Seeking midyear wheelwell repair tricks

[Chris H.]

Re: Seeking midyear wheelwell repair tricks

I used fiberglass powder back in the late 70's to thicken up fiberglass resin to use like bondo for a bit more stifness/strength than bondo on rusted steel bodies and make the resin more workable in liquid form like bondo.

Chris

[Chris H.]

Re: Seeking midyear wheelwell repair tricks

I used fiberglass powder back in the late 70's to thicken up fiberglass resin to use like bondo for a bit more stifness/strength than bondo on rusted steel bodies and make the resin more workable in liquid form like bondo.

Chris

[Mike Cobine]

Milled Fiberglass

That "powdered" fiberglass is technically milled fiberglass. it is really very short lengths of glass fibers. You can get it in .001, .002, .005, and so on.

The .001 is good for mixing with resin and filling small chips and holes that are not structural. Mix it and apply like you would bondo. Increase the size of fiber for the size of hole.

(DON'T SNEEZE or inhale this stuff. Use a respirator or an industrial mask, not the cheap stuff.)

There is also chopped fiberglass, where the lengths are 1/4 inch and up. This makes a good replacement for bondo when you need the strength of fiberglass but you don't want to be trying to get mat in the area.

[Mike Cobine]

Milled Fiberglass

That "powdered" fiberglass is technically milled fiberglass. it is really very short lengths of glass fibers. You can get it in .001, .002, .005, and so on.

The .001 is good for mixing with resin and filling small chips and holes that are not structural. Mix it and apply like you would bondo. Increase the size of fiber for the size of hole.

(DON'T SNEEZE or inhale this stuff. Use a respirator or an industrial mask, not the cheap stuff.)

There is also chopped fiberglass, where the lengths are 1/4 inch and up. This makes a good replacement for bondo when you need the strength of fiberglass but you don't want to be trying to get mat in the area.

[Mike Cobine]

Why not get Fiberglass Mold Release?

You can get this from any Industrial Fiberglass shop, boat shop, etc. The stuff is made to do just this task.

The one problem is painting. Since it has silicone in the release wax, you have to use fisheye reducer when painting.

The milled fiberglass actually adds strength, since it is a fiber, and not a round or square item. The length determines the strength. The longer it is, the more strength but at a loss of fine finish. The smaller it is, the less strength in the repair, but the surface smoothness increases.

[Mike Cobine]

Why not get Fiberglass Mold Release?

You can get this from any Industrial Fiberglass shop, boat shop, etc. The stuff is made to do just this task.

The one problem is painting. Since it has silicone in the release wax, you have to use fisheye reducer when painting.

The milled fiberglass actually adds strength, since it is a fiber, and not a round or square item. The length determines the strength. The longer it is, the more strength but at a loss of fine finish. The smaller it is, the less strength in the repair, but the surface smoothness increases.