Fibreglassing Repairs ??? Anyone know how to

[Dam1an]

I have a few (small) areas of fibreglass on my deck that are starting to de-laminate and crack. I would like to glass over these areas but as I have no access to the underside (it being of solid hull construction) I am wondering if I can simply apply new glass over old? As I have never attempted this kind of job before I am unsure as to materials, preparation and application.

If anyone can help me out here at least I'll have something to do if the rain ever stops.

 

[VicS]

Welcome.

If this is just a gel coat problem then remove the loose bits. clean up throughly and patch up with some fresh gel coat resin. Either try and finish flush with the surrounding area and cover with sticky tape while it sets or finish slightly proud and rub down flush with increasingly fine wet & dry once set.

It it is the laminate below the gel coat then chop out all the duff stuff clean up and build up with glass and resin until just below the original level when set finish off with gelcoat as Above.

It si rather old but This may help

 

[Dam1an]

Thanks. It's deeper than the gel coat. If I cut away the duff fibreglass will the new stuff bond ok to the old by just layering it on top?

 

[VicS]

Yes it will bond, the rougher the surface the better, but it must be clean and free of oil etc. If in doubt clean it up with some acetone.

You might find that Isopon P40 is useful for a small area. It is a car body repair stuff for bridging holes consisting of resin with some glass fibres added. You might be able to use it with a bit of extra glass mat. The down side is that the hardener is red so it ends up pink but the gel coat you finish off with should cover it ok.

BTW There should be no problem getting white gel coat from any chandler but colours are more of a problem. Compass Watersports do some.

Read the manual in my link I think you will find it useful but it does deal with rather more major repairs.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Dam1an and welcome to the YBW forums,

You say:<<I have a few (small) areas of fibreglass on my deck that are starting to de-laminate and crack>>

When you day delaminating, delaminating from what? is the solid layup delaminating, do you have any ply under the glass, are you sure it's a solid glass deck?

If it's only delaminating on the surface you can fill it with Gelcoat after removing all the loose material and cleaning the area with Acetone.

If it's the layup that delaminating filling will not stop the delamination spreading, you need to grind it out till you have a solid edge feathered to about 15 degrees, cleaned with acetone and re glassed.

A little more information or a picture or two will help in giving the right answer rather than guessing what the situation may be.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Channel Ribs]

Where abouts is your boat kept?

 

[2Tizwoz]

If you look on Youtube for fibreglass repairs or boat repairs there are many good videos showing all that's needed in great detail.

How to repair gelcoat this comes in parts 1,2, and 3.

And lots more. Blind holes, rotted transoms, bad sandwich and so on.

 

[Keith 66]

There is a good book on Grp repairs, Hugo Du Plessis Fibreglass boats, some of it is a bit dated but it is very comprehensive.
When doing grp repairs all bad glass must be ground out back to sound material wear a good mask the dust is not good for your lungs!
A good source of info and materials is Glassplies of Southport Tel 01704 540626 they provide an excellent general infomation booklet and are one of the most reasonably priced suppliers of grp products going they are fast and a good outfit to deal with.