Repairing fiberglass wheel pants

The fiberglass on our "Fancy Pants" main gear wheel pants has been
deteriorating for some time. The holes in the fiberglass through which the
dzu-type connectors pass are "wowed" out -- and now some of them are
completely broken out.

As a result, several of the metal backing plates have fallen off, and we
made our last flight today with just a single dzu connector holding the
right rear clamshell together. (Fancy pants are not single-piece units,
like the factory wheel pants, but two clamshells that connect together.)

I have removed the pants and taken them to my A&P, who is most comfortable
working with sheet metal. I suspect he will want to rivet a "stripe" of
sheet metal over the wowed out/broken holes, cover this with a thin "veneer"
of putty, re-drill the holes -- charge me a small fortune -- and pronounce
them airworthy once again.

I am wondering if this is the proper way to go. Can these things be
re-fiberglassed, or is that a lost cause? Is adding metal reinforcements
smart, or simply inviting failure in other parts of the pant?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"