Body Figerglass Buildup Questions

Stone500 · Post by **Stone500** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:49 pm

Here's my challenge: Current body is a manx clone....the body is very thin. Yes I am saving $$ for a new manx body....this rebuild is my Summer project I want to remove the body from the frame - flip it over and either build up the glass by hand or take it to a shop and have someone spray the whole underside (might be quicker and more even coverage) and then resand the top and prep for paint. Would like it so the body doesn't feel like jello on the road and there is a minimum of any wiggle in the fenders during hyway use. 1. What equipment do I need to look for? Guns, correct materials, strength considerations? 2. Use Rover Woven Materials or Boat resin and fiberglass? 3. Is doing this in my carport insane? 4. Can I do this and get the body paint ready for around $600 - $700? If this is a No - Go has anyone seen the Texas Manx Club bodies up close - are the strong and is the glass thick? Thanks for any input MANXDOUT

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Sun May 11, 2008 10:54 pm

Did this to my old Manx years ago, it was a thin fiberglass lay up and lost count at 170 holes in the body

. How I did mine > take every fitting off the body & blast the underside with a powerful pressure washer to clean off any dirt, oil grime etc. Then I repaired all the holes & cracks. Once that was done I scuffed up the underside of the body with 40 grit paper, you could use a machine for this. Once its all scuffed up with no lumps or bumps, vacuum all the dust out then, if its not got tubing glassed on the underside (like my old Manx two), now is the time to do it,, they make the body very rigid. Glue gun two lengths of flexi tubing around 1 1/2'' diameter on the underside of the tub in the same place as the classic Manxes have them. Then lay up by hand the whole underside of the tub with chopped strand mat, two layers of 1oz or 1 1/2 oz mat should make a real strong tub out of it. Or you can glass in the tubes first, then go over the whole thing once the tubes have cured & cooled down. Woven mat is best used on top of wet chopped strand mat or sandwiched in between it,, avoid putting woven cloth on top of cured fiberglass. Once cured, rub the underside down to remove any bits sticking up, vacuum out the dust & flow coat the underside,, most use black flow coat but you can mix any color for the underside. Now your half way there,,,,, its time to turn the body over for prep & paint and contemplate if it was all worth it

Hey, I just thought,, have a look over on the DSB site, I did a thing last year about laying up a buggy body in the mold. Just skip the gel cost part & treat you tub as a mold, as in the DSB pics.

Carltons · Post by **Carltons** » Mon May 12, 2008 3:05 pm

I agree with the above process. I just completed it myself on my clone. I had thin fiberglass. added pods, and had to remove surface cracks from sitting in the sun. I must have added 4 gallons of poly resin to the body Now I will add that I just completed the painting process. Im now in the color sanding process. Im going a bit overboard on the paint, but cost for that are high. 1 1/4 qts high fill primer = $70 Base coat 3qts @ $80 each = 240 + reducer Clear Coat 1 gal and Catylist = $240 I still have to gel coat the undersides $80 Gal. Polishing costs = $100 labor costs = ha ha. Doing it in your car port Yes Im using a portable garage from costco. I wapped it in clear sheeting for the painting process. added some furnace filters and a fan, worked great. Satisfaction if it comes out good. Priceless. Good luck be patient. Carlton

shaihulud · Post by **shaihulud** » Wed May 14, 2008 4:58 am

I would certainly recommend that you remove the old surface of the fibreglass down to a new surface to glass to using a sanding disc on an angle grinder. Protect yourself from the dust by wearing full length overalls, scarf, hat goggles, gloves and a proper dust mask or you will SUFFER from ichyskinosis which is a terrible ailment and your loved ones will tell you to stay away from them. Check that the neighbours don't have any washing on the line as they will dislike you as well.

Stone500 · Post by **Stone500** » Fri May 16, 2008 10:58 pm

Good Tips.....any input on the best website to order the supplies from?

Carltons · Post by **Carltons** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:37 pm

As a bit of a follow up. I was at Tap Plastics the other day getting my gel coat supplies. On their web site they now have a Fiberglass resin spray gun for $120. Much cheaper than destroying a good spray gun... http://www.tapplastics.com Carlton

mel hubbard · Post by **mel hubbard** » Mon May 19, 2008 10:05 pm

[QUOTE="carltons"]As a bit of a follow up. I was at Tap Plastics the other day getting my gel coat supplies. On their web site they now have a Fiberglass resin spray gun for $120. Much cheaper than destroying a good spray gun... http://www.tapplastics.com Carlton[/QUOTE] Just to add further, I use one of their (ES mfg. inc type) gel/resin guns for spraying on gelcoat with glitter jewels mixed in,, They do different size nozzles,, good for spraying on Duratec prime coat too. Never saw it on their site but you can also get (in USA) a dry chopper gun that can be used along with that resin/gel gun. I was asking about them on here a while back, think they are about the same price as the resin gun. Im guessing you would spray the resin on the underside of the buggy, then blast in the chopped glass, then spray in more resin/glass until you get the right thickness before rolling it. Never tried that method myself, but I reckon things could get messy in the car port

Body Figerglass Buildup Questions

Body Figerglass Buildup Questions

Thanks Buggy Dudes