Boat Repairs

[Outnumbered]

G'day all

is it very easy to repair chips and chunks in an old glass hull?

do i just use some unwaxed polyester gelcoat rough up the repair area and fill then sand? or is it more detailed than that?

they are only small area's but i want to fix them. or should i get it done profesionally

[Guest bluecod]

Wombat10,

If that is the worst of them I would be having a go myself, however Gelcoat is fairly brittle and I would prefer to be using a laminating resin.

Check on the inside of the hull to see if there are any corresponding cracks.

Remove all dry [white], loose and dirty fibre from the repair site, Rough sand around the repair.

Chop up some fibreglass mat or cloth so the strands are about 1/2" long. The fibres give the repair strength and workability so that you can form to the desired shape.

Add pigment to the resin [if you can colour match], mix in hardener well before you add chopped fibre to the mix. Add a little fibre at a time to ensure the mix is not too dry but can be formed.

Apply mix to repair and work out any airbubbles. Over fill the repair so you can sand back to the desired shape, when it is touch dry, finish sanding with a fine paper.

When you're happy with the repair, prepare a hot mix of gelcoat [more hardener so it sets quickly] and apply a very thin coat over the repair to seal it. The repair can be cut and buffed when it has cured.

Have fun.

[Outnumbered]

Thanks for the reply bluecod, there are no coresponding cracks i can see and the glass fibres seem undamaged, after a day on the water i am getting less than a cupfull of water from the bungs.

the bigest chunk missing is only 4 mm wide would you still use that method?

how good are the gelcoat fillers on these smaller areas?

[Guest bluecod]

Wombat10,

Thanks for the reply bluecod, there are no coresponding cracks i can see and the glass fibres seem undamaged, after a day on the water i am getting less than a cupfull of water from the bungs.

the bigest chunk missing is only 4 mm wide would you still use that method?

how good are the gelcoat fillers on these smaller areas?

25433[/snapback]

I would use the method described for a 4mm wide repair [probably anything greater than 2mm depending on its depth] for the smaller repairs the biggest problem is getting good adhesion so you will have to pay particular attention in roughening the surface. In the smaller repairs I would also reduce the length of the chopped fibre to suit - keep in mind that you are repacking fibres into places where they are now absent, so they've got to fit the hole.

In your photo you've posted, you will notice the white fibre - that fibre is likely to have been damaged and no longer has resin in it - I would very carefully remove them with a sharp packaging knife or the edge of a sharp chisel as part of preparation work.

If you're only getting half a cup of water after a day out, I would say that you've got no worries with the hull and most repairs are only going to be superficial - but are still needed to prevent further deterioration.

[Outnumbered]

Thanks bluecod

off to get the needed supplies now

[Guest bluecod]

Sheeet!

Forgot to add - when you are sanding fibreglass wear a protective respiratory dust mask - although rare, inhaled airborne glass fibre can cause lung problems.

[Guest bluecod]

How did the repairs go Wombat10?

[Outnumbered]

slowly mate

using the glass repair kit is tricky and messy on such small areas, i also got some gelcoat putty that was recomended by the shop to fill the smaller cracks and chips and to fill / color the glass repairs.

color matching is real hard too so i'm practicing on the chips on the keel to get it right.

the glass repairs do seem to be a stronger bond than the putty but the putty seems to hold up very well to a screwdriver after 24 hours drying.

the putty says for repairs up to 50mm wide but i wouldnt use it on anything wider than 2 or 3 mm, but it does fill my dodgey glass job well

thanks again for your help