Fastening SMC Panels

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:06 pm
What method do I use to reattach the slits or cuts? I have Evercoat SMC adhesive and I have Fisor two part bonding agent. I am tired and I had the fender on/off 50 times
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:17 pm
You should be able to use that Evercoat SMC adheasive. Yeah, fitting stuff gets to you. When I was fitting the tilt nose on my Superstepside truck build I had the 100 pound tilt nose on and off over and over to get it to fit.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:52 am
Should I use fiberglass cloth across the cut sections and the adhesive over it?
Tnanks again for your help DarrelK!!! I 'm not complaining about the process being time consuming. I find it relaxing working in the garage and incredibly rewarding. I love the final result of painting Even if its not perfect.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:19 am
No, cloth will print through if it's a seen or finished surface. Just take matt and pull it apart, lay down some adheasive and feed the matt into the area. You can use cloth underneath if you want to add some strength from underneath.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:31 pm
Hello, I looked at a previous thread of DarrelK's. The red rear engine conversion. Darrelk- how did you get the SMC? panels so straight? Awsum work!!!

My panels are a little wavy and seem brittle. On sheet metal you can hammer, bend, twist, cut and weld. Also the Evercoat filler is expensive! Is thier an alternative?
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:04 pm
Any of our "plastique" stuff (fiberglass, SMC, etc.) just requires a lot more blocking than metal to get rid of waves. Because most SMC has some electrostatic properties I think powdered guide coats (Evercoat spray powder or 3M powder pad) really help you get your blocking down and get the waves out. On doors use a long block at least 18" or make up longer blocks out of hardwood or metal.
As for fillers, Evercoat's are some of the best. I even go one step further and use West Systems Epoxy on most of my SMC and fiberglass work. Good stuff is just costly. Cheap stuff bites you in the butt later... 8)
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 5:45 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:45 pm
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A small crack developed when notching and flexing the fender to match hood contour. What should I do and will the crack continue to spread? The two marks on the right and left of my finger are pencil marks.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 10:36 pm
First, the general rule of thumb is you need at least a "paint stir stick" thickness gap on almost any gap, especially those doors. You have to remember your paint is going to "build" over those edges. Go any thinner than that and you could get binding. Fiberglass swells a little bit on top of that on hot days, too. If I've got a gap as tight as your doors look now, I leave it closed and take a tongue depressor wrapped with some 80 grit and start running it up and down kind of cocked at an angle so I'm truing up against that steel edge. Once that's uniformly open I start working a paint stir stick wrapped with 80 grit in there and do the same thing. Some guys use steel files for this as well. If you do get undersized and it's a small spot you can just use Duraglass, then a little chopped matt and glass over top to fill it back out, no big deal. Fitment on that fender looks pretty good. I could shape that up good to go in 20 minutes or so.

As for that crack, with SMC you really need to take care of that right. Get in there with a Dremel tool or die grinder and v shape that thing open until your're sure it's wide open, seeing no more crack extending from it. You'll then just do the same thing I said above and fill and get some matt and resin over top.
Regular body fillers can be worked out over any of your areas you've done your matt and resin work on. Just make sure and take your filler out fairly far to get a smooth transition for your panel.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:44 pm
Whoa I would love to see the step by steps of this build. I work in Naperville which is very close to plainfield so nice to see a local build going on also.

I will be sure to drop in on this thread more often maybe I can help with some input also.
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