Fiberglass Repairs? Minor bodywork advice needed!

z-28john

Chevy man now Honda man
Hi guys and gals,
I recently bought a 1998 Civic EX with the LSV conversion in it. I have been trying to make the necessary changes to it, to make it a fast, reliable and relatively nice looking DD.
I have about finished with the wiring and lights, and am now moving forward on the exterior and (for now) touch-up paint.
I already replaced the factory headlights with black/crystal JDMs, and the aftermarket rear-bumper cover hit the curb, in favor of a factory unit. I am looking for some decent 17" wheels, and deciding whether to keep or can the TALL rear spoiler.
But my question here is: since the front bumper is an aftermarket unit, that is fiberglass and in fairly rough shape, does anyone here have any experience in repairing fiberglass?
There are a few stress-cracks, like near the headlight corners, and a couple of small areas where the bumper has been chipped away, leaving the white fiberglass exposed, in the hole.
Can I simply add fiberglass resin/hardener to the small cracks, and expect it to fill them, leaving a workable surface for sanding/priming and painting? Or do I need to get behind the cracks and matte the area around them?
Also, in the couple of areas where the fiberglass is chipped away, do I need to do anything special, or just apply some mesh and resin/hardener, then prep and paint?
I would like to send it to a body-shop and let them do the whole body, since it has some hail-damage too, but financially, it's going to have to be repairs that I can make myself, for now.:(
I am open to any information/advice on making hail-dents go away, too, if anyone on here has had success at that before!
Thanks in advance for any help!
 


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