Ot-Question on Duraglas product?

[JIPJOBXX]

A firnd of mine gave me a full can of Duraglas Fiberglass filler and I was wondeing if this is the same stuff that you can spread out and put a mat of fiberglass on it? Has anyone used this material befor. Thanks Jon:)

[greg g]

Depends, duraglass is a lable for a line of fillers. Usually that is associated withthe fibreglass mat is that a chunk of fiberglass fabric and a 2 part resin that gets imbedded into it.

Fiberglass reinforced filler is a diffeent beast. It is body filler with strands of fiberglass imbedded in the mix. Short medium and long strands. which is usually refered to as tiger hair in the trade. It consists of a trowelable resin putty mixed with a hardener.

Different products and systems for different repair/filler needs.

[old stovebolt]

A firnd of mine gave me a full can of Duraglas Fiberglass filler and I was wondeing if this is the same stuff that you can spread out and put a mat of fiberglass on it? Has anyone used this material befor. Thanks Jon:)

What you have is a waterproof, very hard to sand, can of body filler.

It has a shelf life of usually 6 months. It uses a catalyst (MEKP) to harden.

Check out the catalyst first and make sure it is still soft in the tube. If it

"crunches" as you squeeze the tube, I would not use it. Also, be aware the

fumes and sanding dust are nasty. I would wear a respirator.

And, no it is not designed to spread out on fiberglass cloth. You are thinking of fiberglass resin.

There are two basic types: casting and laminate resins. I think you might want a laminating

resin.

Edited November 13, 2010 by old stovebolt

[JIPJOBXX]

Thanks I think this can is more than six months old?????

[dezeldoc]

There are more than 2 kinds of resin just for info. Open the can and look if it has been in the shade and sealed chances are it is still good, you can buy new hardener if need be. old stovebolt is right about the working of it, not much good on an auto for general auto body work, works good if you are filling fiberglass work though. it is old school and their are a lot better products out there now that are a lot easier to use and are also easier to sand.

[Robert Horne]

A firnd of mine gave me a full can of Duraglas Fiberglass filler and I was wondeing if this is the same stuff that you can spread out and put a mat of fiberglass on it? Has anyone used this material befor. Thanks Jon:)

I have used the Duraglas brand of filler for years. The shelf life of this is alot longer than 6 months. I recommend only using a thin coat of this as a base layer. This type material is more difficult to work with than regular filler. I have a little left in a can that is 7 years old, still usable. I just just bought a quart of Bondo brand of "Bondo-Glass", $13. Fibrous Glass strands suppose to give it more strength than "light" bondo.

[old stovebolt]

With regard to a 6 month shelf life, I was expressing the manufacture's

data. Heat, storage, exposure to air, etc. all play a role in the actual

shelf life of the product. The older the product, the more pin holes develop

when it is mixed, and often it "kicks off" quicker and fails to adhere to the

panel as well. Just thought I would mention.....

[old stovebolt]

There are more than 2 kinds of resin just for info. Open the can and look if it has been in the shade and sealed chances are it is still good, you can buy new hardener if need be. old stovebolt is right about the working of it, not much good on an auto for general auto body work, works good if you are filling fiberglass work though. it is old school and their are a lot better products out there now that are a lot easier to use and are also easier to sand.

Yep, you are right, there are numerous kinds of fiberglass resins for different

applications. I was just pointing out there are generally two basic groups: casting and laminate. Then polyester / epoxy / etc. Generally the stuff doesn't stick real well to steel unless it is epoxy based... And yes, as you pointed out,

there are much better products to use now.

[dezeldoc]

A lot of guys say it works good over welds and rough work. Back in the "day" it was a big NO NO to put bondo over any kind of paint, now a days they recommend to do the bondo work over your primered panel as the adhesion is better with the primer to the bare metal than the bondo to bare metal. some of the materials now a days seem better but i still have a hard time going against what i was taught.

[chopt50wgn]

You can only really apply "filler" whether it be duraglass or bondo over an epoxy based primer. I have always used the epoxy primer as a good topcoat to seal the metal then apply the bondo.

[Robert Horne]

I have never applied body filler over primer. I use a MIG welder for patch panels, always grind metal surface to a good clean, rough finish, apply bondo-glass, then filler. My theory is warm filler, warm metal, applied on a warm day.

[dezeldoc]

You can only really apply "filler" whether it be duraglass or bondo over an epoxy based primer. I have always used the epoxy primer as a good topcoat to seal the metal then apply the bondo.

Not true, as i said the bondo would not stick to paint back in the 60's-80's, just in recent years has it been ok to do body work over primer. I can remember pulling off bond and it was stuck to the metal like it was part of it and if someone left paint on it would come right off. it also had a lot more flexibility to it so it was not so brittle as a lot of fillers are today. Of course it did not sand as easy as the fillers do today.

[old stovebolt]

Most of the "modern" vehicles have some aspect of rust inhibitor on the

metal panels (zinc) or similar "e-coat" primer to ward off rust. As such they (vehicle manufacturer) do not recommend grinding the damaged panel to bare metal anymore. So, yes, you would apply the plastic filler over a prepared substrate primer or even prepared top coat paint. I guess the overall purpose is to maintain the factory rust warranties. Not like the old days of grinding the heck out of the panel with a 16 grit disk....If I did that now, I would grind a hole

in the panel ......oops!

[Eneto-55]

What you have is a waterproof, very hard to sand, can of body filler.

You said this stuff is waterproof. So is it OK to use it in a place where there were pin holes? I had some of this 30 years ago, and used it in that sort of situation (rocker panel), thinking it was an actual fiberglass composition, so fully waterproof. If it is, great. Otherwise, I wonder if I should grind that stuff back out & weld in a piece of steel.

Edited November 14, 2010 by Eneto-55
clarification

[dezeldoc]

When ever you see a small pin hole or blistering of the paint, most times on the back side it will be anywhere from 4-10 or more times the size of what you are seeing on the painted surface. I used to have some sample panels i cut out of a car during some rust repair that i would use to show customers of how bad the rust is that you can not see. it worked very well as there were some very small 1/16" or less in the paint and on the back it was 1-1 1/2". so remember that when you see what you think is just a small job most times it will be much worse on the back, that is why it will come back in no time if you just repair what you see.

[Eneto-55]

When ever you see a small pin hole or blistering of the paint, most times on the back side it will be anywhere from 4-10 or more times the size of what you are seeing on the painted surface. ....

Thanks for the reply. I should have said that I was down to bare metal when I had the pin holes. I do realize that places like this rust from the back of the sheet metal out, so that pin holes are usually also a sign of very thin steel in that area. I did remove more material, and so when I filled, the holes were considerably larger. I'm just wondering if moisture from the back will penetrate and degrade this type of material. (As I recall, it was described as long strand fiberglass filler.)

[old stovebolt]

Rusted panels (pin holes) happen one of two ways: moisture rusting out

the back side of the panel, or moisture rusting out the front side of the panel.

If you use duraglass, or a similar product, and internal moisture is apparent, the rust will continue to degrade the steel panel. I would make sure I fixed the source of the moisture / water leak or the rust will continue to form. Hope this helps.