Fiberglass Repair

[Aquaholic5]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Not only are the physical properties of the epoxy reduced, but so is the water resistance and the penetration idea is sort misleading. Yes it may penetrate deeper, but its such a small difference it means nothing, plus stopping rot has nothing to do with penetration, its all about encapsulation. Wet wood rots.

Sounds good...am I ok with the rest of the plan? Poly Resin with 1708. Should I put a coat or 2 down on the wood before the glass?

 

[Aquaholic5]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Sounds like you have a plan started but you need to check things out real well before you start buying supplies. I recommend you find out how extensive the damage is before you move forward. Rot is a huge problem in older boats and there are plenty of folks here that have felt that sting. Bare in mind that no matter how bad it is, it can be fixed. It all depends on how far you want to take it.
Keep us posted, plenty of help here.

Thats the key statement.

I am replacing the majority of the deck. Everything from the ski locker, to the stern, and about 7ft of Stringers. I thoroughly checked all the wood in the ski locker, the stringers running on side of it and the deck above it, its all solid.

At this point, I just can't justify the cost difference in the Poly vs Epoxy. I just need to clarify a solid plan moving forward.

As I said above, I plan on using 1708 on the top side of the deck and stringers. The part I need to clarify is if I should coat the new wood with something, before laying down the poly and glass? Could I use something like a Spar Urethane on the wood before encasing it with Resin? What is compatible with the Poly, or should I just lay down the Resin/glass and be done with it?

Thank you for your help.

One more thing, will this be ok to use with the Poly?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...ewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_975

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Just the poly and glass are fine. You want the poly to soak into the wood as much as possible. If you use anything on the wood to seal it you will seal the poly from adhereing to it and possibly be incompatible with it. Your plan sounds ok to me but Ondarvr is the best source you could ask for. Take his advice on anything to do with resins and gelcoats, He has been a wealth of info for me with gelcoating my boat.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Just the poly and glass are fine. You want the poly to soak into the wood as much as possible. If you use anything on the wood to seal it you will seal the poly from adhereing to it and possibly be incompatible with it. Your plan sounds ok to me but Ondarvr is the best source you could ask for. Take his advice on anything to do with resins and gelcoats, He has been a wealth of info for me with gelcoating my boat.

I was wondering the same thing...I know he didn't like thinning down Epoxy..is it the same with Poly...how do you get it to soak in better?

 

[SKIBUM1M]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Dont add anything to any resin other than mekp. To get it to soak in better you can use a lower temperature to slow the cure but that is about it. It will soak in well enough as long as you dont block it with another sealer

 

[Aquaholic5]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Dont add anything to any resin other than mekp. To get it to soak in better you can use a lower temperature to slow the cure but that is about it. It will soak in well enough as long as you dont block it with another sealer

Thanks Ski..that answered my question too. I will try and lay down the first coat of resin at or around 65 degrees to slow it down and hopefully let it sink in a bit further.

 

[Aquaholic5]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Ok, I have purchased the Resin (Poly Laminating). Before bedding in the stringers and ribs, should I put a coat of Resin on them? Or is it better to bed them to the hull first and then do the whole fiberglass job(base coat then glass while the resin is still tacky)at once? I might be overthinking the mechanical vs chemical bond. I read through EZ's thread and noticed that he put multiple coats of EPOXY on the wood over the course of a few days..wasn't sure if it was different with Poly.

I guess the same would go for the deck. Just trying to get the time frame with this stuff in line before diving in.

Thanks

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Bed the stringers first, then put at least one coat of resin on them. You have a few days before there will any bonding issues, but it needs to be hard before you apply the rest of the laminate, otherwise the wood will suck resin out of the glass and leave dry spots.

 

[Aquaholic5]

Re: Fiberglass Repair

Bed the stringers first, then put at least one coat of resin on them. You have a few days before there will any bonding issues, but it needs to be hard before you apply the rest of the laminate, otherwise the wood will suck resin out of the glass and leave dry spots.

Sounds good..thanks for the help.