Advice,is this do able by a handyman(ish_me)or find a pro? Also how would it be done. Thanks.

[mark49]

 

[TCG]

Oh dear--- well out of my capabilities... professional gets my vote

 

[chaser]

Depends how much your van is worth, and how much to repair and if it is insurance job or not.

 

[Rosemary1]

We would get the professional in. Had a small bump which hubby spent hours on filling and sanding and buffing - finally got it professionally re sprayed to ensure paint match tho but wouldn’t take that size of job ourselves.

 

[mark49]

Thanks. It was a stupid question, thinking with all this time on my hands etc etc. I reckon professional is the route. Cheers anyway.

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[Rosemary1]

Thanks. It was a stupid question, thinking with all this time on my hands etc etc. I reckon professional is the route. Cheers anyway.

No such thing as a stupid question, with time and patience and the right products and tools you could probably make a good job of it - just think it looks too much hassle for us.

 

[berni109]

if you can remove the complete panel to access the back and remove the other fittings attached then i would say give it a go with a fiberglass repair kit and filler. otherwise get in the experts.

 

[bigtwin]

Depends on whether you’d like it to be an invisible repair, or not.

Ian

 

[Gellyneck]

if you can remove the complete panel to access the back and remove the other fittings attached then i would say give it a go with a fiberglass repair kit and filler. otherwise get in the experts.

I was thinking something similar. If the light cluster could be removed could access be made from there and the underside to apply fibreglass resin \ fibreglass tape to the inside?
Once you've got the panels stable you could then fill the cracks \ splits from the outside?
Then a final gel coat.
A new corner bumper cap required.
Will probably show a fair amount of ripples but how would that compare to the cost of a professional job?
Might be worth a try.

 

[Puddleduck]

Depends how much your van is worth, and how much to repair and if it is insurance job or not.

What chaser said

At least the main light unit hasn't been smashed.

It can be done, and done well, with time, patience and attention to detail.

When I worked with "the naughty boys" (a youth project aiming to keep young men who had gone off the rails out of prison and out of trouble) one of our staff members had a minor car accident, one vehicle and a bollard only - an old car and the damage looked far worse than it was. Anyway the lads filled and sanded and primped and primed and one of them (up for graffiti crime) did the paint job. Looked superb when finished. They were amateurs without experience.

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[mark49]

I couldn’t get behind it, the shaped corner and approx a 2 inch splice to the right would need cut out I think! Then try and build up with fibre glass repair and filler, I think.then filling. Then that corner would require shaping like a sculpture, that’s the skilled part that you pays the £s for. I think it’s a job for a pro with the tools. Thanks.

 

[suavecarve]

As a skilled viewer of threads and only a little ability in DIY and slightly less in vehicles. I would have no choice but to ask the FiL who is very good at this sort of stuff and he has just taken a look and said Professional.

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[funflair]

You could do it yourself , well I would but I have done it before so easy for me to say, you are lucky its fibreglass as it's easy enough to repair.

Any bits that have pushed in and overlapped need a dremel/blade running through so that you can pull it back in line, then a small belt sander or wheel on a dremel and take the area down to the raw glass fibre and if you can't get behind just build up the repair from the outside and then give it a gelcoat filler to rub back, I doubt that you will get a good enough colour match with the gelcoat so you might want to invest in a paint job or at least a colour matched spray can.

Check that the rear corner seam is still in good condition as the last thing you want is water creeping in.

Martin

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

If your van is off the road, I would. Recommend doing it yourself. The worst case scenario is its done again by a pro.. You will gain lots of experience and gain confidence. For the final paint job, just do the priming which you can rub down and respray until you are happy with the finish. Then you can try the top coat. Again if not happy try again or check with the people that come out ie chips away or similar.
Best of luck

 

[roadtrip]

Missed this post, dead easy just fiddly, preparation and correct sanding discs / wet n dry paper is vital to do good job, no scratches before final top coats. The only issue if not undercover is not to let the filler you use on top of the fibreglass get soaked as it does take a while to dry out.
How did you get on?

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[old-mo]

Take the Grey Light section off.... Then you should be able to get to the rear, rough up the back and give a serious coating of filler/matting...

Make sure the front is all lined up first...

Then build up the smashed bits slowly... rubbing down between coats...

Does not look as if much is missing.... so should be an easy`ish diy job..

Just take your time..

 

[old-mo]

This will give you a better idea....

 

[mark49]

Thanks for the input.
This is an old thread that I probably should have filled in the final part to it!
I did try a few body shops at the time and then lockdown happened. We got stuck on a site in Dartmoor where the site warden happened to have had a bodyshop in his earlier days and he talked me through the process and it turned out surprisingly good. Can’t locate the finished job photos but I’ll post if I manage. Cheers again.