I have had the wing off of my GT for at least a month. Having decided to leave it off, I now need to make the mounting holes in my rear deck lid go away.

I searched and read through old threads here concerning body panel repairs but there are so many conflicting pieces of advice and information to be found that I gained little from the effort.

Is the rear deck lid fiberglass, SMC or something else?

With what product should I plug the holes?

Evercoat fiber tech and some finishing puddy

You'll have an absolute ton leftover if that's the only thing you're doing

But it's money well spent for future repairs. Cost ya like $70 bucks

It's SMC fiberglass.
Use Fiberglass Evercoat Vette Panel Adhesive part # 870. Add some fiberglass mat chopped up with scissors for re-inforcement.
GRIND out around the holes using 24 grit. You want to "V" out (taper) the holes as much as you can, down to the bottom of the panel. If the fill area is 2" across that's fine. Tape the bottom, & fill with the above. You can then block it out starting with 40 grit or 80 grit, & work down to 180. Prime, block, re-prime, & paint as you would any other body work.
HTH,
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Drunk chicks dig me!

The GM Service Manual says that the decklid is SMC. As for what to use, I'm no body man, but here's what the book says:

"... on an SMC part... puncture damage that requires a back up or structural type repair that requires reinforcing the back side can be accomplished by using a combination of structural adhesive and polyester body filler. Since epoxy resin posessses superior adhesive properties, all repair work done on the back side of the part should be done with fibreglass cloth and structural adhesive. Then, cosmetic repair on the face side of the part may be completed with polyester body filler."

That said, I've had three body shops with excellent reputations for working with SMC fill the luggage carrier holes on three different decklids in the past and, perhaps I'm too picky, but none of the repairs were flawless. For some reason, probably due to different expansion rates of materials due to heating and cooling, the plugged holes become more and more visible with time, regardless how far out you feather the holes. Perhaps someone else has had a better experience. Good Luck!

quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: The GM Service Manual says that the decklid is SMC. As for what to use, I'm no body man, but here's what the book says: "... on an SMC part... puncture damage that requires a back up or structural type repair that requires reinforcing the back side can be accomplished by using a combination of structural adhesive and polyester body filler. Since epoxy resin posessses superior adhesive properties, all repair work done on the back side of the part should be done with fibreglass cloth and structural adhesive. Then, cosmetic repair on the face side of the part may be completed with polyester body filler." That said, I've had three body shops with excellent reputations for working with SMC fill the luggage carrier holes on three different decklids in the past and, perhaps I'm too picky, but none of the repairs were flawless. For some reason, probably due to different expansion rates of materials due to heating and cooling, the plugged holes become more and more visible with time, regardless how far out you feather the holes. Perhaps someone else has had a better experience. Good Luck!

I'll bet 1) they didn't use Vette panel adhesive/filler & 2) they didn't re-inforce it with chopped fiberglass. Regular (polyester) body filler does NOT stick well to SMC.
It amazing what the "reputable" body shops get away with!
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

If you can't take the heat, get out of the nuclear reactor.

quote Originally posted by Tha Driver: It's SMC fiberglass. Use Fiberglass Evercoat Vette Panel Adhesive part # 870. Add some fiberglass mat chopped up with scissors for re-inforcement. GRIND out around the holes using 24 grit. You want to "V" out (taper) the holes as much as you can, down to the bottom of the panel. If the fill area is 2" across that's fine. Tape the bottom, & fill with the above. You can then block it out starting with 40 grit or 80 grit, & work down to 180. Prime, block, re-prime, & paint as you would any other body work. HTH, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" Drunk chicks dig me!

I second this...

-Dave

From the Evercoat web site:

“Vette Panel Adhesive/Filler™
A polyester body filler for fiberglass and SMC panels. No shrinkage. Helps prevent repair mapping on seam lines over fiberglass repairs. Used to bond fiberglass panels only, not SMC. Blue cream hardener included.”

I read this just before I posted my question. I don’t know if this statement has typos, but it sure confused the heck our of me. Maybe it was written by a politician wanna be.

Is there some chain auto parts store that carries Evercoat products?

I use Everflex, made for bumpers etc wors great sands so smooth you dont need any on top of it. Here's a tip, if you dril like a 1/8" all the through the deck lid you can then insert sprayfoam into it from below. That will keep your fill from dropping through/and being applied too thick.

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