Fiberglass Resin Question

Dahoopd

Registered User
I have fiberglass hood that is unfinished on the engine side. I was wondering if I could take a gallon of resin mixed with hardener and pour it onto the underside and work it around to cover the unfinished part. Sorta like melting butter in a frying pan. This would smooth out the underside for painting and detailing. Will the heat cause a problem with it later? If this is possible, are there any prep tips I need other than cleaning it.
 
I've worked a lot with fiberglass resin and that should work Ok. I'd rough sand it 1st, though, so the resin will have something to grip to keep it from bubbling and lifting. Don't mix it too strong. You want a long setup time so it smooth out real good.
 
Mike,

Should I still sand it even though its the unfinished fiberglass underneath? I figured since it was already rough it would adhere to it. Thanks for the advice.
 
Yes, I'd sand it with some rough grit paper just to give the new resin something to grip. You don't have to sand it real good, just roughen up the surface. My experience with resin has been that a smooth surface even though it's fiberglass doesn't always hold the new resin very good. I'm working on a fiberglass hood right now also, and I've found that on the bare surface I can knock the drips off easily with a screwdriver blade. I used to make resin covered tables and sometimes the resin wouldn't even grip the wood surface very well and would form a bubble or haze underneath. I found a new type of sandpaper at Advance. It's red in color and doesn't use water. It won't clog and outlasts the gray wet sandpaper. It does get dusty though.
 
just a reminder - if your going to sand on f-glass wear a mask -the surface should be cleaned - before any sanding
 
Ummmm...stupid question here...Why do you want to do that? That will add a bit of weight and will still need work to make it smooth. Why not just smooth out what you have and go from there? This will make it lighter and will smooth it out too.

Chris
 
Ummmm...stupid question here...Why do you want to do that? That will add a bit of weight and will still need work to make it smooth. Why not just smooth out what you have and go from there? This will make it lighter and will smooth it out too.

Chris


The glass underside is the ruff fiber finish and I want it smooth as glass. I want to have some paint work dont to the underside. Even with a gallon on resin its got to be lighter than the factory hood. The hood I got is half the weight of the fiber concepts hood.
 
Damian, in terms of weight....I met up with Patrick right before he was heading to your place to drop off the hood. That thing is ALOT lighter than the cervini's in my 35th. I could not believe it when I helped Patrick take the thing out of his truck (so he coudl get my parts out).
 
Have you done fiberglass resin before? I'm not an expert but have done a lot of it over the years. Don't put it all down at once. Mix it in small quantities and layer it. Get a bunch of cheap 3/4" or 1" wide paint brushes to spread it with. I like to use epoxy instead of polyester resin because it doesn't have the strong odor but it's about 3 times the cost.
 
Have you done fiberglass resin before? I'm not an expert but have done a lot of it over the years. Don't put it all down at once. Mix it in small quantities and layer it. Get a bunch of cheap 3/4" or 1" wide paint brushes to spread it with. I like to use epoxy instead of polyester resin because it doesn't have the strong odor but it's about 3 times the cost.

Mike,

The two rear corners were broken off. I can only assume the hood pins were over looked at some point. There is also a piece missing from one of the supports underneath. Once thats all fixed I plan on painting the unbderside with the resin for a smooth finish.
 

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Mine was a blemished hood and was like that on one of the corners, too. I took a piece of 3" masking tape and wrapped it aroung the corner in the shape it was supposed to be in and folded the tape under to make a little mold. I reinforced it with several layers of masking tape so it wouldn't leak and made sure it was shaped right. Then I filled it with bits of carbon fiber I cut off from a bigger sheet. With the corner leveled I poured just enough of the epoxy into it to just fill it up and then let it setup. After it hardens grind and sand it to the exact shape and smooth it. That other hole should fix right up with a small piece of cloth. Use fiberglass cloth if you can't get any carbon fiber.
 
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