C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

[Bob B.]

I am restoring the spare tub on my '70 convertible ( lots of time as distanced) The low hanging portion has worn a small area thru, about 2" wide and 1/4" front to back. Has anybody been able to repair this small hole well ?
Looks like a small fiberglass repair should work, sand to blend in and then a small amount of proper gray spray to blend in ?
Any idea of color ? Thanks, Bob

BTW Forum suggestion on grill restoration paint worked out outstanding many many hours prep and masking
proper lacquer paint and came out OUTSTANDING THANKS more on that later

FIBERGLASS yeah I know

[Paul D.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

Sounds like you have a perfect plan already! Try to keep the repair as small as possible and instead of paint, maybe final fill with some Evercoat Vette Panel Adhesive. Remember to work the inside as well as the outside. On the show field, more would notice inside of the tub with it down and the spare out. Chip

[Arland D.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

I believe Scott Sinclair published a fairly detailed article about spare tire carrier repairs in the Restorer a while back. Perhaps you could PM him for more information.

[Mike E.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

I would not plan to paint it. The color is in the fiberglass, not on it.

[Gary S.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

Some won't like what I am saying but, years ago I had a 66 with a small wear spot on the tub (I don't know how the hole got there) but I made a small fiberglass patch after adding some color to the epoxy. I sanded it to contour and had, of course, a visible but small repair. I took a couple of rattle cans of black paint, semi-gloss and flat iirc, and did small "spritzes" of paint on the small patch. Within a few seconds of spraying a thin layer I wiped it off with a paper towel, not trying to be thorough - just quick. The end result looked pretty good and I was satisfied with the results. Although I never had the car judged I am confident that it would have been undetected due to the length of time spent looking in that area.

Just another avenue.

Gary

[Bob B.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

THANK YOU ALL, undamaged tubs are getting hard to find, not even Sokolowsi had a good one ! It took 3 coats of paint stripper and a lot of
gentle rubbing to get the overspray from factory and whatever off. And a lot of simple green and more scrubbing with a nylon brush. Now it looks pretty good, the V strap was pretty straight forward but the glass tub where it wore thru rubbing the street is going to be tricky to make "like it didn't happen".
I will try to get Sinclair and try the panel adhesive- in this case the least amount of FIX the better. No magic here

[Tom L.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

Not on a tub but I had a small hole, about the size of a quarter in the evaporator housing. Guess someone was too aggressive dropping the engine in. I used regular fiberglass resin, shredded fiberglass matt (not the woven type) and just added some black paint to it. Made several samples and let them cure until I got the color close. Once the patch was made, I taped around the new resin and block sanded it until even with the surface. After that I removed the tape and wet sanded it. Came out pretty good for my first and only attempt. I can take a pic later if anyone is interested.

[Scott S.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

Bob, This should be an easy repair. I would grind out the damaged area in a V shape. I would make the V on the underside, a 30 grit disk should make it rough enough to accept the repair. I would use fibreglass resin with some balck and some white dye. You should find the Dye at a Fiberglas store. Marine products supply.
I would put Masking tape on the inside and make the repair on the underside. Some final sanding down to 600 grit should make it look original. Some wax or Flat clear should finish the repair.
Good Luck, it is not rocket science.
Scott Sinclair

[Bob B.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

Scott, I appreciate your reply. So, the dyed resin makes sense, no problem No glass cloth in the repair ?.
After another look the crack is about 2" long and just a crack / break not a hole so the resin should be just fine with a little
TLC yeah, not rocket science Thanks, Bob
Locked in due to the virus, so lots of time to do it right

[Scott S.]

Re: C3 spare tub fiberglass restoration best way?

A small amount of fibreglass mat will help secure the repair