Floor panel repair

[94conv.]

Had the old guy that changes my oil for me, I dont have a place to dispose of the old oil anymore, and he was having an off day and put the jack under the drivers side floor pan, I caught him before it did to much but it did crack it on the edge and the fibers are coming though, how hard would this be to fix myself or should I take it to a shop? Im more worred about leaks then anything else. I think he was using the jacking point but the plate on his floor jack was to big.
Thanks

 

[Toms007]

Ahh, that too bad. I can't help you with the repair, but I am interested in what you find out.

 

[94conv.]

Well, I went to the auto store and bought some seem sealer, which is in a caulk like tube, Im going to spread it with a putty knife and lightly mist over some red paint. Ill see if it works and post back.

 

[94conv.]

I let it sit over night, it is sandable, im not the most patient person but it turned out alright since its on the very bottm of the car.

 

[Hrtbeat1]

Actually the repair is much more involved. You need to remove the carpet from the side that was damaged, to include the matting. You need to take a Dremel tool or something similar and go over any cracks that you see on both sides, inside and out. You want to use a bit that will smooth all the cracks to relieve any stress. Just sort of round over the edge of the crack. Once all the Dremel work is done go over the whole area with a cheese cloth saturated with thinner. You want to clean the area very well. Now get some Dynahair, available at most auto parts stores (Autozone, ORiley's, Napa, ect), it is fiberglass resin with short strand fiberglass fibers mixed in already. Spread this out on either side much the same as you would body filler, along the cracks. Once it hardens up you can come back and sand it down so its nice and smooth. After sanding, another pass with the saturated cheese cloth and you are ready for reassembly.

Cracks in this area are very common. Either from improper jacking or bottoming in a pothole. I found that both sides on my old '90 were busted up pretty good, after getting caught in the rain once. The carpet on either side had gotten wet from seepage. The repair took about a weekend, but most of it was drying time for the fiberglass resin, actual work time was about three hours.

 

[94conv.]

I put the seam sealer on the bottom, like caulk if your familiar with it. I smoothed it out with a putty knife, let it sit then painted it. But, I will take the carpet out next week and use your method on the inside, I hope this keeps the carpet dry and thanks for the reply, doesnt sound that bad. I'll post back when its done.
Thanks again.

 

[KANE]

I put the seam sealer on the bottom, like caulk if your familiar with it. I smoothed it out with a putty knife, let it sit then painted it. But, I will take the carpet out next week and use your method on the inside, I hope this keeps the carpet dry and thanks for the reply, doesnt sound that bad. I'll post back when its done.
Thanks again.

I'm partial to Vette panel adhesive for those kinds of repairs...

This stuff is simply AWESOME.

 

[fine69]

Well, I went to the auto store and bought some seem sealer, which is in a caulk like tube, Im going to spread it with a putty knife and lightly mist over some red paint. Ill see if it works and post back.

I don't think that's the optimum way to do it.

You should give the POR-15 Floorpan & Trunk Restoration Kit a try. Here's the link: http://www.por15.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1481/.f

I've used this on floor boards and trunk beds. It works great... extremely strong. I'm confident you'll be satisfied with the results.

Ralph

 

[94conv.]

Thanks again for all the replies, and the ideas, Im just glad to know Im not the only one thats had this problem, not that Im glad that it happened to anyone but you know what I mean.

 

[Hrtbeat1]

I think that POR-15 stuff is for steel panels. I've heard great things about it as a rust inhibitor. Pretty sure the area in need of attention is fiberglass.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Drill a small round hole it the extreme end of every crack Before applying new fiberglass. Otherwise the crack will continue in the future.

The Evercoat SMC adhesive is good stuff, 3M makes SMC products as well. On our cars you must use SMC products. Polyester resins will not adhere to SMC panels so your floor will continue to crack under any Polyester based repair.

 

[gmjunkie]

Drill a small round hole it the extreme end of every crack Before applying new fiberglass. Otherwise the crack will continue in the future.

The Evercoat SMC adhesive is good stuff, 3M makes SMC products as well. On our cars you must use SMC products. Polyester resins will not adhere to SMC panels so your floor will continue to crack under any Polyester based repair.

I 2nd and 3rd everything spanish said!!!!!!!

 

[94conv.]

How closely related is the smc product mentioned by spanish vettes to the seam sealer I used, its Dynatron Seam Sealer and says its adheres to fiberglass? I only did this on the bottom side. The crack was actually pushed up about an inch with the fibers showing, I went in through the top of the floor over the carpet and push or beat it down level. I didnt know to drill a hole but the crack was all the way through. Maybe I should have said busted the floor instead of cracked it. I havent pulled the carpet up but I plan to this week sometime and fix it from the top like someone else suggested with the mess and resin. Fiberglass resin that is.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

How closely related is the smc product mentioned by spanish vettes to the seam sealer I used, its Dynatron Seam Sealer and says its adheres to fiberglass? I only did this on the bottom side. The crack was actually pushed up about an inch with the fibers showing, I went in through the top of the floor over the carpet and push or beat it down level. I didnt know to drill a hole but the crack was all the way through. Maybe I should have said busted the floor instead of cracked it. I havent pulled the carpet up but I plan to this week sometime and fix it from the top like someone else suggested with the mess and resin. Fiberglass resin that is.

Anything called just ¨fiberglass¨ will be Polyester based. None of these products will adhere to SMC. The only thing in common is the glass mat or fibers. You can lay up ¨fiberglass¨ with almost any sticky resin, Polyester is the most common, cheapest and least durable. SMC is a totally different and incompatible resin. SMC is in the same league with the pure Epoxies that are used with carbon fiber. In fact SMC resin can be used with carbon fiber and several companies make a SMC paste in a can that if full of carbon fibers and as easy to use as Bondo but many times stronger.

 

[gmjunkie]

SMC is in the same league with the pure Epoxies that are used with carbon fiber. In fact SMC resin can be used with carbon fiber and several companies make a SMC paste in a can that if full of carbon fibers and as easy to use as Bondo but many times stronger.

And Much,Much,harder to sand!!!!

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

And Much,Much,harder to sand!!!!

I Cheat
but I do not recommend this method to most people getting close to a plastic car.hnoes

 

[Phill]

hi spanish, great info. should any special paint or primer be used to top coat it.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Use a silicon remover to clean the surface. Otherwise you WILL have fish eyes. Then a 2 part fiberglass primer, sand smooth and spray with whatever compatible topcoat makes you happy.

 

[Key West Jack]

I'm partial to Vette panel adhesive for those kinds of repairs...

This stuff is simply AWESOME.

That's the stuff to use after epoxy resin impregnated cloth has dried and cured.