Starting to remove the gelcoat and paint from the surface, note the vents that were fitted
halfway there with removing the gelcoat
There were so many gelcoat cracks on this bonnet it looked like the London Underground map, not worth doing lots of little repairs!
Gelcoat completely removed and the vents cut out of the bonnet, I wanted to get rid of the vents so the bonnet looked original.
Backing pieces stuck onto the rear of the bonnet behind the vent holes to support the lay up of chopped strand mat on the top.
After feathering the edges of the holes I placed 3 layers of chopped strand mat over the backing plates in decreasing sizes.
close up off the 3 layers of chopped strand matting
Another view of the start of the repair to the vent holes
Another close up of the repair, I have also started to repair the edge of the bonnet that was damaged in a fall sometime!
Sanding down the cured repairs to reprofile the bonnet
Both repairs sanded down and the profile of the bonnet restored
Finished repairs , another view
Starting to put a layer of microballoons on it.
Bonnet completely covered in Microballoons. Once cured I sanded this down to get a better profile before I laid some cover cloth over the top.
The microballoons rubbed down and thape applied to make sure the proile was ok. Brown tape has a good shine you can base the profile on!
These are the pre formed grp backing plates I stuck onto the bonnet before filling the holes.
I cut 2 slots in the former of the bonnet and hung lead weight bags from the back of it to pull it into the bonnet recess. This was not the original bonnet so I wanted it to fit a bit better.
I feathered these slots beforehand and while it was positioned in the bonnet I climbed into the engine bay from under the car and clothed them up to absorb the tension.
While it was in the recess I put a layer of cover cloth to tie in the microballoons. I also put a layer of peel ply on top of the cover cloth to give a good surface finish to spray the gel onto.
This is me peeling the peel ply off after the resin had cured. It does not adhere to the cloth and leaves a matt surface.
ready for a coat of gel.
I reinforced the hinge points and the two slots I placed in the bonnet former.
I hand painted gel onto the former and once it was cured sanded it down to give a flat surface to spray my gel onto.
This was after I had sprayed the whole bonnet with gelcoat, I also sprayed the underside first but forgot to take a photo of this.
This is the bonnet in the boiler room to allow the gel coat to cure properly, All it needs now is a final sand with wet and dry to finish it off.
