Fiberglass repair

[IndyJimW]

So I have several cracks I needed repaired on my Avanti and I've been talking to alot of the body shops that I know, nobody seems to want to repair fiberglass. Anyway i'm standing outside my shop one day looking across the street at the boat dealer and it hits me that they must have someone that repairs their boats because almost all boats are fibergalss. Sure enough their guy has 29 years experience and said it wouldn't be a problem. He's been coming over to my shop the last couple of evenings and is almost done.

[IndyJimW]

Fiberglass repair is done! I had 12 areas that needed repair and it cost me about $700. Now for a paint job.

[Deaf Mute]

I have always been told (perhaps incorrectly) that the fiberglass products used in boats were not campatible with the glass used on Vetts and Avantis.?.

Anyone else been told the same thing... or know this to be true... or false?

[Gunslinger]

I can't say if it's true or false, but I think most fiberglass boats are blown fiberglass as opposed to layered fiberglass in the Avanti body. Whether that makes for an incompatibility I don't know but it would seem preferable to keep the process the same when doing repairs, though I would imagine repairs to a boat hull would likely be layered and sanded smooth.

It's going to take someone with knowledge about boats and car bodies to give a better idea.

[Twnchgr]

I have always been told (perhaps incorrectly) that the fiberglass products used in boats were not campatible with the glass used on Vetts and Avantis.?.

Anyone else been told the same thing... or know this to be true... or false?

Been doing it a long time. Worked on both cars . Fiber glass is fiber glass all the same. Though there are different grades. some for laying up and some for finishing( has a wax ing it for curing) contrary to rumor Avantis are not hand layed up. But blown into a mold. and glassed together like a big puzzle.

[GAWen]

2 years ago when my Avanti (RQB 1600) was totaled (and eventually rebuilt), a local Corvette shop refused to do the repairs because of the difference in the fiberglass between the two cars. Now to continue the complete rewiring, I have the dash out, What a B---- to remove.

George Wendell

[billsr2]

A difference between Corvette and Avanti fiberglass??? Wern't the Stude bodies built by the same company in the same building as the Vette Bodies??

Reminds me of my favorite Corvette joke... but maybe some of ya own one...

[IndyJimW]

The gentleman that I hired to repair my Avanti had experience in manufactoring and repair of fiberglass, we talked about the differences in the way fiberglass objects are made and I came away with the belief that the repair of fiberglass is the same. He layered the repairs with different matting depending on the repair and used a special resin (Evercoat PlastikWorks SMC Fiberglass resin) for my Avanti's type of construction. I had two spots in the drivers door opening where the fiberglass was made so thin that there were holes from lack of coverage. He explained that the gelcoat on boats and other items is tinted for the final color, so on those repairs he spends alot of hours tinting the gelcoat and blending it in to the surrounding area to match.

I think that the Corvette shop just didn't want to make the time for something that isn't their speciality.

Jim Wood

[MikeValent]

You have to consider that there's epoxy resin, polyester resin, and other kinds as well. The original Avanti body panels would probably have been chopper-gun blown glass with epoxy resin as would the 63 Corvette. But more than likely Corvette's panels in the ensuing years have been changed to some mixture less expensive and easier to work with than epoxy. These body panels aren't load-bearing in the same sense a boat hull is, so the panels wouldn't need the strength that woven or mat glass with epoxy binder provides. I can understand why a Vette specialist wouldn't want to take on repairing a fiberglass body that few people know anything about.

Boat repair articles always stress that you must repair a fiberglass hull with the same or a compatible resin; same applies with doing fiberglass repairs on a car. So the choice of engaging someone who has a good rep repairing fiberglass damage on boats is a good one.

[64Avanti]

Avanti and Corvette used Polyester resin.

Edited November 6, 2009 by 64Avanti