Gel Coat / Filler Questions & Ideas

[AdamR]

Morning all,

 

My latest project has a very battered bonnet. So much so that one of the previous owners decided to wrap it in fake carbon

 

Upon removing this, there are numerous and extensive spider cracks in the gel coat, and a few areas where these have been 'repaired' - however the filler hasn't gone off, so I am assuming it was mixed up short on hardener...

 

So, just wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom regarding how to sort this out?

 

Firstly, I think I could do with removing the tacky filler, but not sure of the best way to do this.

 

Secondly, is there such thing as a flexible filler? I have a feeling that a 'regular' body filler would crack away over time - the bonnet is very large and flexible / thin.

 

I've had a look through JeffCs guide in the FAQ and it was very good, there's just those two things I'm not sure about...

 

Thanks in advance!

Adam

[Westford]

I think my first port of call on the soft filler would be cellulose thinners and a small wire brush to get it out of the cracks - usually works on uncured fillers.

[Arm]

Dig bad out with a dremmel and carbide burr creating a v deep enough to get rid of the crack.

 

Then rough up surrounding area and clean well with a solvent degreaser. Thoroughly dry.

 

Apply flowcoat  / gelcoat repair and allow to harden.

[Terryathome]

Buy a new one? or would the cost be a lot more excesive than repare?

[AdamR]

Thanks for the info gents, most appreciated. I shall get some cellulose thinners on order then, sounds like it will be useful to have even if it doesn't get rid of all the filler.

 

I considered a new bonnet, but getting hold of panels for a Fisher Fury seems tricky... and it'd probably be getting on for 20% of what I paid for the car. I can live with it being a bit tatty, just want it to be mostly the same colour and not ready to drop to bits

[pistonbroke]

I have a spare s/h bonnet for SeiW cut out for Zetec carbs its in BRG (british racing green ) had some previous gel coat repair but not bad condition and could save you the cost and time of repairs 

would need painting to your colour  

 

going cheap,  open to offers so if your interested send a PM 

[AdamR]

Cheers Bernie, but it's for a Fury, rather than a Westy... Might struggle to make that fit

[AdamR]

Well, I had some Acetone so decided to give that a go - worked very well, although I feel a bit weird now after getting through nearly a litre of it, haha. Around 1/8 of the bonnet area had a thin layer of sticky grey filler smeared all over it, it's ended up a lot better than I thought.

 

 

The damage doesn't look too bad, with the tips above and the various guides from the forum I am sure I can make it look a lot more presentable Cheers again!