Matra bodypanels made how?

[jones_d56]

Hi

I am new here.

Can anyone tell me how Matra made the body panels for the Espace, as they are very thin! I used to work for a kit car company and know how glassfibre mat panels are moulded etc but they are much thicker and have an unfinished "inside" unlike the matra panels...

Can you tell me how they did this? thin smooth panels inside and out?

Also Will ordinary polyester glassfibre bond to the existing panels if i do some body styling mods and changes?

many thanks

[Matra_Hans]

Normal fiber glass can be used for repair. I have tried this one an Espace and on a Murena.

Hans

[klumzer]

I have to repair some body panels so I read some topics concerning that. Some people recommend to use epoxy resin because it sticks better but others polyester resin which is much cheaper.
Next I asked some experts who make galssfibre body panels and spoilers for cars and all of them use polyester.
I have just phoned a resin expert for some advice. He told me always use the same material. Epoxy for epoxy and polyester for polyester panels. If you have a polyester panel then polyester resin sticks better than epoxy because chemical bonding connection can set during repairing between polyester materials.
So now I am looking for the material of the Murena bodypanels. If I know well it is made of polyester.
And I found that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_moulding_compound

Am I right?

[JL]

Matra panels are epoxy resin, Polyester can be used for certain repairs but you must have a clean rough surface to give a strong mechanical bond althought epoxy resins are readily available if you want to use them

Regards
John

[klumzer]

Thanks.
You went through the process I have found a topic.
Do you have any practical advice about repairing and painting the glass fibre?

[JL]

What repairs are you making?

John

[klumzer]

There are some cracks on the front wheel arches and on the front bumper. The wheel arches were repaired with normal putty erlier by one of the former owners.
So, they need perfect repairs.
And a small piece of the rear bumper is missing because devil exhaust system was installed to the car.
The side panels below the doors (I don't know the exact name of it - sorry) also need some repairs because some holes have cracks at the rivets. But they have not been removed yet. Maybe next weekend, and then I will see what to do exactly.

I know it is advised not to buy a Murena with cracked body panels. When I asked the seller, he told me everything was ok with the body the car had never been wrecked. But after 1500km of driving you can not say: I leave it. So I tried to lower the price... 

[JL]

I think that the worst item to repair will be the side sill panel where they have been split by the rivets. If it is the area that I think it is I would make sure that the area behind the hole is clean and made rough with abrasive paper and then I would stick a metal reinforcement behind the hole using a 2 pack epoxy adhesive - Araldite or similar; the split can also be filled with the adhesive and finally made good with polyester filler. The metal reinforcement need only be about 0.5mm thick but you need it to extend 2 or 3cm each side of the hole.

With the damage to the bumper and wing, again an area behind the damage needs cleaning and making rough extending 10 0r 15cm past the damage and the repair can be made using glass reinforcement layers and resin. If you use polyester, make sure that there is a good key on the surface. The surface damage can then be made good with normal flexible body filler.

The most important thing to remember is a rough surface which is dust free to give the resin a strong key.

When you have made the repairs I would coat the inside of the wings and bumpers using upol stone chip or similar (this product does not react with the glass fibre and is also waterproof). It is better not to use materials like waxoyl as they will leech into the fibres and react adversely

Photographs of the damage would be helpful.

Good Luck

John

[klumzer]

Ok, thanks.
Today I managed to buy 1kg epoxy resin and 0,5kg hardener (approx 25 Euro), and I also bought 1 m2 fibre-glass (9 Euro) for reinforcement. It was the smallest quantity to buy... 
I will attach some photos later but now I am on holiday far from my car. But there is a resin shop 40km from the cottage where we stay so I visited it.

[klumzer]

By the way...
What is "upol stone chip"? It is a kind of protective layer which would protect fibre-glass from water? I have never heard about it. Maybe the English name confused me...
Oh, you mean a polyurethane coating what is normally used on the bottom of the cars?

http://www.mimardi.co.za/catalogue/details/21/3/bakkie-linings/upol-gravitex-stone-chip-protector

http://www.amazon.com/U-POL-Auto-Paint-ROCK-STONE-PROTECTOR-UNDERCOATING/dp/B002M0RMFC

[JL]

Hi - yes that is the item,  this is a link to the product on ebay althoughI would imagine it should be readily available throughout europe, again surfaces must be clean before application.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110640351183

Regards
John

[Oskar]

how do you proceed in reparing doors? Im missing a a 20x150mm panel on the thinn side of the door form the key locker to the side of the car

[Jon Weywadt]

how do you proceed in reparing doors? Im missing a a 20x150mm panel on the thinn side of the door form the key locker to the side of the car

Can you post a photo showing the piece you are talking about. Depending on where, there are different methods, from moulding in place, to making a fiberglass sheet first, cutting it to size and epoxying it in place.

[klumzer]

Some body panels have been repaired, the bumpers and the front wheel arches. My father used to work with resins and fiber glass, he repaired aircrafts, helicopter rotor blades and once a boat so he can help me.
After sanding and cleaning the damage, we applied epoxy resin and fiber glass to reinforce the structure. At critical areas we applied two or three layers. We also used fiber glass kit (green material) to fill the surface and replace the missing parts. Then it was also covered by fiber glass and resin. Sometimes we used a piece of foil to prevent weeping of the resin at vertical parts. It is easy to remove after bonding.
I have also posted some photos of the rear bumper:
http://www.matrasport.dk/forum/index.php/topic,2301.15.html

I found a surprise. The front bumper of the car was changed in the past because it was silver originally (the car was corall). When I asked the seller he wrote me the car had never been damaged... 
Fortunately the chassis is ok so it could not be serious.

I will remove the side sills tomorrow they are in bad condition. It will be tricky to repair them...