Fibergass stock repair/finishing

[rich56]

Acquired a fiberglass stock from a fellow member that looks like it needs refinshing. Some nicks,light dents and wear thru down to what might be gel coat. What products would be used to fill/smooth out the finish before priming. Considering bondo, glaze, gel coat, brush on epoxy. No damage more than 1/16", most look less than 1/32.

[BlauBear]

One of the bench-rest sites had an article on refinishing composite stocks that I can't find right now, of course, but they used automotive refinishing supplies including Bondo. As with most things bench-rest they went to more work than seemed necessary but the principle was the same you might use for a fiberglass body car like a Corvette.

[rich56]

I was counting on the boating/Corvette repair guys to chime in. While I'm thinking, its funny that the Corvette is the only car to use fiberglass for a body besides the old Meyers Manx dune buggy. If it was worth while why did no other car manufactures pick up on it, if not, why didnt Chevy drop it?

[BlauBear]

Ah! Found the article I was looking for!

http://www.6mmbr.com/stockpainting.html

[rich56]

The fiberglass prep is what I was looking for. The paint stuff was interesting but because of equipment and health/environment issues, I will be either doing spray can or letting my local bodyshop do the painting.

[BlauBear]

Exactly my reaction. Wet sanding a composite stock isn't so bad, but shooting a good clear coat may not be a garage shop project. On the other hand, I've seen some of their work too.