How to Fabricate Fiberglass Parts

Damaged body parts on your vehicle are cosmetically unpleasing and unsafe. In some states, damage to your car's body may also make the vehicle illegal to drive. Fixing minor damage like cracks is fairly simple. Fixing major damage to a body part means fabricating a new part. Metal is strong and durable, but it is heavy and requires special tools and skills to work with. Fiberglass is lightweight and relatively easy to work with, and anyone with a bit of know-how can be form it into almost any shape.

Instructions

1

Remove the damaged hood from your vehicle with a socket set. Lay the hood right side up on a flat surface. Cover any holes or cracks in the hood with duct tape. Cover the top of the hood with a thin coating of grease using a paintbrush.

2

Lay a sheet of fiberglass cloth on the hood. Push the wrinkles out of the cloth with a plastic putty knife. Cover the entire top of the hood, and follow the contour of the body part with the cloth by pressing the cloth against the grease to hold it in place. Trim the edges of the fiberglass cloth with your razor knife.

3

Mix the fiberglass resin with the hardening agent, and quickly brush a thick coat of the mixture on the cloth using a clean paintbrush. Lay a second cloth on the resin before it hardens, and push out the wrinkles with a putty knife. Trim the edges with your razor knife to match the size of the hood.

4

Mix and apply a fresh coat of resin over the second cloth. Lay a third cloth on the resin, push out the wrinkles and apply a coat of fresh resin. Allow 24 hours for the fiberglass to cure completely.

5

Pull your new fiberglass hood from the old damaged body part. Dispose of the old hood. Lay your new hood upside down and clean off the grease with a rag soaked in denatured alcohol. Allow one hour for any alcohol remaining on the hood to evaporate. Mix and apply a coat of fiberglass resin to the underside of your hood. Let the resin dry for one hour.

6

Flip your hood over, and sand it with a palm sander loaded with heavy grit sandpaper to take out the major flaws. Switch to medium grit sandpaper, and go over the hood to continue the process. Complete the smoothing of the fiberglass using light grit sandpaper. Wipe away dust and debris as you sand with a clean, dry cloth.