Stags' Triumph

Driving home slowly through a high banked Devon lane this afternoon, and a stag jumps from an eight-foot high wooded bank ON to the front wing of my Falcon.

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(Tuft of hair still caught in the headlamp)

Considering the size of the thing (fully grown stag, about four feet to the shoulder - red deer?) I think the damage was remarkably light. A little bit faster and he'd have landed in the cockpit next to me.

Given that my excess is £500, how hard exactly is it to repair something like this in fibreglass?

Reply to
Flash
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"Flash" wrote in message news:S_SdnUuoR snipped-for-privacy@eclipse.net.uk...

Fairly easy, but time-consuming. What you have to do is use a disc-type sander (I use a d/a air sander) and remove all the damaged fibreglass i.e. anything that is disbonded/torn/cracked/de-laminated etc, then finish the edges to a shallow tapering profile both sides. lay up some new matting cut accurately to size on one side, when cured to give a solid shape to work from, apply a layer to the other side followed by a second layer on the first side. Due to the taper, each "patch" will be slightly larger than the one directly under it, repeat the process until the thickness has been restored, allow to cure then sand all edges to remove any steps in the patches, then apply a further layer to the underside, overlapping the solid original material by 1" all round. The top surface can be built up in similar fashion, sanded slightly under profile then build up a few good coats of resin alone to make the repair slightly proud. Allow to completely cure (2 or 3 days at least) then finish-sand the resin ready for primer/paint. It is important to only use enough resin to achieve full wetting of the cloth/matting, excess resin weakens the structure and can be avoided by careful stippling with a small brush. As for materials, any decent boat suppliers will have chop-strand matting (the material originally used) and either polyester or epoxy resin systems. My personal preference is to use woven cloth as opposed to chop-strand, alternating the weave each layer at 45 degrees to the previous (for ultimate strength), and polyester resin. This was the system I used for years working on aircraft composites. Badger.

Reply to
Badger

Flash realised it was Fri, 08 Sep 2006 16:26:27

+0100 and decided it was time to write:

So how's the Stag?

Reply to
Yippee

Got to his feet and was trotting off down the road before I'd even started swearing.

Reply to
Flash

Excellent advice, many thanks.

Reply to
Flash

See, when you ask that around here, the answer is usually "medium rare, and tender".

Richard

Reply to
RichardK

Heathen.

Rare. Or blue, even.

Reply to
SteveH

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

FFS, do you have NO standards, you lot?

This happened this afternoon. The damn thing's got at least another couple of weeks of being hung before you can even consider marinading it in a decent bottle of red then roasting it.

Reply to
Adrian

Good point on hanging it.

Can't agree with marinading in red and roasting, though.

Cut into steaks and grilled over a *very* hot flame, just to char the surface and heat it through.

Reply to
SteveH

snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk (SteveH) realised it was Fri, 8 Sep 2006 22:14:00

+0100 and decided it was time to write:

Hmmm. I only just noticed I typed Stag with a capital S.

Force of habit.

Reply to
Yippee

SteveH ( snipped-for-privacy@italiancar.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

It's not as if the meat's going to be in short supply.

We can try both. And plenty of other recipes, too.

Reply to
Adrian

Heh.

I'm a sort of semi-trained butcher, too.

Reply to
SteveH

But not some piece of old venison. You don't want to do that, trust me. Marinated in something for a day or three, and then stewed is the way to go. Much better to go to the shop and get a leg of lamb.

Reply to
Dean Dark

As per Badger's advice, but remember to align the two sides of the damage before repair starts. I use strips of aluminium with self tappers. Once aligned, apply a couple of layers to one side, harden and then remove the strips. Carry on as per Badger.

If the damage is extensive, there are clever tricks with Cellophane over the "good" side. This allows you to rebuild from the rear and requires little finishing.

Reply to
Andy Luckman (AJL Electronics)

Umm, don't you mean Melinex/Mylar rather than Cellophane? Cellophane is cellulose film and it sticks to the gel coat, Melinex doesn't adhere at all which is why you can use it whichever way you decide to build up the laminations either by taping the film to the gelcoat side before starting work and laying up in the normal manner gelcoat first or for repairs by laying up back to front finishing with the gelcoat and then pressing a Melinex film over it to exclude air and ensure that it sets and to help finish the job (you'll still need to cut and polish the coat afterwards).

Reply to
Steve Firth

I used a square alloy bar that was perfect. The inside of the lip of the wheelarch gave the ideal positioning. Covered in matting and resin, and with a stick holding the wing in position, it was set hard within ten minutes allowing me to remove the stick and start filling.

Now about half way and taking a brew. Giving extra overlapping layers from the back for strength and infilling the crack with resin and small amounts of matting. Another 6 or 7 layers and it'll be time for the first sanding. Only downside is the I'm on the fourth paintbrush and am running out - resorted to taping up most of the bristles and only using a tiny section at a time. :) Is there some magic trick I'm missing?

As usual when I work on the car, got distracted and now also have the back bumper off and spent two hours prepping the rear scuttle plate (started rusting - the only bit of mild steel on the whole car) for repainting.

Reply to
Flash

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Flash saying something like:

Cut some 4" lengths of nylon rope and tape up 3" of them. Spread the 1" out like a brush and throwaway when clogged.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon
[Fibreglassing]

Top tip, thank you.

Reply to
Flash

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