Fiberglass roof skin, questions on fitment

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



Non-Lurker
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:25 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 10:59 am
Hello everyone! I have an 86 Buick regal that I have been working on for the past few months and have done extensive bodywork to the car to get it into operating condition. The issue that I am coming across now is the roof skin was rotten, and finding a salvagable parts car that has a good roof skin is extremely hard to come by.

I ended up purchasing a dirt track fiberglass roof skin for grins to see how it will fit and I believe I could make it work but it does come with its difficulties. The manufacture was not very helpful in the process of it adhering the skin to a vehicle, it appears that I’m going to have to overlap most of the metal on the sides and potentially the rear channel. I am attaching some pictures so you can see what I’m working with and if you have any advice to Help me make this roof look presentable.

As you can see from the pictures the biggest hurdles that I have so far is that the front windshield channel will never sit flush with the rest of the channel, and the rear channel does not even have a channel so I will have to overlap the existing one. Moderators if you need to move this into the regular body section, please do so. Thank you so much guys.
Attachments
1848CD8D-0843-47EE-986A-7C3D68031385.jpeg
DB6E70DA-0C95-4F9B-B566-1B8BFF554016.jpeg
CD5A5441-8ADD-4C71-9B3A-006B7DAE395A.jpeg
DFD3EC3B-09EA-44FD-945A-0E7DC7F0CE84.jpeg

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 9878
Joined: Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:40 pm
Location: ARIZONA
PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:47 am
I am not very experienced with fiberglass my self but guessing you will have trouble where it attaches and has to blend into the metal.
1968 Coronet R/T


ACTS 16:31

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 2:58 pm
I've seen this tried at least twice with different cars each time. 68 hit the virtual nail right on the head.... trying to "graft" this fiberglass into the metal is just not stable. I mean it could last for a little while, maybe even a year, but it will start developing micro cracking wherever it is attached. The paint will start failing first, then any fillers will start letting go, and finally it just comes detached. I don't really see how you could make it independently "float"
And yes, the manufacturing concerns that make parts like this simply say to "glass it in with fiberglass, epoxy, etc." Usually no details on making it a "lasting repair."
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



Top Contributor
Posts: 6217
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:17 pm
Location: Pahrump NV.
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:53 am
I cant say that that Fiberglass panel would be my first choice.
Like the Guys say it will just dis-bound, and I hear you about not being able to find a Replacement panel.

I would like to see the Rusted out sections your looking at? maybe we can give you some ideas & pointers about how to go about making some metal repairs?
It might be possible to get one of the available T top roof panels and use that to make Patches out of it.
Those cars can be worth a lot of money, its worth the effort to fix it right.
Dennis B.
A&P Mechanic, FCC General radio Telephone Operator
Line Maintenance A&P Mechanic and MOC Tech specialist.

User avatar

Board Moderator
Posts: 6672
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: central Ohio
Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 9:07 am
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. Let's see how "bad" things are with that surface and go from there.
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 47 guests