When you pay $1200 for an AAR hood, you expect more from Stinger Fiberglass
@harrisonm You mentioned you're skilled with fiberglass. How would you go about repairing this?
I have completely restored several Corvettes and done a lot of other fiberglass work. I will say that it is an easy fix (at least from what I see in the photos), but it will take a little longer than 0.5 hours. Which, in case you did not know, is $32.50 at a labor rate of $65 per hour. LOL. Anyway, I would use a grinder of some kind (I really like my 90 degree die grinder with a 3" roloc disc adapter) or DA with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damaged area and gently feather out about 2" past the damage. Be gentle; you don't want to grind off too much fiberglass. Then you need to either use fiberglass fabric and resin or short strand fiberglass reinforced filler. I'll cover each.
1. I would recommend using a short strand fiberglass reinforced filler. There are several brands, but they are all going to work fine for you. when cured, it is hard as a rock. I always use Evercoat products when I can, but for a small patch like yours, the Bondo brand will work fine. Clean the patch area by blowing it with compressed air and a little bit of some cleaner. I like spray cans of Pre Cleaner by Eastwood, but you could use a LITTLE lacquer thinner or Urethane reducer. You don't want to soak the area, just put a little of whatever you use on a cloth and wipe the area down. Then blow on it a bit more to make sure it is dry. Then mix up a little of the filler. I assume you have mixed up Bondo, it is pretty much the same. Spread it over the area. If it 'drips' over the edges, no problem. Don't put it on too thick. It is harder to sand than regular filler. In fact, if you can spread it out so that it is level with the undamaged surface or just a hair above it, you are good. When it has cured, block sand with dry paper on a sanding block. I'd probably start with 120 grit, and then go to 220 and 320. All you are doing here is smoothing it out and leveling the area. Don't sand too much. If you applied the filler at a good thickness, the repaired area will be flush with the surrounding area. Now smooth the area out a bit more with some spot putty (sometimes called glazing putty). It is thinner than regular Bondo, and it will perfectly level the area and fill in any sanding scratches. Plus, it sands easier than regular filler and way easier than the fiberglass reinforced filler. Sand it gently with 220, 320 dry paper. It is now ready for primer. I would use 2K high build primer. An easy way to do a small area is to buy a rattle can of Eastwood's 2K primer. There is a button on the bottom that breaks a capsule filled with hardener giving you a good quality 2K high build primer.
2. If you use fiberglass fabric and resin you could probably get by with a kit that is available at most car parts places. It will work fine, but it is messier and harder to use. They usually have a few square feet of fiberglass cloth, about a pint of resin and a small bottle of hardener. Cut out several pieces of the cloth to fit the shape of the patch area. I'd make several patches the size of the original damaged area, and a few that go out to where you stopped sanding. WEAR GLOVES. Mix up a about 4 ounces of resin per the instructions. Using a disposable brush. brush some on the repair area and then saturate each patch piece. It is best to tape some plastic wrap aluminum foil to a board as a working area for this step. Place the saturated pieces on the damaged area putting the smaller ones on the bottom and the largest one on top. Using some type of a roller, gently roll the patch area to get rid of any air bubbles. Let it cure. Then block sand with 80 or 120. Then apply regular filler and sand it smooth. Use spot putty if needed for pin holes or other irregularities. Then sand and prime like above. It is something you can do in one day, but it will take longer than 30 minutes.
