I knew I shouldn't have gone out early morning today, as the roads were too slippy. I ended up driving my westy through a hedge. It has some gelcoat cracks and a rip in the fibreglass where the rear wheelarch joins the body. Is this a repair I should attempt or should I seek a pro? Is there a pro in the Doncaster area?

hopefully....

[Edited on 27/11/05 by barraw]

maybe
Rescued attachment Photo-0057.jpg

Buried!

Take some pics of the damage.

It's easy enough to repair, getting a smooth colour matched gel coat finish is the hard part though.

Pat...

sorry to hear you news,
bet it woke you up!!
repairs arnt that bad to do
just dont rush it

This is the worst one as it's broken the fibreglass and I can hear it grating if I pull up on the wheel arch, so for strength it will need repairing.

Other damage include lost front indicator, cycle wing cracked, lost wing mirror, headight out of alignment, tyre full of tree bark (will need refitting), smashed number plate and scratches to gelcoat on nose cone. All-in-all, could have been much worse.
Rescued attachment DSCF1335.JPG

Its really not a big job so if you get a pro to do it, it won't cost much at all.

Try giving these people a ring. No personal experience of using them whatsoever but might be worth a call at least and they are local to you.

Link

Sorry to hear about the mishap

I've just been searching the web and might try MK Engineering in Maltby

http://www.mkengineering.co.uk/start.htm

Have you used them (I see you are from Maltby)

MK Engineering don't do GRP but could possibly get it for you - MK Sportscars too as other suppliers. Worth a go yourself... what have you to loose?

HTH

Can't tell what that bit is but if that's the worst it's not that bad. Resin and mat for the back and some filler for the front. You should be able to get some paint to match your gelcoat and touch it up after. Get a pair of black cycle wings, they look good with yellow. Bodywork repairs aren't cheap anywhere so it 's your chance to learn.

quote:

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Originally posted by scotty g
Its really not a big job so if you get a pro to do it, it won't cost much at all.

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if you can do the filling yourself the best paint match will come from the biggest accident repair centre you can find as the mixing technology they have is cock on to do spot repairs and you might be suprised how cheap they are for small jobs as we are geared up for them much more than the smaller body shops

errrmm!

no need for paint if it is a gelcoast finish and you don't mind a slight blemish there (which if you did you probably wouldn't have ended up in the ditch to start with!)

Get the gelcoat colour code from westfield, then order some "topcoat" gelcoat from CFS

link: CFS

clean the rear of the damage with acetone, then laminate on some matting and resin (again see CFS!) then grind out the crack on the gel a bit with a dremel or the like and clean with acetone then fill the crack with topcoat from the front.

onec fully hardened, sand it back then polish it in with cutting compound.

tbh tho , youll always see that repair , and if the nosecone has loads of scratches , it would be easier to paint , gelcoat will have faded in the sun aswell .

i find good matches in white and black - but not inanything else .

And don't try doing any repairs in the cold!
You will need a heated workspace (not just for comfort). The resin will not set if it is too cold!
Also be aware that resin and it fumes are flamable, so be careful.

Thank for the support and advice guys. I will try the gelcoat repair (thanks for the step-by-step guide). If that doesn't have the desired finish I'll get it resprayed - it's 15 year old so would benefit from a freshen-up anyway.