fiberglass repair with pics

[bwright0380]

hi i am trying to restore a 1971 17 ft fiberform open bow boat. i have some questions about fiberglass restoration. i posted serval different cracks that are in need of repair but i am not sure what to do. some of the cracks look like they are hair line and just in the gel coat. in other cracks you can see the threads of the fiber glass and then some almost look like pitting or rust in the fiberglass. any suggestion would be geat. also the pics are labled 1-5 so it would be helpfull if you had some repair advice, for you to direct it to a specific crack number. thanks.

 

[oops!]

Re: fiberglass repair with pics

most of the pics are all repaired the same way....

pics 1 thru 3----

using a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a flapper disc (30 grit) grind the affected area, clean with acetone and fill with marine tex.....

when you grind, just make a small dish shape with the grinder, fill with marine tex, you might want to use a little more marine tex as it will shrink a wee bit
then just sand till its smooth.

pic 4 is hard to tell whats goin on there....i just see different shades of white

pic 5 you might want to grind the whole area and add a layer of glass matt,
then repair as above

 

[redfury]

Re: fiberglass repair with pics

Picture 4 is gel coat that has worn thin from what I'm seeing. That area just needs a few coat of paint.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: fiberglass repair with pics

Picture 3 is stress cracks.Those would worry me the most depending on where they are located.All of the others the Marine-Tex would work just fine.
The stress cracks could be from an impact against the hull and not the fiberglass behind it is compromised..

 

[oops!]

Re: fiberglass repair with pics

the sterss cracks (crazing)can be fixed one crack at a time with marine tex...or the whole area with a layer of glass (after grinding) and a filler.