Marine-Tex?

[Melody beachcomber]

Hi all,

My apologies if this has been talked about, I've spent a lot of time searching and couldn't find it.

I'm a complete newbie and concerned about a top corner of my beachcomber that the PO used lots of silicone to "repair". As the trailer will be stored outside all winter, harsh in Saskatchewan, I'd like to do a better repair this fall (and its cooling off fast).

I've found Marine-Tex repair putty and thought I could remove the silicone, sand, and put that on. Is that a complete no no or would it work!


Thanks!

[Raspy]

A broken corner from an impact will probably require glass and polyester resin. Marine-Tex is excellent epoxy, and sticks to fiberglas well, but does not soak into cracks. Later, fiberglass resin won't stick to marine tex if you wanted to repair some fiber damage.

Can't really tell what happened there, but it looks like it needs some glass work and polyester resin for the best repair.

[k corbin]

The first step you need to do is take off all that caulking so you can see exactly how extensive the damage is. Then post a photo of that area once it is cleaned up.

Such repairs are specific to the extent of the damage so the damage does need to be clearly seen first before a repair plan can be established. But not too worry, help is on hand and replies will come in almost as soon as you get the new photos posted.

Since it is outside once the silicone if off if needed you can temporarily use some plastic sheet and duct tape to seal off that area to keep water out.

Take a deep breath, you will get it done before the cold bites.

[Melody beachcomber]

My handyman/mechanic friend thinks I should leave it for the winter - that makes me nervous. On the other hand, I have no place to store it covered while removing the silicone and coming up with a plan.

Here's a pic of the side:



It's supposed to be warm this weekend but days are getting short... I've watched some Fiberglass repair videos and read as much as I have time for over the last week. Sent pics to a fiberglass repair shop and got a quote for 7 hours of work = $1000. The time frame is intimidating (when considering attempting the work myself over two days) and the cost of having them doing it is prohibitive.

Feeling pressure to fix it or try to forget it quick!

[Raspy]

Since time and money are pressing you, just do what you can to seal it up for the winter and deal with it in the spring.

Sealing it with tape and plastic or even more silicone won't burn any bridges for later repairs and it will not leak this winter.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Since time and money are pressing you, just do what you can to seal it up for the winter and deal with it in the spring.

Sealing it with tape and plastic or even more silicone won't burn any bridges for later repairs and it will not leak this winter.

[Melody beachcomber]

Whew, thank you!

I'd much rather do my first repair on an easier area and/or not feeling so pressured by time and weather.

What type of plastic should I use? (Product Brands) Should I extend it several feet around the area?

Are there any circumstances you would use Marine-Tex? A local kayak shop recommended it for my repairs.

[Melody beachcomber]

Any recommendations for sanders?

This Bosch orbital is on sale and has good reviews:

https://www.lowes.ca/sanders-polishe..._g2591863.html

Or would a detail sander be best? I'm sure there's times when it would be good to have both, but....I'm already bleeding money at the moment....need something that's a good multi-purpose...down the road for this corner repair and just sanding down gel coat cracks/missing for repair.

[The Minimalist]

seal it for the winter with aluminum tape.

[Byron Kinnaman]

I had some fiberglass damage about a year ago. Some guy ran into my parked Scamp in a parking lot.
The repair was done at a local boat repair shop. Great work, not as expensive as the RV repair shop, done quickly. I really recommend that you find a nice friendly boat repair shop. You might even be able to get them to talk you through the repair, but I would let them do it that way there's some sort of warranty.

[flowman]

Another consideration (re budget) is unless they said otherwise the repair shop probably quoted you a price for not only a structural repair, but matching gelcoat (since most people would want a "good as new" repair). You could probably get it patched enough for winter for much less and match up the gelcoat later.

I don't have direct experience with the Bosch (I have owned and been happy with two similar Porter Cable RO sanders), but I am blown away every day by the quality and power of my Bosch jigsaw and LiION drill driver combo--amazing tools!
Good luck, and remember the hitchhiker's guide: "Don't panic"
Steve

[Melody beachcomber]

Originally Posted by flowman

Another consideration (re budget) is unless they said otherwise the repair shop probably quoted you a price for not only a structural repair, but matching gelcoat (since most people would want a "good as new" repair). You could probably get it patched enough for winter for much less and match up the gelcoat later.

I don't have direct experience with the Bosch (I have owned and been happy with two similar Porter Cable RO sanders), but I am blown away every day by the quality and power of my Bosch jigsaw and LiION drill driver combo--amazing tools!
Good luck, and remember the hitchhiker's guide: "Don't panic"
Steve

yes, I asked the repair shop if it would cut quote down to half if I removed the silicone myself and did my own gel coat. he suggested I bring it in for him to have a look. Not easy to pop by with it. The quote did include 2 hours of labor for gel coat and the material cost for gel coat was much higher than the fiberglass repair. Labor alone (@ $120/hr) would bring the cost down to $600.

Fiberglass without gel coat is 100% waterproof?

[Talia]

Just a tip on removing the caulking. I had a whole bunch of it on my Compact Jr that I needed to remove, and I found it was pretty painless and easy if you just soak it with acetone for 20-30 minutes first, then it will simply wipe off with about the same consistency as toothpaste.

What I did around the window and vent openings was to tear up some old rags into strips, soak them in acetone, and press them into place around the openings. Then I wrapped the edge of the openings with aluminum foil, scrunching it around the rags and held in place with clothespins to keep them in the right spot, and also to slow down the evaporation of the acetone.

Worked a charm. I probably spent two hours tops removing the masses of old caulking from my trailer.

[Melody beachcomber]

Originally Posted by Talia

Just a tip on removing the caulking. I had a whole bunch of it on my Compact Jr that I needed to remove, and I found it was pretty painless and easy if you just soak it with acetone for 20-30 minutes first, then it will simply wipe off with about the same consistency as toothpaste.

What I did around the window and vent openings was to tear up some old rags into strips, soak them in acetone, and press them into place around the openings. Then I wrapped the edge of the openings with aluminum foil, scrunching it around the rags and held in place with clothespins to keep them in the right spot, and also to slow down the evaporation of the acetone.

Worked a charm. I probably spent two hours tops removing the masses of old caulking from my trailer.

thank you!

[k corbin]

Melody you have a lot of fear right now because you are facing things you don't know how to do or even what it is like to do them. Why not try to get rid of some of the unknown without attempting the actual repair?

Have a crafty play day with a small fiberglass repair kit.
Head to the hardware store or auto parts store. Buy a small fiberglass repair kit that has resin, hardener and some cloth. Get some gloves too and a couple of stir sticks, one of the small yellow spatula type of spreaders used for fiberglass work. Take an old object you don't care about such a plastic storage box with rounded edges or some container and cover it with the materials from the kit. Follow the instructions on the label for mixing.

I hated fiberglass when I first started working with it and it frustrated me, I don't enjoy working with sticky messy stuff to begin with. But then one of the professional repair people in my neighborhood taught me a trick I use often and that has made it much easier. Cover a board or other work surface with some plastic sheeting. A cut open thick plastic garbage bag will do just fine, tape it down so it does not move. Cut a piece of the cloth. Lay it on the board. Spread some resin on it. The cloth will turn from white to looking more translucent when there is enough resin on it. You don't want it to have so much that it is dripping off when you pick it up. Now drape it on the object you want to cover and smooth it down.

To reduce the stress of learning a new task try to relate the job to other task you may have done before because there are some similarities there.
Have you ever made lasagna? Flat noodles covered in sauce
Have you ever done paper mache with newspaper soaked in glue?
Have you ever frosted a cake?
Have you ever used sandpaper?
Very few of us reach an adult age without having done crafts as young kids at school or camps or having spent some time in the kitchen.
See ...you already do have some of the experience that will help make it easier.

If you do decide to delay the repair until spring you will have time to practice your skills. You can buy a whole bunch of fiberglass materials to practice with for the cost of a half hour worth of labor at a repair shop.

I had a hole 3 inches long in a complex curved area on my trailer to fix, it was not that difficult to do but it took some patience and thinking it through and some sanding and extra filler and more sanding. But mostly it just requires patience to take the time to get the surface just right rather than actually needing a lot of technical skill.

[Melody beachcomber]

Awesome, thanks!

I have two days off. It's supposed to be 24c today and cloudy. Chance of rain tomorrow.

I've got repair supplies and thinking of taking the plunge...nervous though in case I open a bigger can of worms then I can handle in one day. If do the repair this afternoon, would I cover it with something before going to bed in case of rain?

[Talia]

Originally Posted by Melody beachcomber

Awesome, thanks!

I have two days off. It's supposed to be 24c today and cloudy. Chance of rain tomorrow.

I've got repair supplies and thinking of taking the plunge...nervous though in case I open a bigger can of worms then I can handle in one day. If do the repair this afternoon, would I cover it with something before going to bed in case of rain?

Fiberglass cures very quickly. Shouldn't be any issue for a repair to get rained on after it has hardened.

[Melody beachcomber]

Removed silicone, wasn't nearly as deep as I feared! is any Fiberglass work required?

How do I fix this?

[Melody beachcomber]

[Melody beachcomber]