I need to fiberglass the back of my dash so that it stops falling apart. I found you can get fiberglass at autozone, but how do you put it on? The directions on the back were kinda vague, anybody know of a write up or anything where somebody fiberglassed something?

Thanks!

 

Read through this. It has a section about glassing the interior.
http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=470536

 

yeah, I found that after I posted here. So basically I guess I just have to lay down some resin, lay the fiberglass mat, then lay more resin on top of that. I'm covering the back of the dash to make it more sturdy, so I don't really care what it looks like.

 

Careful you don't overdo it man, the dashpad still needs to be a little flexible so you can squeeze it back in.

 

yeah, I know, but I would think that without the fiberglass mat then the resin alone wouldn't add that much structural support. I think with the resin, mat, and more resin it shouldn't be that thick, I know the fiberglass mat doesnt seem to thick.

 

I don't know much about fiberglass, but I would think that since the resin is the hard part and the fiberglass cloth is the flexible part, if you just used the resin it would make the dash hard and unflexible.

 

Well from reading the instructions on the resin can, it says to apply it with a paintbrush, which leads me to think that it would a thin coat. I know I could put on a bunch of coats of fiberglass, but the it seems the mat would work out best because because the first layer of resin would make a bond between the dash and the mat and then the layers of resin over the mat would harden it, making it stronger.

Either way, I could probably just try the resin alone, and if it doesn't work add the mat to it.

 

I'd suggest trying it on a piece of wood or something else first for practice...

I've only used fiberglass and resin once and I didn't add enough of the catalyst to harden it and it was a mess...

 

OK listen, Ill give you a heads up. You cant use JUST the resin. The reason is because it will crack, Using resin without fiberglass cloth or mat will not be strong. Fiberglass can be as flexable as you make it. You add more layers of mat for strength.

Sand the plastic down with a low grit sand paper to give the cloth/resin mixture somthing to hold onto.

Cut how much mat you are going to use. Dont use the whole package.lol
(Please do this befor you start brushing resin because it will be messy)

Brush a little bit of resin onto the plastic dash that your repairing

Lay the mat on the resin

saturate the mat with resin (Brush it on)(Dab out the air bubbles)(DONT drown the mat in resin)

Let dry

repeat as many times as needed to get the strength

body filler the area

sand smooth

paint


---MAKE SURE you do the RESIN to HARDENER ratio correct or you will be waiting years for it to dry or it will get extremely hot and harden in a few minutes------

 

ey koby, hows your dashpad? were you able to put back in? I just had mine fiberglassed and im kinda scared of bending it to fit it in. might break it into 3pieces again

 

I think Koby might of over mixed the resin back in march... haven't heard from him on hear in months. R.I.P. Koby... let this be a lesson to everyone! make sure you have a professional do your fiber glass work. If you can't read or understand the directions on the back... LEAVE IT ALONE!

 

I have done a bit with fiberglass, a complete custom formula type body with moldless construction method and assorted parts and molds so here are my 2 cents:

-as X2Jesse1x said, you can't use only resin. why? because the resin is the casting that holds the fiberglass fibers in place, which are the ones that have the tensile strenght. the resin has compressive strenght so between the two, they make a durable structure; just like concrete with steel rods.

-Clean and sand the plastic piece before or nothing will stick too well to it, most plastics still have the mold release agent on them specially if its the underside, I don't know if the factory bothers to clean the underside.

-to improve the tensile strenght, I would suggest using a woven fiberglass tape or fiberglass cloth, not just the mat that has randomly oriented and chopped fibers, Check in www.fibreglast.com, there are different types of edging tapes and fiberglass cloth in different densities. The tape has well defined edges so you can do a pretty good repair and not a messy looking blob, also since it is a well defined strip you don't waste resin or epoxy on the sides.

-I used a trick for repairing the underside of cracked motorcycles dashes (even in several pieces). Instead of using fiberglass resin to cover the fiberglass fibers and do the repair, I used common 2 part epoxy. This gives a super strong joint that can resist vibration and there is not too much guesswork if you don't have experience with catalyzer/resin mixing ratios, plus the epoxy sticks better to ABS and similar plastics than the resin. Then I just turned over the bike dash and sprayed the top with black crinkle finish paint to try to match the grainy surface, resulting in a completely hidden repair, I even submitted this tip to motorcyclist mag back in '95 or so. Because you don't need to cover the whole underside of the dash cover, just a couple strips, maybe a couple tubes can do the trick, no need to spend too much cash or cope with fiberglass smell inside the car. Fiberglass resin shrinks with time, which could probably warp the dash if applied too thick (since its a thin piece), epoxy would be more dimensionally stable considering the heat that the dash cover gets when the car is parked under the sun.

-I have seen that most Camaro dash covers split from the windshield towards the instrument cluster or console, so the reinforcement should be just a couple of strips (maybe even just one?) running from side to side (from A pillar to A pillar), to prevent the cover from splitting; that is what I plan to do, as soon as I can get one to replace mine!

 

Me and a friend used fiberglass to make a kick panel. its actually very easy. They also have fiberglass at Home Depot. thats where we got ours and it explained everything. pretty much mix the fiberglass put a light layer on first. then put the fiberglass on (or mat i forget which one first). then body filler. then sand it down and then paint.

 

Haha, no I didn't over mix it, I just never got around to doing it. My cars gettin up there in miles and I spent the money on other things, and just haven't had the time to fiberglass my dash. I try it in the next couple days...maybe....but I'm movin to Florida and savin my money, so maybe not..

 

Wow, life is weird, I'm saving money so I can get out of Florida...