C1 underbody repair

[James O.]

In repairing holes in the underbody of a 1959, is there a body filler which dries roughly the color of the natural body? These are areas that will not be painted or undercoated on the bottom side of the car.

[Bruce B.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

In my opinion body filler is not the best way to fill any holes on Corvettes.
I like to use a good polyester resin with random cut mat. This mat does not have the woven pattern.
Typically I like to grind around the hole to feather the edges then paint activated resin around the hole and on the fiberglass mat. Then apply the patch to the body and roll or work out the bubbles if they are any. You can then take a piece of aluminum foil lay it over the area and then place a flat board over everything. If you are working upsidedown then tape the flat board in place or hold by some other means.
Can be messy but it will get the job done.
When working with the random type of fiberglass I like to tear it into small pieces and apply it to build up the area.

[James O.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

Yes, i was going to use the mat and resin as the base for strength but worried about appearance on the side which will show and be unpainted. Are resins available in solid colors that that might blend in somewhat with the body underside? Everything i have used before was clear and the mat shows through. I agree that eliminating the body filler would be a good idea.

[Bruce B.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

The resins I have seen are usually clear.
I would guess that you could easily tint the resin with a small amount of paint or carbon black if you want it black.
Do a small test batch of resin to be sure it cures ok.
Tell us your results.
Good luck.

[Donald H.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

Check out a company call Fibre Glast. They sell resin, fiber glass, carbon fiber, and they have color additives that you can color the resin with to match the original cream color of the raw C1 fiber glass.

I have never used it, but was told by a professional restorer about it. He said it was necessary for judging purposes to match any underside patches to the original fiber glass color.

[Mike M.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

Yes, i was going to use the mat and resin as the base for strength but worried about appearance on the side which will show and be unpainted. Are resins available in solid colors that that might blend in somewhat with the body underside? Everything i have used before was clear and the mat shows through. I agree that eliminating the body filler would be a good idea.

when i want a patch to be colored like the panel being patched, i go to the barn, get an old damaged piece of fiberglass of the same color as the piece to be patched. then i'll grind a good bit of the barn panel and then sweep up the dust fromsaid grinding. mix the dust in with the resin and have at it. when i first started repairing fiberglass in the early 70's, one could purchase a gallon can of dry fiberglass "dust" from the chevy dealer. doubt its still available but my home-made dust works just fine. i also used this "dust" trick to thicken up resins(before resin gel became available). mike

[Randy R.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

Check with Corvette Image.They might have some correctly colored resin. I purchased some black resin from them for my 67.

Randy

[Rod K.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

I used Bruce's method and added tint obtained from a marine supplier or boat repai shop. Use white with just a touch of yellow to get the original color. You'll probably have to play with the proportions, don't go overboard on the yellow.

[James O.]

Re: C1 underbody repair

thanks for the good info. jim o.