Can I fiberglass over gelcoat?

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 2:35 am
I am working on a project for my car (1973 Triumph TR6). It's a fiberglass targa top (called a surrey top). It is made out of fiberglass and has a plastic rear window. The piece is over 40 years old and by the time it got to me the window was scratched. I tried to wet sand the scratches (with 1200 to 2000 sandpaper) and use Novus plastic polish (#1, 2, & 3) but I could not get the haze from the sandpaper to come out. I guess the plastic they used in the 60/70's is different than today's lexan.

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I was able to purchase a new plastic window but the new window is a little too small. They do not offer any other windows at this time.

The window is glued to the lip of the frame. I purchased 1.5 oz mat and polyester resin to build out the lip about 1/4 inch to provide enough area to glue the new (smaller) window in place. I am layering the fiberglass (starting on the inside) from the bottom up of the frame ..........beyond the existing lip. I have been able to remove most of the gelcoat but because of the shape I can't seem to get all of it without distorting the lines of the frame.

I am assuming the black coating is gelcoat. The fiberglass seems to be adhering to it. The pictures show the frame before I tried to remove the gel coat. Will this be a problem fiber glassing over some gelcoat?

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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 3:58 pm
Based on this being an older fiberglas part that was a "finish" quality gel coat which are usually very thick stable surface coatings. Yes, you can easily bond over that as long as it is thoroughly clean (degreased) and you leave a good tooth or profile for adhesion. I would leave about a 100 grit sand scratch on the surface and make do that sanding in multiple directions, blow off the dust, tack rag and you would be good.
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