Fiberglass Valance

[geordie]

I have never worked with fiberglass body panels.
Yesterday I received my new Shelby style front apron from Branda Performance. As I expected, and indeed was advertised by Branda, the part is a little rough around the edges. I want to fit the part to the body, but I'll not be painting it myself.
My plan is to use wet and dry paper with some water to smooth around all the edges, drill whatever holes are required, fit it and lightly abrade the gelcoat to key the primer. I'll use body filler to smooth any imperfections.
As I say I've never worked with fiberglass, does this plan sound ok? Does anyone know of any websites for prepping fiberglass panels for paint?

 

[geordie]

Do I wet sand fiberglass or dry sand it?

 

[85 Turbo Bird]

dry sand it.

 

[iskwezm]

fill in any pin holes with spot putty and sand with a 220 grit to shpe the edges and finer for finishing.

 

[zookeeper]

I use 80-100 grit dry to shape the edges quickly and 220 to prep for primer. Never wet sand bare fiberglass since the edges absorb water. Also since your fingers will leave grooves, never sand without either a sanding block, a rubber sanding pad, or something between your hand and the 'glass panel.

 

[geordie]

I got most of the apron sanded last night. Thanks for the advice. I was all set to wet sand it, till you guys set me straight. I've since read that you never wet sand fiber glass, so, good advice guys.

I also read that if you paint on top of an exposed area of fiber glass, ie. no gel coat that the paint will react and the area will bubble up, over time, 'like a volcano'.

Is this true? I have a couple of spots, close to edges, very small, where the gel coat has chipped away. What should I do? Is a good primer sufficient?

 

[zookeeper]

No, that's not true. It's more of an urban legend as is most of the information surrounding fiberglass bodywork. The truth of the matter is fiberglass is very easy to modify or change. Here's some fundamental stuff: first, if you do any crack repairs or modifications, they need to be done from the front to keep from showing. Sounds backwards, but you need to grind the edges to a taper and then add the mat and resin from the front, a couple layers at a time, then sanding the repair smooth once it's to final thickness. Fiberglass-reinforced fillers work great on fiberglass, but no filler should ever be used for it's strength. If the area you need to fill is much deeper than 1/16, simply add a layer or two of 'glass mat and resin. Once your satisfied with the shape, fit and basic smoothness of the fiberglass part, scuff the whole part with 180-220 paper dry, wipe it down with a post-sanding cleaner and shoot it with a two-part epoxy primer. Ask your local paint store what they carry and try to stick with one brand from primer to clear. The nice thing about epoxy primers is that you can add small amounts of glazing putty over them after you scuff them with no problems. When priming any part, whether it's metal or 'glass, always shoot two coats of primer over any bodywork, then three more coats over the whole part to give you enough material to block sand to hide the repair. Good Luck!

 

[geordie]

Test fitted the new valance last night. It's a Shelby style valance from Branda for use with the front bumper. My first thought was, this this ain't going to fit , but after some moving around, I achieved a reasonable fit and was able to mark the remaining holes for drilling. The valance would still seem to be a bit short lengthwise, it's almost as if the front fenders need to be moved in towards the middle of the car a bit. I may try loosening them off a bit.

Anyone got any good tips for fitting these fiberglass aprons . Right now I'm trying to use the holes in the ends of the apron to attach to the fenders, and jiggle the fenders rather than drill new holes in the apron. It seems to be working.

Comments........

 

[zookeeper]

Welcome to the world of poor-quality parts. As you just found out, there are no decent 'glass parts out there for Mustangs. As for as drilling new holes in the 'glass part, I wouldn't hesitate to do just that. The important thing is that the outer contour matches the fender. If you need to loosen the fender and adjust it to fit the valance, be very careful that you are aware of basic body alignment procedures. When a car is assembled from scratch, you first align the doors to the quarters and rockers, then install the hood, aligning it with the cowl, then the fenders, aligning them with the hood edge. The valance is last after the grille and should be made to fit the car, not the other way around. You may be able to pull the lower front edges of the fenders in to meet the valance, but if it's too far off, you'll need to modify the valance. I had to go to extremes, actually cutting the mounting flange clear off the Shelby nose, bolting it to the fender, then re-glassing it back together while it was mounted to the car. As bad as that sounds, it only took a couple or three hours and I didn't know anything about fiberglass at the time! The stuff is extremely easy to work with, just buy quality stuff (I use Evercoat brand) and FOLLOW THE INTRUCTIONS ON THE CAN!!! I thought that used to go without saying, but after watching some of my brothers freinds try to patch the wounded 'glass on their race cars, I was wrong. Be patient, and just do it, look at it this way, it doesn't fit now, so anything you do is going to make it better, right?

 

[mustang6788]

Not to steal the thread but I am going to put on a 1967 shelby front end with hood on my mustang. Who makes the highest quality fiberglass parts Mustangs unlimited, Branda, Mustangs plus ect... Or are most of them made by the same person and then distributed to mustang parts dealers and then sold? I would like to find the parts that need the least amount of work, I know some work will be needed with any fiberglass part.

 

[geordie]

Thanks Zookeeper, I hope I don't have to get that radical, but we'll see.

 

[Red5oh]

I had good luck with my branda parts. I bought the vacuum formed trunk lid and it fit like a glove. The endcaps were a total piece of junk that would have probably been easier to make from scratch, but as zookeeper says... working on fiberglass is easy. The hood went on easily and only needed the edges cleaned up and aligned. Overall, I was happy with the parts, and you can check out the pics at my cardomain.

 

[DrStang]

Test fitted the new valance last night. It's a Shelby style valance from Branda for use with the front bumper. My first thought was, this this ain't going to fit , but after some moving around, I achieved a reasonable fit and was able to mark the remaining holes for drilling. The valance would still seem to be a bit short lengthwise, it's almost as if the front fenders need to be moved in towards the middle of the car a bit. I may try loosening them off a bit.

Anyone got any good tips for fitting these fiberglass aprons . Right now I'm trying to use the holes in the ends of the apron to attach to the fenders, and jiggle the fenders rather than drill new holes in the apron. It seems to be working.

Comments........

I just installed mine (with use of the bumper). I had to modify mine at the grill opening as I have an A/C condensor and also, I wanted to retain the stock hood catch mechanism - so the long vertical support had to be retained. I notched the valance for this reason. Doesn't look to bad.

I may install a honeycomb grill in the opening - I have an old '65 grill that I cut for this reason.

 

[geordie]

Excellent thinking DrStang!

I want to retain the stock hood closing mechanism so will have to notch the apron for the support.

I also have an old Mustang grill which I could cut up for the apron. Any thoughts on how you would install or retain it.

 

[DrStang]

Excellent thinking DrStang!

I want to retain the stock hood closing mechanism so will have to notch the apron for the support.

I also have an old Mustang grill which I could cut up for the apron. Any thoughts on how you would install or retain it.

Thanks,

This what I will do. I used the middle 1/3 of the grill because it has that natural point arc that mirrors the valance. The attachment points would be at the top at the stone guard and the bottom at the valance opening. The sides (which are now jagged because of the cut) would have a pinch on type of weatherstripping to protect the paint on the valance.

It's still in the planning stages as of right now.

Hope this helps.

 

[geordie]

I wanted to retain the stock hood catch mechanism - so the long vertical support had to be retained. I notched the valance for this reason. Doesn't look to bad.

My plan is to install a Crites fiberglass tear drop hood on my '65 Coupe. My initial thoughts were that i wanted to retain the stock hood catch mechanism, however, when I marked out the required notch in the valnce to clear the mechanism vertical support its quite large, about .625 x 3.375 inch. From my mock up it would appear that the only way to install the hood catch mechanism is before the valance is installed, so a notch is required, rather than a rectangular hole.

What are peoples opinions, does the retention of the stock hood catch mechanism with a Shelby style valance spoil the design of the valance? Does anyone have any photos of such a set up?

Thanks in advance.

 

[eleanor_350]

Don't notch your front pan just yet. I also have the shelby valance that accepts the front bumper and I had the same dilemma of wanting to retain the stock hood latch. However, I didn't want to notch my valance or have that vertical support showing through the opening in the valance. So here's what I did...

1. I bought a piece of square tubing (3/4" I think, can't remember for sure) that was long enough to reach across my radiator support. One side bolts to the radiator support under the battery tray and the other side mounts under the voltage regulator. It's mounted about the same height as the bumper so that from the front of the car it's hidden by the bumper and upper valance.
2. Then I cut off the vertical hood latch support even with the bottom of square tubing.
3. I welded a new tab to the vertical support, and drilled & bolted it to the square tubing.

And there you have it. I was able to retain the stock vertical hood latch support without notching the valance. Now all you see through the valance opening is my aluminum radiator. Sorry, I don't have access to detailed pictures of the install from this computer. This is the best I can do for now. http://www.wildhorsemustang.com/wildhorsemustangMarch2006/66_Coupe.html

 

[geordie]

Thanks Eleanor_350, that sounds like a sweet set up. I'm going to go with your suggestion or something very similar.
If you do have any additional photograpghs of the set up then if you could post them, that would be great, but I understand your concept from your description.
The paint scheme on your car is the same as I'm going for as well.
Thanks again