The work begins

First off; to properly start working on any project, you have to have a nice cigar.

After a quick wipe down with acetone, I took a stainless steel brush to the damage that I could see. This is to "fluff" up the loose glass fibers, and to remove loose paint and any other thing that can be hiding damage.

After brushing the weave out, I took a heat gun to the damaged area to dry any acetone hiding out, but making sure to not go over 160 degrees. Taking certain resins over 160 will cause a thermal break-down of the resin . Since I have no idea of the resin used, it was best to err on the side of caution.

After I was certain that everything was dry, I started cutting out the loose, damaged fiberglass.

Now is the point where the real "fun" begins: The grinding/sanding to find the REAL damage.

During the grinding, I discovered a little problem, and yet another reason not to trust the French. If you notice the lighter colored area, then you are seeing what happens when proper mold prep and layering does not happen. The lighter area is an air pocket, or void between the layers of fiberglass. Pretty much, it is a huge weak point, and I am not sure how the body work survived as long as it did without cracking on its own.

I was getting concered as to when the damaged areas would stop. After a while of grinding, I finally found the end... I do worry that there are other voids in the bodywork, but I am not getting paid to "discover" other areas. If I find them, they will be fixed.

Notice, no adhesion of the layers.

The marked area is what I had to remove to make things right.

Now I can glass the area properly, after I get the rest of the engine cover prepped.