mattb73lt Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Fiberglass is pretty easy to work with and as JoeH just said, adding strength and reinforcements to the underside can bring back integrity to the overall structure. However, you need to really evaluate the overall condition and the efforts to bring it back as you dig into it. The man hours you expend may be better spent elsewhere, at some point. I had several items on my restoration that I worked on and then found better replacements as I progressed. The fuel tanks were one item. The cab was the other huge one. But, not finding any reasonable replacements, I was forced to proceed on fixing it. Several friends thought it was beyond hope. Just a little food for thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 Thanks for that but am looking forward to the challenge and I have worked with it before … just as I mentioned there’s more there than I realized…. Its all good I’ll giterdone… bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 What I really wish is like a twitch, my nose, and it would be all done just joking. I’m looking forward to almost all of it. That’s what we do…. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 22 hours ago, JoeH said: You can add strength on the underside of the hood by fiberglassing ribs into it that bridge across the cracks. Metal rods, scraps of wood... Whatever does the right job. I’ve got just the thing in mind leftover scraps from my steel building garage ha ha that’s why I never like to throw anything out. Thanks for that.bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladislav Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 5 hours ago, mowerman said: I’ve got just the thing in mind leftover scraps from my steel building garage ha ha that’s why I never like to throw anything out. Thanks for that.bob I wouldn't do that. Different temp expansion materials may play a bad joke being put together. Better just add thicker layers of epoxy with glass wool where it looks crytical. 1 Quote Никогда не бывает слишком много грузовиков! leversole 11.2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Thanks for that vlad maybe just duct tape for the first initial coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Need some sort of backing for the spots where there’s nothing to adhere to… bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark T Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 You can use anything like cardboard or duct tape to lay some mat and resin on one side, then after a couple layers, just grind it off and mat and resin the side where the tape or cardboard was. Need some thickness in the damaged area and then Bondo to cover the part to be painted ( like the gel coat ) then a few more layers of mat and resin behind it, where's it's not actually going to be finished like the outside. It's time, and lots of itching. Channel your inner child and put some baby powder on before the grinding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark T Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Cut up jugs from DEF or something work good too after a nice cleaning, and they peel off for the most part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Thanks for the hot tip I generally suit up Home Depot, throw away,plastic overalls, goggles mask gloves I’m starting to think maybe I otta strip and repair one area at a time so it won’t feel so overwhelming with constant grinding … bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Besides that I could brainwash myself into believing, I’m getting lots of experience as I move onto another area as well as jacked up to see the improvements as I go along right now I’m dreading every grinding session .. bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladislav Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Yup, exactly what Mark said above. Just put anything at one side, do the other, than remove the temporary support and slightly grind for good adhesion. In my experience paper duct tape works quite fine. Good practice making multiple spots is doing a few at a time. For example all bad spots are ground and fat removed, than you mix a certain amount of epoxy (or what you use) and apply it on as many spots as you have power enough to do at once. If you're gone with the mixed material and feel Ok mix more and continue. If all the spots you went through got a layer which isn't set so far you may mix more stuff and apply 2nd layer "wet by wet". Just be awaire the repair stuff to not slide off since it may be still liquid. After all the prepped areas purchased its share of epoxy they should set up completely. For epoxy resin it's 24 hours in theory and polyether sets faster. Anyway it's usually better to take longer since you need to grind the surface for future layers and soft material would plug up the abrasive. This way while the epoxy is setting you have a choice of glue up other spots, grind already hardened ones or just go for a beer or to job. 1 Quote Никогда не бывает слишком много грузовиков! leversole 11.2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmackpaul Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 7 hours ago, Mark T said: Channel your inner child and put some baby powder on before the grinding. What's the baby powder for ? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark T Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 17 minutes ago, mrsmackpaul said: What's the baby powder for ? Paul It helps reduce the itchy effect of the dust from grinding the fiberglass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark T Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Probably any talcum powder would help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACKS Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 How are the front cab mounts,I remember them especially the driver side taking a beating from all the water and mud thrown up from the tires.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mowerman Posted February 1 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 1 after a fresh look at it after a few days ,,,, all the broken fiberglass,doesnt look nearly as bad....underneath is all in good shape,truck spent most of its life in texas,,,,had an easy day today,,,,boss asked me yesterday,,,,if i would come in and do 3 hrs of HM training and then go home,,,i say yeah yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....2-1/2 hrs later i was a free man rest of the day,,,,ran some errands...picked up more sanding supplys got a haircut and worked on my pickup...small job 20 minutes...bob 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 6 hours ago, Mark T said: It helps reduce the itchy effect of the dust from grinding the fiberglass. Oh, I thought it was so fiberglass doesn’t stick to the temporary templates which sounds like a fabulous idea oil, Vaseline, something like that… bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 I’m even thinking of going together Popsicle sticks just to form a proper shape. Not sure what I’m gonna do with it yet but yes, this is very interesting to me and definitely a fun challenge as I’ve mentioned before….. bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeH Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I don't think you'll have any thermal expansion issues by adding ribs underneath your hood. If I get a minute I'll take a picture of the inside of my sailboat. It has cedar ribs that are fiberglassed to the floor to help give it strength. It basically creates a fiberglass box channel that gives structure to the otherwise flat panel. You could fiberglass in plastic pipe or even foam insulation for water pipes. Metal is going to add a decent amount of weight to the hood, which will make it harder to open, but you don't need anything heavy, just something to hold the shape for the fiberglass resin to set. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Yeah, but that’s where I am at now. Not sure the best route to take I was going to cut up sheet metal but Vlad doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I guess I could just work wonders with the def jugs. I could also heat up plastic and bend it a bit for a precise fit. thanks again, Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted February 11 Author Share Posted February 11 Sorry fellas, no progress I just decided to mess with other stuff that has been neglected around here. What are the chores was to go to the gun shop? Didn’t even get that done…. Bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vladislav Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 On 2/2/2024 at 4:29 AM, JoeH said: I don't think you'll have any thermal expansion issues by adding ribs underneath your hood. If I get a minute I'll take a picture of the inside of my sailboat. It has cedar ribs that are fiberglassed to the floor to help give it strength. It basically creates a fiberglass box channel that gives structure to the otherwise flat panel. You could fiberglass in plastic pipe or even foam insulation for water pipes. Metal is going to add a decent amount of weight to the hood, which will make it harder to open, but you don't need anything heavy, just something to hold the shape for the fiberglass resin to set. Original R-model hood (two ones I butchered up) had wooden inserts in the area hinge bolts fit and up high to form reinforcement channels. Put there exactly for the reason you mentioned - to build a shape of fiberglass being applied onto something. Guess if cedar is used there they would serve well not shorter than your sail vessel. In fact the restovers looked like fir or other relatively soft wood so years of water penetration followed to complete decay. Wood doesn't expant as much as metals by warm so must work well with epoxy fiber. I'm sure if you're looking for extreme strength metal inserts could be used either. But with some good portion of head scratching to avoid possible thermal destructions. Quote Никогда не бывает слишком много грузовиков! leversole 11.2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 Oooooooooooooooohhhhh thanks for that….. not sure if you were aware I’m going to remove all of it after the first initial outer shape coat I’m probably going with cut up jugs and tape…. Snowed like mad last weekend so it might not be till next weekend for more progress thanks again for your help bud…… bob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowerman Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 I’m on vacation again late April…. I’m going to try to knock out bunch of that mind boggling nuisance I got involved with lol bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.