Topic: Fastback interior quarter trim repair/restore

[sflaten]

69 Mach 1 with fold down seat. Original factory interior quarter trim panels had minor damage on ledge the seat folds down on. Others tried repair using what looks like epoxy and it has chipped out again. That repair filled in the graining. Searched site for info on restoring graining, but no luck. Anyone have a good reference to how to restore the texture? Also wondering what the best paint match is to touch up panel. Is the SEM black flexible material the right choice for this?

Internet showed a grain stamp that used dent pulling pads and glue to create the stamp to emboss filler or paint. Anyone attempted this or another method?
Thanks for any suggestion?

[J_Speegle]

How bad (large or deep) is the damage?  If through then your looking at backing and those sorts of things than have to address the grain. Also where it it will affect the type of repair (if your trying to do a cast and mold repair ) and how realistic the final repair will look. Have been successful a number of times but mine took hours of tracing each line from the undamaged areas around the repair into the transition. Sort of like drawing pictures on the computer pixel by pixel

[67gta289]

There’s a guy near me that does these types of repairs for hire.  Top quality work, he has fixed things for me that I wondered if they could be repaired.   This is if you do t want to try the DIY route.  If interested send me a PM. John

[jwc66k]

Anyone have a good reference to how to restore the texture?

I'v had morerate success with a damp sponge dabbed on a freshly painted surface, get the key word - moderate. Practice a couple of times on a piece of wood.
Aldo be advised that starting in roughly 1967-68, the manufactures of plastic trim parts included the "mold release" in the plastic material. Prior to that time period, mold release was sprayed in the mold to facilitate the part coming loose. As a result, the use of a different epoxy was required for mode release included materials to fix broken items. Most epoxy will not work on newer plastics.
Jim

[sflaten]

How bad (large or deep) is the damage?  If through then your looking at backing and those sorts of things than have to address the grain. Also where it it will affect the type of repair (if your trying to do a cast and mold repair ) and how realistic the final repair will look. Have been successful a number of times but mine took hours of tracing each line from the undamaged areas around the repair into the transition. Sort of like drawing pictures on the computer pixel by pixel

Jeff, thanks for response. The damage is right on the outside edge of the lip (about 3" long 1/16" deep) that supports the fold down rear seat. Previous owner did some repair that extends down the face below that ledge about 1 1/2"x 4" where the grain has been filled in. Also appears there was some silicone caulking used to fill in some of the ledge chipping, which needs to get picked out and cleaned back to raw material.

SEM has a system to create round droplet style spray that may be a choice to try and fix and respray the panel on the ledge and down the skirt. Creating a 1" square "stamp" might be another choice, but concerned about the buildup that may occur. Once going down that path it would be a more permanent condition that could not be reversed like a paint application that could get stripped and restart.

[Brian Conway]

If you want a ' fix ' to the broken fiberglass you need to get at it from the other side,  Dapping at it from the topside can only, at best, result in a temporary ' patch '.  Brian

[sflaten]

Yes I have experience repairing fiberglass like this, it is maintaining the texture that I am troubling with.

[Bob Gaines]

Here is another alternative. Some undamaged panels for sale on another site. Seller is known to be good to work with. http://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=12105.msg103829;topicseen#msg103829

[sflaten]

thanks for the lead Bob. I did contact seller and he sent me some photos. I think what I have is in better shape than the ones being sold. Have found a texture paint that I will try to blend in with the existing texture. The repairs will be done by grinding out the cracks and filling with an aircraft epoxy. planning on reinforcing the backside with a fiberglass mesh and more aircraft epoxy. Should firm things up permanently. I figure if it is good to use on jet aircraft at speed, it should hold up to the back seat flopping down.

[sflaten]

FYI on progress.
Finished the repair on the fiberglass and texture and thought I would throw out how it went.

repaired the fiberglass mainly from the back side using and aircraft epoxy. There are two brands  Hysol from Locktite and Aeropoxy ( http://www.bvmjets.com/Pages/Tips/comparison.htm ) which is a supplier for model aircraft, but the same as Hysol. It comes in twin cartridge that auto mixes in a nozzle and can be applied right where you want, or without nozzle squirt on cardboard and hand mix for small application. I found the fiberglass was weak in original design and shearing from the seat ledge to side. I filled this with epoxy and a layer of heavy weave fiberglass. This created a fillet that spanned and spread the load. Also wrapped up above the ledge to reinforce thickness. If this thickness was not reinforced I am sure it would break once again ( flip down seat gets slammed down on ledger) or pull apart as normal epoxy softens in the heat which is why I used aircraft epoxy.

Then proceeded to use same epoxy as fill on the outside. This epoxy is more firm and not gummy  so it sands well. Previous repairs by others filled in the texture on the ledge and below so no texture visible. Did all my repairs and decided to replicate the texture. here is video of process 

I used the SEM XXX adhesion promoter and their Texture Paint 39853. Practiced on back of panel. Best technique is not to spray a wet coat. Short sprits from varying heights worked best. Never let it look like a paint coat. About 4-5 coats covered the repair area and blended into the existing. Found height of 24"-30" gave the best texture build. Larger droplets occur with spray closer as it spreads as it dries. Further away made smaller drops and finer texture that as it built was closer to  original and covered all the surfaces that had been repaired. `Really pleased with the texture and can't tell old from new. Tomorrow on to spray entire surface with finish paint and reinstall.

[dcenicco]

Hoping to replicate your technique on a few of the issues I have on the quarter trim ledges. I have the panels off, SEM texture paint, aircraft expoxy, SEM XXX in hand. May I ask what you topcoated the SEM texture and entire panel with to finish the job? Did you coat the panel first with the SEM XXX promotor before topcoat? Thanks

[Daven]

I was always going to try plastic body filler, smooth it out and when it's starting to harden, press down a vinyl material like an old head liner to simulate the texture. Remove vinyl and lightly repaint to correct color.  I'm going to attempt to repair my dash pad with a similar process.

Dave   

[sflaten]

I think what I used was a black interior paint from Eastwood. I think it came out a bit shiny. I think some of the pros on this site indicated it would loose a bit of the shine over time. I suggest searching for the other interior paint topics and they have the correct paint listed. I think Jeff S indicated it was actually a dark "gray". That said I am very happy with the color other than the shine. Suggest you practice on the back side of the panel to get the technique and build correct. The idea is NOT to create a flowing coat but get the little nibs to build on each other and they get a little more texture the further you spray away from the surface. you may find up to 18"-24" is the right distance.

[midlife]

I've heard that you can remove the shine by rubbing the new paint with a grocery paper bag.  I'd start out light, examine the result, and repeat as necessary.

[Daven]

if you lightly scuff it you could spray it with Krylon Rust Tough Enamel Semi-Flat.  It sprays, dries and looks like the old Krylon 1613.

Dave