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Can you give me any tips or advice on the finer points of glass repair? Do I need to drill the cracks to relieve pressure before I repair?
I can tell you what I did; I can't tell you about fracture damage because I have not repaired that problem. I also have not driven mine yet to see if the work I did will hold up to the stresses of driving. I did cut through some of my work as I did some cut outs and found good adhesion. I also picked up 1/2 the body, 200 pounds, by lifting up on one fender after the glassing.
First I ground down the top and bottom surfaces, about 1/2 of the thickness. I glassed the bottom side first; it was the hardest; I wanted to get the worst done before I lost patience. I did 4 layers of glass on each side; I used a marine epoxy, WEST system, a product that I had used on a boat with good success.
Random thoughts: Getting the bubbles out is difficult and very important; grind off all the top side gel coat, it cracks easily, it has no glass in it; the new epoxy will form a wax surface on it as it cures; the instructions say water will remove it, true but the next layer needs scratches, grind as you add glass or body filler (as a body guy you know this better than me).
8 layers of glass is likely over kill but I wanted a high level of confidence. I laid down 4 layers on one side in one session; I found that disposable paint brushes worked best to get the bubbles out; disposable shirts worked best on me when working upside down; too much epoxy and the glass falls off; too little, too many air bubbles.
Let me know if you want more "sharing".
Jim