Jay Honeck wrote:

Can these things be re-fiberglassed, or is that a lost cause?

Fiberglass can be patched. The compound is a mix of epoxy and glass fibers and is a
bit of a mess to deal with. You can get it at any auto paint shop. Avoid buying it at
K-mart or auto parts stores, since it's likely to stay on the shelf too long there.
Apply it with the same sort of plastic applicators used for Bondo work or with putty
knives. Use disposable plastic gloves to avoid reaction to the epoxy.

Sand the existing structure with 60 grit or rougher paper in the places you want this
stuff to bond. Apply it, let it set two or three days, and sand smooth. If you let it
set up longer, it will be harder to sand -- sand too soon, and your paper will clog
up rapidly. The resulting surface will have lots of little pits. Take care of that
with Bondo. Use finer paper to sand down the Bondo. Finish with ~200 grit. The best
paper is some new stuff that Home Depot sells called Norton's 3X. Works fast.

Is adding metal reinforcements
smart, or simply inviting failure in other parts of the pant?

Adding metal reinforcements in the form of dimpled washers embedded in the glass to
keep the attachment hardware from punching through is, in my opinion, an excellent
idea.

George Patterson
If a man gets into a fight 3,000 miles away from home, he *had* to have
been looking for it.