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Repairing A Fiberglass Hood

2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Trav1s 
#1 ·
I have several fiberglass hoods for JD 110 and JD 112's that need to be repaired.

had to find a good hood to made a mold from

a guy I know just got a JD 140 and the hood is good

he let me use it to make a mold from

so this is how I did it

put glad wrap on the hood then use spray foam over the glad wrap

it worked but had a lot of bubbles in the foam.

so I had to think what could I do.

so I started again

put glad wrap on the hood and paper mached the hood, then dried for ta few days then sprayed foamed it while it was still on the hood.

that was a lot better - nice smooth mold

now time to test the mold

cleaned a hood and sanded the hood for fiberglassing

put wax paper on the areas of the mold that I am going to repair the hood

clamped the mold to the hood that needs to be fixed.

then started fiberglassing, after a day I removed the mold and it look okay, but now I have sum sanding to do

have some air holes that will need to be pudded with bondo.

for my first fiberglass repair job - it will work - not the best job - need more practice

sanding and bondo will help

I will get some pictures of the mold and a hood that I fixed
 
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#2 ·
By any chance did ya happen to take pics while you were doing this? Coming from an auto body person get some fiber glass filler bondo brand or what ever you find my self i like napa fiber strand. Using fiberglass filler over a fiber glass repair will make sure it is strong an will be weather resistant, just make sure you dont over harden the filler itll be an issue down the road.
 
#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
here are some pictures

Font Linens Wood Pattern Paper


Woolen Gas Wool Tints and shades Fashion accessory


Gas Wood Room Still life photography Still life


Wood Terrestrial plant Gas Tints and shades Grass


now sand it smooth and fill the little hole with bondo

sand the whole hood and prime and panit

thanks backwoods for the tip

KC9KAS - I thought about using paper mache on the foam, but I thought that is would not be smooth because all the holes in the foam. putting the paper mache on the hood sure gives a smooth surface to work with. Yes the foam on top of the paper mache sure does make the mold strong
 

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#6 ·
Never thought of doing a mold like that looks like a good strong mold for a near perfect repair with minimal work after cant wait to see the finished product. Are you painting with rattle cans or base/clear?Remember if your using b/c put a flex additive when you paint since its fiber glass. An a tip for a glass like finish after its in primer block the hood with 320,400,600 dry paper itsll be smooth as glass when your done.
 
#7 ·
By any chance did ya happen to take pics while you were doing this? Coming from an auto body person get some fiber glass filler bondo brand or what ever you find my self i like napa fiber strand. Using fiberglass filler over a fiber glass repair will make sure it is strong an will be weather resistant, just make sure you dont over harden the filler itll be an issue down the road.
Backwoods ??? What if you under harden the the glass mix ?? I put a patch on my bolens hood scoop,,and it is staying sticky..It's been 2 wks now..can I put another layer over it ? What happens if you over harden it ??

Thanks sodi
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Not always but when you go to paint it will dull the area out and it will normally stay softer in that spot.The rule of thumb ive been taught is that for a golf ball amount of filler run 1 bead of harder from on side to the other. The other thing is to make sure you "kneed" or mix the harder up in the tube as well as make sure the filler is mixed you shouldnt see any extra resin when you scoop the filler out that youll be using.Something i just thought of what are the temps your putting the filler on at that also makes a huge difference for painting and filler work 70*f an 50%humidity are ideal conditions since most paints/filler are not designed to work under 70*f.
 
#9 ·
The temp may have had something to do with it..It was upper 60s in my basement,,til the wife came home and kicked me and my project out in the cold..The smell can get quite strong in the basement..I'm trying to beef up layers of glass where the hood scoop hold downs are.. they were cracked off.. Now can I go over them with more layers,being still sticky ? The appearance is the least of my worries.. Thanks sodi
 
#10 ·
sodisr if it was my project i would get all the filler off and start over to insure a quality repair that will last and wont react with paint. the new filler might not stick to the still sticky filler since inbetween coats you should sand it with 60 grit to cuff off the uneven areas and give the next coat something grab ahold of
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Any suggestions on a 200/300 series hood? I hope to save its as I believe the early hood is bit different than the later hood.
 

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#13 ·
I have worked with the hood on my 120 but it's a different style. I am a bit baffled by the complex curves and shapes. Here is my 120 post repairs:
 

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#14 ·
Your repair job looks good, the 120 hood looks mint as well.I think I'm going to use your mold idea to do a few repairs on a couple hoods I have. Thanks for sharing
 
#15 ·
I have worked with the hood on my 120 but it's a different style. I am a bit baffled by the complex curves and shapes. Here is my 120 post repairs:
You do nice work, Travis ! VERY nice work, indeed !
 
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#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
You do nice work, Travis ! VERY nice work, indeed !
Thanks Dave! I am excited to get going on the 110 hood then I plan to tackle the 312 hood. I think Lyall has provided me with some ideas for the 312 hood too.
 
#17 ·
FWIW in the discussion I will post up pics of the 110 hood as I go. Lyall has hooked me up with a new hood for the 312 so the repairs on that hood might get shelved for now.
 
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