Fiberglass repair help

[gonefishie]

A friend of mine asked me to post these pics and see if anyone would know if this hole could be fix and how to fix it? Thanks a bunch!<br /><br />

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[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

It's easy to fix the hole, the hard part for somebody with out experiance is matching the metal flake finish. Put a small layup on the inside if you can get to it, that way all you need to do is a cosmetic repair on the out side.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

Gone, That looks to be above the waterline, which makes it easier. Put two-three layers of cloth on the inside to give it structural strength. After the cloth has hardened, mix up some epoxy putty (Marine-Tex), and force it into the crack. Trowel it smooth and after it is hard sand it flush, finishing with 400 grit paper. Now you need someone to touch up your paint.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

Chris, it is on the gunnel of a bass boat, you can kinda see the trolling motor bracket at the top of the picture. It can't be reach from the inside because the rod box wall is in the way. Can you clarify on the cloth you talked about?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

It can't be reach from the inside because the rod box wall is in the way.

Then Remove the Rod Box.......<br /><br />There's No Way to do a Good Repair otherwise,.....<br /><br />Because,.... Good Repairs are Done from the Backside.......<br /><br />The Cloth they're talking about is Fiberglass Cloth.........<br />And,.... You Don't want a Glob of that on the Outside of the Hull.......

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

There is no real stress in that area so a patch on the outside will be fine. Just taper the edges a little more so there is some surface area for the repair to bond to. Don't use cloth as the first layer, it doesn't bond well. Fill it about level with the surrounding area and then sand it smooth. Try to keep the repair as small as possible because it will be difficult to match the flake, or just cover it with a sticker of your choice. Or just skip the first part and use the sticker for now.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

Gone, If you really cannot get it from the backside, you will need to grind the outside down until you have a tapered hole. That is the deep part of the hole will be the width of the original gash, and the surface of the hole will be twice as wide at least. The wider the better. Now you cut a small piece of fiberglass cloth to just span the gash, for the first layer, a slightly larger one for the second layer etc. until you fill out the thickness of the hull. Mix up some epoxy resin, and start layering the saturated cloth over the hole. When it is hard, put on one more coat of epoxy to fill the weave of the cloth. Now, use a bit of Marine-Tex to fill in any imperfections, and sand smooth (400 grit). Now off to the paint shop.

 

[samsam]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

You have to end up with the repair low enough so you have room to apply the glitter and a thick clearcoat. You can't sand or buff into the glitter as it will look bad. Contact the boat manufacturer to buy the correct glitter.(size/mix/color) They might also tell you exactly how to do it. You might also repair the hole and put a decal over the patch, a flag or something. Sam

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Fiberglass repair help

Thanks guys! We'll give it a shot, great idea about the sticker.