Fiberglass Repair

Fiberglass repair is something that owners of Corvettes will all be faced with some day. It might be the repair of stress cracks or damage caused by a collision. Most minor repairs are well within the skills of the average shadetree mechanic. More extensive repairs require experience and are much more complicated. If you want to tackle major repairs I would suggest you get Ecklers book on Fiberglass Repair. It is a very detailed manual that goes into the products and procedures required to repair and replace just about any panel on a corvette and is well worth the small price of the book. If you're faced with minor repairs the procedures that I will show you will be sufficient to make a permanent,

Most panels on a corvette are constructed as you see in the picture at the left. The two adjoining body panels are bonded to a bonding strip and the space where the panels butt against each other is filled with a body filler. Unfortunately this filler dries and cracks with age causing the dreaded stress cracks which mar the finish of many fenders.

The first step in the repair is to grind out the filler and part of the fiberglass so you create a V shape. This is the area that will be filled in with fiberglass mat and resin. Make sure you don't go through the bonding strip.

The ground out area is then filled with 3 or more layers of fiberglass mat and resin. These products can be purchased through many auto chains. Work the resin into each layer of the mat thoroughly with a pure bristle and go over each layer with a fiberglass roller to remove air bubbles. Once the repair is dried you can sand it smooth and prime it for painting.