Maybe I Shouldn’t Have

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



Fully Engaged
Posts: 392
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:45 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 7:43 am
So I took on a project maybe I shouldn’t have.

Buddy of mine got hit by a police cruiser while on his motorcycle. He was fine but bike was totaled. He pulled his aftermarket bags off and sold the old bike as scrap. Surprisingly the bags weren’t that bad. The fake leather covering was pretty scraped up, but it hadn’t ground through the material except in one place. He asked if I could paint them black to match his new bike. Being the good guy I am I said sure, for cost of materials.

When he dropped them off with the leather removed they were unbelievable rough. Large voids and pin holes everywhere in the fiberglass. These were obviously rejects that were deemed unsuitable for paint by the manufacturer, and therefore got covered in leather. He said to just sand them and make them black.

So I spent the better part of 2 days just getting the glue off. Was not planning on that at all. All lacquer thinner did was mike the surface of the glue slimy. Ended up scraping the majority of it off without thinners using a variety of tools. Next step was to soak a paper towel with a mixture of thinners and soap and cover it with plastic. Then back to scraping.

In the process I found a few more voids when the tool I was using would penetrate the surface. So I ground all the larger voids out with the Dremel along with some old filler that had cracked. Next was to reinforce a few areas with woven fiberglass mat. Then I got a little happy with the filler. But how else to you fill 1,000 pin holes in a square foot? Maybe I should have just used resin?

So here are a few pics of where I started and how they sit now. Hopefully I can find time for high build primer this weekend.
Attachments
20180422_153049.jpg
20180422_153020.jpg
20180430_212901.jpg
20180430_175920.jpg
20180430_175913.jpg



Fully Engaged
Posts: 392
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:45 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 7:45 am
Where I'm at now.
Attachments
20180430_175920.jpg
20180430_212738.jpg

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 8:14 am
Uggghhhhh..... "rough cast" fiberglass is the pig of the industry. Stuff is the equal of PG or paint grade woods as compared to select finish lumber in the wood industry. In the few times I've had to deal with it I usually will cream the entire surface with Body Icing. Sand all that down and spray something like Slick Sand, then moving on to a 2k build primer, etc. The key to getting rough cast stuff into a paintable state is making sure all those micro craters get filled completely. I use a dental pick with my air blow off handy and tap and push every square inch of that surface looking for voids that will drop through later. Since you've already used a lot of solvents on that surface I would definitely use a heat gun over those surfaces lightly to drive off anything that may have gotten trapped down in there. Stuff can easily gas back up through your paint if it is stuck in there.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



Fully Engaged
Posts: 392
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 12:45 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 8:05 pm
Put them in the sun for a day. Being black they baked purdy well.

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2018 10:36 pm
That will do it....lucky you, what's the sun???? That groundhog about killed our spring around here. Finally getting a decent day today.... 8)
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

Return to Fiberglass and Plastic

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 43 guests