Body / Glass: Avanti (Fiberglass) Bonding Adhesive???

[sweetolbob]

Does anyone have experience and a recommendation on the best adhesive to bond fiberglass panels back together.

I removed the lower sills to replace the hog troughs and I'd like to put them back with the best adhesive for the job.

Thanks, Bob

[52 Ragtop]

Bob,
Your beat bet is grind a taper to the glass, and use mat and glass to "glue it back together" What ever you do, DO NOT leave any pop rivets in the repair as they will come back to haunt you!! The rivets may be tight when you put them it, but they WILL work loose.
If you want to use a 2 part panel bond, ($47.00 a kit, plus a special caulking gun) you'll need to make up bonding strips and glue them in first. But, i wouldn't do it that way.

Jim

[Warren Webb]

Back in the 80's we had one body man that did all the Corvettes. The bonding material used was from 3M but I cant remember what it was called. I do remember that he used "cleco" (spelling?) to align the panels first, then would set in the bonding material & remove the cleco's before it was fully cured. I'm sure the stuff available today is even better than what was offered 30 years ago & superior to what they used on the Avanti.

[JohnM15]

I'm not an expert on fiberglass but I thought that using fiberglass to fix fiberglass was always the best way to go as Ragtop suggests. But if you choose to use and alternate adhesive this one was suggested to me on TruckTalk and it is awesome:

http://www.eastwood.com/maxim-univer...8-45fl-oz.html

The stuff is expensive but if you bypass using the mixing spouts and mix with a putty knife it will go a long way. This two part epoxy has glass beads in it to maintain the proper separation for the epoxy to bond. It requires a standard caulk gun.

[WCP]

Bob, look for Evercoat Vette Bond 870 or 880. The difference in the two numbers is package size only. This bonds as well as providing a filler coat and has the sanding/finishing consistency of the base fibreglass.

[52 Ragtop]

Yes, there are 2 part epoxies that will "probably" work, BUT, the best way (in my opinion) is to use fiberglass to repair fiberglass! Once all (or most) of the plastic filler work is done, then use a product called "Eliminator" made by Morton paints. It is pretty much fiberglass resin with gray pigment added to it. It smells like fiberglass, and mix ONLY what you can spray in 10-15 minutes (read the can) in between batches, run a 1/2 cup of lacquer thinner through the gun. Once done, clean the gun with in 10 minutes, or toss it in the trash!
IF you need to add plastic filler to the repair after spraying the Eliminator, scratch it down with at least 80 grit sand paper, 40 grit is better. but, at that point, you should only need a glaze coat if any.
Eliminator, fills a lot of imperfections, and wet sands very easy, it does NOT dry sand very well.

Another 2 part epoxy primer is called Feather fill, i have NOT used this product, but it is supposed to be good also.


Jim

[Dan Timberlake]

"fiberglass" is often used to describe stuff made of glass cloth or matt saturated with some polyester based resin. When sanded polyester resin has the familiar body work smell. Generically Epoxy resin is superior in every way, except cost. Epoxy's much higher bond strength and lower shrinkage can be VERY important when making a structural repair. Some industries prohibit bonding polyester "fiberglass" components together unless epoxy is used.

http://www.redrockstore.com/resin.htm

I worked for a company that had to make a million dollar repair when vinylester resin (better than polyester, but still mostly inferior to epoxies) was used in place of epoxy by a shabby contractor. The difference in smell when machining should have tipped us off.