Hey Guys, I am still pretty new here and just picked up an awesome 86 GT. The body is pretty perfect except for a bad scratch on my passenger side quarter panel. There is also a little area that looks to heave been touched up right above it as well.
Here is a pic:
Any thoughts to how I can go about fixing this? Or should I just bring it to a body shop and get it done right. I am comfortable with bondo, although, I doubt this is preferred on fiberglass. I can also do basic touch ups as well.
Is that the rear wheel well? You will need filler that is compatible with SMC. Fieros were Base coat/ Clear coat paint jobs, so a patch is not going to look great, but better than what you have.
Yes, this is the rear passenger side wheel well. What type of filler works with fiberglass? Should I just take this to a bodyshop? Thank you very much for your help!
The Fiero technically has no fiberglass parts. That rear clip is made of Sheet Molding Compound....(SMC), and there is body filler made specifically for it. A body shop will want to repaint the entire part to make it look right....so it's up to you. You can patch paint it and it will look good from 20 feet, or you can get it back to new condition.l
Oh, that makes total sense. Sorry, I thought that part was fiberglass for some reason. Eventually, I will get the car painted back to it's original white color, so I may just try and fill it gently with some SMC body filler and touch it up the best I can. I plan on using the car as a car and actually driving it, so I am ok with a few little imperfections. Thank you for the info.
The raw materials are the same......glass fiber and resin.....but fiberglass is poured or sprayed into a one-sided mold, and SMC is pressed and heated from both sides. The result is a much denser material that needs different treatment.
[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 09-27-2016).]
Must respectfully disagree. The gouge is on the fender and you need a flexible filler ( IIRC like 3M easy fill) to fill it. Its easy to sand and dries flexible like the urethane fender material. Locate a suitable flexible filler that is used on front facias. That's the one to use.
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My computer isn't letting me see the pic, (my computers fault) but a good body shop should be able to paint blend to where you cant easily see the blend, instead of painting the whole back end. They also can spray clear farther out to help hide the blend.
Thank you guys very much for the info. For now, I am going to touch it up the best I can and then get it fixed by a real body shop once I decide to get the car painted. I really appreciate it.
