Hi all,

Looking for a little info. I have done lots of body work as a teen but never handled fiberglass. I know fiberglass will bond to steel but can someone tell me how to prep the metal. Is it as easy as fiberglassing to bare metal? Is there a special type of resin? What is the success rate of it not cracking and separating? I have done searches on google and still not sure. Any and all help is appreciated.

 

What ya tryin to bond mike? Flares, a wing, hoodscoop or something? It makes a difference as to what you are doing as to the prep required..

 

I will be blending my side scoops and fixing small rust holes.

 

Not a good idea for rust holes, better to replace it with good metal. I use 40 grit sandpaper to prep the area I plan to bond. It needs to be somewhat rough so the resin can adhere.

Since the side scoops arent load bearing, and the body panel shouldnt be flexing, it shouldnt crack if you follow the directions for the hardener/resin. It doesnt have to be real thick to be strong.

 

Todd,
Don't you have to condition the raw metal with something for the fiberglass resin to stick?

 

I make it very rough when I do it, cometimes as far as gouging the metal in a few places. There may be something new in the area of fiberglass, I last did bare metal glass work about 15 years ago.. So yeah my info is a bit dated, but it worked back then.

I'll add that to the list of things to find out, especially since I have been considering glassing a few RC boat hulls..

 

I appreciate your help. The surface may need to be etched with a type of acid maybe so the fiberglass resin bonds to a clean surface. Anymore info is greatly appreciated.

 

36 grit to give it a tooth and have a nice day! it will eventually crack! it might be 15 years but it will do it! the fiberglass over rust holes works but u must kill the rust with a phosphoric acid bath (ospho).

 

rmodel65,

Just a thought, but you might want to consider carbon fiber over fiberglass. If you're doing small parts, the added cost isn't really significant. The name sounds super exotic, but the fact is that it isn't much different from working with fiberglass--you use epoxy instead of polyester resin and have many more choices in weave pattern. But the beauty is tenfold--easier to work around different shapes (the right weave makes this stuff pliable to any shape or curve) and much much stronger/last longer. Same prep the other folks have suggested, and the epoxy grabs hold of rough metal like mad...which you can't really say for polyester resin.

Carbon fiber is definitely something to look into it, if you're thinking about composites anyway.

Best,
-j

 

Roloc the metal you want to glass. Quick and easy.