repair fiberglass

[99civichatch]

I bought a used, fiberglass rear bumper from one of my friends who was selling his car. Well I noticed that on one of the sides where the hole was drilled, the fiberflass has cracked around the hole. There is a small piece that is just bairly hanging on. Does anybody have any suggestions on to fix this problem without going to a body shop? sorry but i dont have any pics. Also, the bumper is painted yellow, but I am getting it painted to match my car soon. Should I just paint over the yellow paint or take get that paint taken off first? Will is cost more to get the old paint taken off?

[x_lude]

bondo

[lxndr]

You can find a fiberglass kit at most hardware stores. Sometimes you have to buy the resin and the fiberglass seperately, if this is the case get the fiberglass mat not the weave (the weave is for large areas).

Drill a small hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading. Then using a small grinder, grind a v along the backside of the crack. Rough up the area around the crack to help the resin adhere. Sometimes you will need to start by putting a clamp over the crack to keep the two edges aligned or to hold a piece in place.

Cut the mat into 1 inch squares and mix up some resin. Then dab a little resin into the crack and lay in some mat. Using a small brush (1" will work fine), coat the mat with resin as you go and keep doing this until the crack is filled.

You can smooth out the backside if needed but it will be stronger if you don't.

Fill in the visible side with fiberglass filler or bondo.

Hope this helps

[lxndr]

Your new paint will only be as good as what is under it. If your yellow paint is in great condition go ahead and paint over it. But if it looks like it was painted by a 12 year old with a $1.49 can of spray paint on a windy day, then you should probably strip it off.