When the front splitter on the Vette left the building it took a couple of chunks of fiberglass out of the bottom of the bumper that happen to be where the splitter mounts up. I have those chunks as they are attached to the screw mounting tabs and I was wondering what I could do to reattach them such that I could bolt back up a new splitter? I'm not particularly concerned about looks, because you can't see under there and because I will likely hit the thing again with something, but I am concerned about durability.
So, can I glue em? JB Weld?
I would bond a piece of aluminum back in way bigger than necessary to back up the attachment points and distribute the load, and then bond the fiberglass chunks back in . You can get mat and resin at Home Depot or parts store.
T-88 epoxy, look up aircraft spruce. Best darn epoxy I have found. After you glue the parts back on, add some re-enforcement over the joint, some fiberglass cloth epoxied on. It is slow setting epoxy, so you will have to tape things together.
T-88 is fantastic for bonding, IIRC about as strong as you can get for bonding strength, I have also really liked the G-flex from west systems, its surprisingly flexible, which might be good in this application. I like the idea of a chunk of aluminum flat stock epoxied to the back.
agreed with the guys above. one trip I've picked up patching boats is to use packing tape or cut pieces of ripstop nylon on top of the patch to create a smoother finish. When the epoxy dries either one will peel off easily and you don't have to sand it nearly as much to get to finish-smooth.
So slip a chunk of aluminum inside the bumper and epoxy that in there before bonding the fiberglass chunk back on top? Seems like it could work. I'll have to think about it. The thing is that the way they have the thing attached is with those clip on screw hole things. So there is a hole in the bumper and then one of those clips slid in there to provide the screw hole and that clip is what pulled the chunk of fiberglass out and is what is still holding on to the fiberglass chunk.
There are only two attachment points out of I think 10 that need the repair. The others were still attached.
I would go with plywood before aluminum. Once it is epoxied over, it is strong, lightweight, and bonds better to the epoxy
pirate
Reader
8/23/16 11:03 a.m.
I'm not sure there is a "quick and dirty" when working with fiberglass at least for me. Every job seems to be a sticky mess. I have finally figured out less is better when mixing resin and go easy on the hardener because a slower cure seems to work out better then a fast one. Wear nitile gloves!
If these chunks are as small as I'm imagining, you're probably better off throwing them out and building up the section from scratch with quality (not Bondo brand) resin and cloth. You'll want the bumper off the car for this.
Quick and dirty would be gluing a small, thin, aluminum plate to the back and then gluing the chunks back to the plate. Use 5200, or in case of extreme cheapness, PL Premium/Polyurethane Liquid Nails.
T-88 is also aircraft acceptable gap filling in wood structures. Its also forgiving of mildly unequal ratios, up to 20%, and you're still golden.
If you go the aluminum route, you can always just tap it, then the clip would no longer be needed.
you've got 8 out of 10 fasteners. Unless you're missing the ones on the ends, just put in what you have and go. I've driven plenty of stuff reassembled with 80% of the original fasteners.
ultraclyde wrote:
you've got 8 out of 10 fasteners. Unless you're missing the ones on the ends, just put in what you have and go. I've driven plenty of stuff reassembled with 80% of the original fasteners.
I'm missing a couple around the center area. You have a point. At the same time I might just have a local fiberglass guy do a quick and dirty repair on it since you can't see any of the bumper once you put the splitter back on. I do tend to run over cones with this thing.
Fiberglass is so easy to work with, why not just fix it right? Get some resin, mat, disposable paint brush and lay it in there.
