small hole in glassfibre/grp

[wrecks1971]

Hi guys need advise on how to repair this hole,i`ve never worked with fibreglass before but i think i could manage this job with a bit of advise. Thanks for any help given. Paul

 

[109jb]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

The bad news is that the hole pictured should be repaired from both sides for a solid long lasting repair. If you have easy access to that area inside the hull then it is easy. What you do is:

1. Grind the inside area about 2 inches faarther out around the hole to get to solid fiberglass. No need to get too fancy, just got to get to solid glass.

2. Grind the outside the same way except you need to taper the area. You need to get below the gel coat for about 2 inches all around. Taper it to a sharp edge at the hole .

3. Apply masking tape to the outside of the hole to serve as a backing.

4. Clean inside are with acetone and apply a patch on the inside using resin and chopped strand matt as the first layer and a cloth or roving material as the second. Or you can use 1708 which is CSM and roving stiched otgether. I would do 2 layers of 1708 or csm-cloth-csm-cloth. Let cure

5. After the inside cures, remove the tape from the outside and do the same layup on the outside. Let cure.

6. Sand the outside to even it up with the surrounding area and then paint or gel-coat to match the rest of the boat.

Done.

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

sounds easy thanks

 

[bigredinohio]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

There are some good videos on youtube also on how to repair fiberglass

 

[Lightnig]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

That's right on the bottom of the Transom, is it not?

Are you able to get at the repair area without pulling the floor? If not, this could be a bigger job than it sounds like.

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

I think you might be right Lightnig i`ll have to investigate a little more tomorrow.

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

I could not wait until tomorrow so went to boat and took this pic. This is a pic from inside,you can see the small hole but it`ll be difficult to work at. Anyone any suggestions on how to tackle this one. Thanks

 

[tlovelandka]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

That's gonna be a fun one!

How's all the wood around that area? if it's still in good shape then get your grinder out, and rough up that area. Clean it really well with acetone. lay some glass to strengthen it from the inside. Then fill the void on the outside with marinetex, and sand it down. then just add paint, and wha-lah! no more hole

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

Another couple of pics i`ll need advise on fixing the floor afterwards. The repair is difficult to get at from the inside. I`m going to have another look at it today and if the weather holds up I`m going to have a go at the repair.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

If you can't get to the inside don't stress over it, it can all be done from the outside and work well.

Use a small grinder and taper the hole out a couple of inches all the way aound it and then start building it back up with glass. If you over fill it just grind off the high spots. use some gel coat or paint and your done.

 

[Lightnig]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

If the floor and transom wood is really good shape, I think that I would be tempted to try this one entirely from the outside. It doesn't look like there is enough room to get at it properly from the inside at all, except for maybe a general fill - certainly nothing I would trust for structural strength.

If I was going to attempt this one, I think I would grind it out to clean and undamaged 'glass giving the repair area a good taper, backfill with some of Oops super peanut butter (do a forum search for the recipe) up to the bottom of the original glass, build up to almost flush with layers of cloth/resin, and finally fair and paint to match the original profile.

 

[Lightnig]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

Doh, you beat me to it by a minute.

hehe

If you can't get to the inside don't stress over it, it can all be done from the outside and work well.

Use a small grinder and taper the hole out a couple of inches all the way aound it and then start building it back up with glass. If you over fill it just grind off the high spots. use some gel coat or paint and your done.

Yeah, what he says

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

Thanks guys for the help. I didn`t get anything done today,maybe tomorrow with a bit of luck.

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

I only got to start work on repairing that hole today. I forgot to bring camera with me to take a few pics. I`ll bring it tomorrow when i go to finish the repair and i`ll post them tomorrow evening. I was busy rebuilding the boat trailer over the last few weeks which is almost finished now.

 

[wrecks1971]

Re: small hole in glassfibre/grp

Repaired the hole with glassfibre and resin a bit messy but I didn`t mind as I ground down the excess. When back today and put filler on i`ll leave to dry and sand down smoth tomorrow. I`ll not bother with Gel as I`m going to paint it anyway. Also repaired where bung was as I felt this area might of had a leak. I`ll redrill the hole replace the bung and seal it properly.