some kind of plastic or bondo, but they all might shrink up and come back, this is why I only use fiberglass and resin to fill any hole, on your 77 you have to use SMC resin, not polyester resin, Hope this Helps
Corvettes are not ( have not been ) Fiberglass since 1967 . 1968 they were SMC ... Sheet Mould Compound . I’m glad to se the correct SMC Resin ... as Polyester Resin ( May stick in the short term ) but will eventually just pop off . The Evercoat SMC I have used for over 30 years , never had a delaminating problems . I also use chopped mat .
Hand layup was replaced by liquid compression molding in 1968, making the panels lighter and thinner. Sheet molding compound (SMC) debuted on the car in 1973, paving the way for SMC use across the industry to this day.
@@EYEBALLJOHNsKUSTOMKORNER I’m not a repair expert but it is my understanding that early Corvettes body panels, (C1-C2) were press molded and formed between two dies. The panels were assembled together on a jig, using bonding strips with adhesive, into complete bodies. I know it was during C3 production that GM switched from fiberglass to SMC but not sure what year that occurred. For the record, “gelcoat” was never used on any Corvette during factory production but some cheap aftermarket panels such as custom hoods and one-piece replacement front ends come gelcoated. I think some body guys that should know better but don’t, confuse SMC for gelcoat and refer to it as “gelcoat”. Thanks John for posting these videos showing the correct way to repair these great classic cars.
Hi, if your talking about the bare fiberglass then yes it was sanded down with 36 grit paper or if the area had cracks it was grinded down with 24 grit
Hello John. Thank you for the video. Very helpful. I own a classic corvette and would like to contact you for advice. How can I reach you? Thank you. Leo Paul
Nah you really don't wanna use polyester with wax you want it without wax. No wax summer is what you want with polyester. I'm a boat builder we use west system epoxy because it's stronger and lighter for race boats. Vinelster and polyester is junk.
Lol, ok that’s your opinion, in boat building you don’t need the wax because your laying multiple layers of glass on top of each other and you don’t want the resin to set up so you don’t have to sand, but with building Vettes and any other fiberglass work you want to sand the fiberglass so you need the wax for it to harden up or you will never be able to sand it
