Drilling fiberglass0---what drill bit?

I see that a drill bit made especially for plastic, or fiberglass is reccommended to make holes in fiberglass.. What kind of drill bit is thia? How is it different from a wood or metal drill?

My question is where are such driills sold---I can't locate it locally.

Thanks!---Jack

I just apply a piece of masking tape and run the drill in reverse rotation to cut thru the gel coat then go to forward spin. I use titanium coated drills but sharp steel would be fine.

There are diamond dust coated bits that wouldn't cut as fast --- hence, gel coat chipping would be reduced.

Thanks, Wolfgang---well my car has no gelcoat ---just paint on fiberglass. So you say any drill will do ok? Thanks!---Jack

Actually, Jack, I believe that you do have gelcoat - just not for the finish color. I think it is necessary for a smooth surface for the paint to go on. Most are either gray or black. I could be wrong, though, as I am certainly not a fiberglass expert.

Lane--you might be right--I just always think of gelcoat as what the old CMCs and Fiberfabs used. The gelcoat WAS the color I think.

I still need to make a couple of holes---I'm adding those little square reflectors below the taillights.. I told Hoss that I would stop at mudflaps though!---good to hear from you!---Jack

Yeah, you just have painted gelcoat. Key is use a small drill (1/8") to start and use reverse on drill. (Think there was thread on this awhile back and DRCLOCK came to rescue with his seasoned experience). Measure twice and drill once.

Near end of -

https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=7187

FYI, the "drill in reverse" rule is to avoid chipping the gelcoat. It slows you down, but the end results are much better.

Yeah there is nothing like the satisfaction of chipping gel coat or fresh paint !

I run a drill bit backwards at a slow speed to cut through the gelcoat (use tape over the area to preventing chipping) and begin to go into the glass then run the bit in the forward direction with minimal pressure..taking your time this will result in a clean drilled hole. ( .......enough out of you Vince !)

Yeah, and when I was free-hand trimming the excess fiberglass from around the headlight openings on Lane's car (using a cut-off wheel on a Dremel tool), we made sure Lane was far away and couldn't see it happening.

Jack! Lots of people use the reverse-direction drill trick to cut through the fiberglass. Be very, very patient. Do not press hard on the drill bit, just let it do it's job slowly. I like Wolfgang's tape idea, but I've had the gel chip even using the tape (but maybe I was too impatient and pushed too hard....dunno). I use Titanium bits for metal, too. They seem to work OK.

good luck

gn

And Jack, after you drill the holes, seal the edges of raw fiberglass.

This can be done with lots of things, resin, epoxy, or easiest:clear nail polish(stolen from my daughter!)

The raw edges will allow moisture in, which eventually could cause separation of the fiberglass. I used it on my fender mirror, taillights, emblems, etc.

Danny - I think that pink would go nice on your Spyder ...

Yeah, when you paint the spears on the rear fenders, Pepto-pink would be an excellent choice.

You know, pink is not a bad color, but it will NOT be on my Spyder!

I had pink button down shirts in the 80s, they were in then. I am very comfortable with my orientation, 100% hetero, just so you all know!

Lane THHHHHSTOP IT!

Danny--I am glad you added that advice about sealing the holes--thanks! I used 5 minute epoxy.

The REST of the story is that I just came in from the garage after installing the little reflectors.

SO---I know about "measuring twice and cutting once" and believe me, I was nervous about drilling holes in my "baby". I Measured about 20 times and every danged time I got different measurements.

Well--it ended up that I figured out that the right tail light was higher than the left one by a full 1/2 inch. I was pretty upset about this as I had no clue how to place the reflectors so they looked ok with such a difference in the tail light height. (And how the hell can tail lights be 1/2 different in height??)

I was just about to give up on the idea of installing these reflectors but for some reason I thought about measuring the distance between the floor and the bumper on each side. Guess what---the damned bumper was not level by 1/2". It was a simple matter to loosten the nuts holding the bumper on and there was ample space to perfectly adjust the bumper to get it level and that made the tail lights level.

Long story short(er)_---the reflectors are on the car and look great.
You can see some of these rear reflectors on the JPS web site on some of their cars. Anything that can make my little car a little bit safer is a plus as far as I'm concerned.

I can't come up with a moral to this story but it's something about when you think the problem to be solved is one thing---it might be something else.


---Jack

I gues when they say "Hand Built Cars" they really mean it....

We've gotten so used to the repeatability of mass production that we forget that it hasn't always been this way.

I thought I had seen a good post on drilling fiberglass years ago - sure enough the late George Brown wrote up a KNOWLEDGE note (#120) -

https://www.speedsterowners.com/knowledge/article.asp?id=120

Wolfgang---yes--that was a classid article--thanks for the info. I found my experience to be as the article said except making the holes was a lot easier than I expected. The hole was clean and the fimerglass appeared to be solid all the way through without fibers or anything ---just powdered fiberglass coming out of the hole.

I sure could have used an article on where the hell to place the reflectors as I went crazy trying to get both reflectors exactly as far under the tail lights as each other and perfectly centered.

They did turn out good. I'll post a picture here later.---Jack

Here are the reflectors--they could be a C.H higher but they turned out ok. These are available at Sierra Madre Collections for a good price compared to anyplace else.---Jack

Jack,

Looks great! I am sure that you searched. I went through this install a little while ago also. Here is my posting https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=14955
I don't post in the articles section because of my "this thread is worthless without pictures" mentality" but there is good info in the articles.
What's next on your list?

Dave:

you'r car is very shiny!! The reflector placement looks almost exactly like mine. I thiught mine turned out a tad low but after reading that article (than I missed---grrrr) I see they are fine.

Next--I don't know about. I put some Marchal fogs on last week, had it Color sanded and buffed the week before that, aligned the front wheels to get 1/2 degree negative 2 days ago and am really wanting to just drive the car for a while. Honestly I don't know what to do next--the list I had is all checked off I'm happy to say.

I do have some work to do on the steering wheel which isn't straight anymore after the alignment. Oh---I have to see why my turn signals don't self-cancel. I always thought they were manual! I'm waiting on a 23mm socket to remove the steering wheel. So I DO have a few items to still handle. It never does end, does it?

I think I'm pretty sure about why they call it the Madness!


--Jack

Jack/Dave - do your reflectors have the chrome mounting base or is it a flat colored aluminum piece? I recently bought some and they have the aluminum piece - think original was chromed pot metal.

Wolfgang--mine have plain aluminum bases. By base I mean the little round piece that goes between the back of the reflector and the car.
Not chromed potmetal--just aluminum.

Mine came with two nice rubber "washers" that go against the fiberglass--outside the car and underneath it. Works ok. I left off the twin to each base that goes underneath the car as the fiberglass was too thick to get the washers and nut on. Works fine.---Jack

Wolfgang,

Mine were just like Jack's. Aluminium, you could polish them up if you wanted a little more shiny.
I think I got my reflecters at Klasse.

Dave