Fiberglass floorpan repair

[qblue90]

Okay... I did'nt use the right tools and I did'nt pay enough attention to what I was doing and I caused damage. It's relatively minor, but I am still upset with myself and I ask if anyone knows what I should use to fix this...

I needed to jack up my 90. I placed my 3 ton floor jack under the jack location behind the LF tire. The jack has the standard round metal pad on it. I began to raise the vehicle. Luckily, I noticed something was wrong almost quick enough... I had put the jack a bit too far under the vehicle and the round pad was biting into the left front corner of my fiberglass floor pan. It cut a nice gash in it the same width and just as deep. It is not through that I can tell and its not cracked or broken. Just cut.

How can I repair this so it will not get any worse? I imagine that I'd just use a fiberglass repair kit of some kind, but what exactly? Don't want to do more harm.

See what trying to rush a job will get you?

I appreciate any help as always...

 

[Kevin Doyle]

Fix it

I cracked my pass. side floor pan when I ran over a piece of metal.Go to one of those home stores and get a fiberglass repair kit.Read directions.Be patient do it right.Prep is everything.I was happy the way my repair came out,Good luck Kevin.

 

[boomdriver]

The key to ANY fiber-glass repair is the bonding of the new resin to the old cloth/fibers. This is done by grinding away the layers of resins until you get edges of all layers of the cloth exposed...Typically there are at least 2 layers, often 3.
Its like grinding a cone shape or a pit thats 4" wide and slopes down to the 1" hole. If you want the new resin to stick, you absolutely must grind. Not scuffed, not sanded, but ground.

The cloth is the strength and working from upside down can be challenging to say the least....

Go to an auto body supply store or some auto-parts stores will stock gel or paste resin that has hair/fiber cut and mixed in. All it needs is the hardener added. Grind out the damage area past the damage (rougher the better), clean with acetone, and get a good stiff piece of plastic, wood, cardboard or some other flat surface that can be used as a form. Apply your paste resin& fiber to the damage filling in the whole cavity. The gel/paste will try to drop....so this is when you get your wood or whatever and press it up against the paste to hold it in place. I'd use wood blocks on the floor jack to apply up pressure on the "form" to hold it in place. Don;t worry about oooze around the edges...that can be ground off later. Allow it to set-up and remove the form, grind the excess and walk away.
Its easier from above as you can simply grind out the damage, fill it with the paste and level it as needed and leave it. Cover with the carpet pad and reassemble the floor.

I had the same thing happen except it was done by a moron at a tire shop. I did not notice the damage until days later when I discovered the cracked floor pan, bad enough to have a hump in the passenger side floor. Too late to make them pay for it...That one had to be patched inside since it was broken through. I cut out the bad area, all the broken stuff and laid in new cloth soaked in resin and layered it to fill the void. As long as fiber is exposed from the original panel it will grab and hold. I completely rebuild a door-jam this way. Build up a section, grind it down and shape it, add to it and continue until the area is replaced/repaired.
Fiber glass is easy...just very messy.

For severe floor pan damage there are replacement pans available.