Fiberglass repair question

[henny496]

Hello
I recently saw a post about glass repair and the use of heat lamps. I was told that it is best for a vette to sit for a season(before paint) to see extreme temp changes, so it does not show up later in the paint.(?)...
My question is if the cold part of it is necessary(Canadian winters eh!) or can a good heat lamp be all that you need.
I have to do a couple of nose repairs/changes on the car and would like to know how far in advance(before paint) should I be doing the repairs for the best results.
I have never worked much with fiberglass before this project, so any info would be welcome.
On a sidenote, I am a little behind schedule, but will be getting 67 Heaven to post some chassis pics for me soon
take care
Tom

[IH2LOSE]

Tom

My car went into the body shop on 11/18/04 completely naked of paint and needing lots of work. Today it was delivered to home in its painted,The car was paintstripped in the 70'S or 80'S and was media blasted in November of this year. From what was explained to me,they actually wiped my car down with soap and water to clean it after the media blaster,then baked my car at a low setting in a paint booth for a while to draw out any solvents in it from being left with no paint for years,From there they did the glass repairs,then some plastic work,then some coats of "slick sand"a high build primer/sealer.then they painted my car its top coat this all took place with in 7 weeks (with 2 weeks lost for holiday shut downs the car just sat) My paint job has a full warrenty on it Except for cracks from reinstalling it on the frame.

I think the major problem is letting solvents soke into the fiberglass and then painting over the solvents and then having no way out.

I am not quailified to tell you what is right or wrong.I am just basing it on the way my project went. I look foward to the summer and having the car sit in the sun to assure me nothing is coming out

Good Luck

[IH2LOSE]

PS the fiberglass work was a lot of fun.Here is a link to a post I had made after spending a week end fixing cracks and smoothing my firewall,

And remember its only ITCHY if you think about it.

HAVE FUN!

What I have learned about repairing fiberglass repair

[midyear]

I use heat lamps. It is not just a problem with fiberglass, but all paint products, they need to dry. If not completly dry you will see shrinkage appear with time. My best advise, take your time, you will be glad you did. Dennis

[henny496]

Thanks for the info. I was lead to believe that the fiberglass would do the shrinking and that was what needed the heat and cold(seasoning) to have the fiberglass set. I did not know about the solvents.
My body is in the first stage of primer, but needs lots of priming, blocking and priming, blocking etc etc.
I have a couple of spots around the headlights that have a small crack and this may be because the body is not bolted to the frame yet. I just wanted to know how much time is needed for the glass to cure once I repair the spots when it is back down on the frame.
After seeing the quality of work on some of the cars on this site, I have decided to take the extra time to finish mine.
take care
Tom