Corvette Fiberglass Repair - Plastic Surgery

Use only a light to medium pressure (enough to slightly compress the pad at a flat angle), and operate the drill at a slow to moderate speed. Overlap the area slightly until the compound begins to dry, using progressively lighter pressure.

Remove any residue with a clean, dry microfiber towel. Make sure there's no dirt or grit on your towels, or you'll just make things worse.

Switch out the pads (they can be rinsed for re-use), and apply the 3M Scratch Remover to the black foam pad. This product is thinner than the compound, so use care when squeezing it out, or you'll get too much on the pad.

Again, first smear the liquid without turning on the drill; this will minimize splatter.

Using a low-speed setting, polish the compounded area, overlapping it slightly.

Buff the area with another clean microfiber towel until the finish matches the surrounding paint. Look at the area from various angles to ensure that all the scratches and compound have been removed. Repeat the previous step if needed. Protect with a polish or wax as a final step.

Fine crazing-also known as "spider-webbing"-can occur in older fiberglass due to age, weathering, and slight impacts.

Plastex can be used to repair just about any type of Corvette panel, from traditional fiberglass to urethane to SMC. (Highly flexible parts might require using another type of Plastex kit.) This particular fender panel had a slight crack, but we bent it open more for purposes of illustration.

To ensure a good bond, start by roughing up the inner surface of the area to be repaired.

Apply painter's tape to the outside area of the crack or hole.

The Plastex kit consists of three bottles of acrylate powder (clear, white and black, and colored additives are available for matching hues), a liquid hardener (methyl acrylate monomer), and a special untreated, non-reactive fiberglass cloth, which can be used on larger repairs.

Applying the powder can be done in a couple different ways, depending on the type of repair. For smaller damage, or vertical surfaces, first squeeze some powder into a small cup (provided in the kit).