Fiberglass Body Panel

[squatch-lover]

Where would one find a fiberglass body panel comparable to the fiberglass shell already in place? I want it to have similar strength to the surrounding fiberglass. Thanks in advance!

[jcstanley]

home depot ! they call it industrial bathroom panels .

[Terry G]

Both Lowes and Home Depot carry fiberglass inexpensive sheets but the kind they stock has a knobbly texture that may not be right for your project. Check out Plastic Sheet, Rod & Tube - Custom Fabrication - Fast Shipping | ePlastics®. They have a very wide selection of styles and thicknesses.

[squatch-lover]

Thanks! I will look into it.

[David Tilston]

FRP, (fiber reinforced panels) that are available at home depot are not as thick as a fibreglass trailer would be. They are also not UV resistant. That is, they will weather in the sun.

[Bob Miller]

Maybe if you tell us what you have and what you are trying to do you will get a better answer. It sounds like you want something with which to repair a body shell.

[D White]

make your own

[bullfrogeh]

Originally Posted by squatch-lover

Where would one find a fiberglass body panel comparable to the fiberglass shell already in place? I want it to have similar strength to the surrounding fiberglass. Thanks in advance!

I'd check the local 'dump' where ours has rejected abandoned or damaged boats, available for salvage.

[squatch-lover]

Yes Bob. Trying to repair the exterior fiberglass camper shell.

[Borrego Dave]

What area are you trying to repair? How about posting some pics.

[redbarron55]

Sometimes you can use thin blue foam to hand lay up fiberglass on.
You can tape the foam to the back side and feather the edge on the existing part you want to match. The layup goes over this and will later be sanded smooth and flat to match the surface. For greater strength you then fiberglass the back and you have a stiff sandwich composite made in place.
I scarfed some of the internal fiberglass walls removed from my Scamp to fill in the many many cutouts in the camper. In this case I used heavy aluminum tape to hold the patched i place with the inside scarfed and layed up strips of fiberglass to bond them in place. The outside is relatively flush and I will use bondo to fair in the repair.



The above are examples of both sides of the patch behind the door where the big hole was. Sorry for the out of focus first shot, but you can get the idea.

[squatch-lover]

Thanks for the info. My patch would be a little larger (approx. 2' x 3'). Do you think that would be good enough to maintain the structural integrity of the shell? Actually, there is a 1" foam core behind the fiberglass shell already.

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[Jack L]

A post months ago said that Scamp will sell "cut out's) from their manufacturing process. A refrigerator cut out or window cut out might help. You could give Scamp a call.

[Bob Miller]

Are you trying to fill in where refrigerator doors/vents were located?


Can you give us a hint about what trailer you are working on. Most list that in their personal info panel in the upper left corner

[redbarron55]

If you have the foam behind it would work ok. It is only the substrate to hold the new layer in place while it is made and cured.
I used epoxy resin. When you make the beveled scarf leave it rough so that the epoxy has some tooth to grab onto.
If you can lay up to the scarf and get progressively bigger to lay into three scarf so much the better for strength.
If you overlay and then finish the bump level it will be good enough for our purpose.
I would use several plies of 6.5 oz. fabric and epoxy and use a brush and little roller time get good saturation. By saturation I mean filling the weave, but as little excess epoxy as possible in excess.
If you can lay it up and cone it with wax paper or some other release film you might have less sanding bad filling to do.
Good luck. Also you can Google fiberglass layup for more info.
Do not use polyester on foam because lots of times it will dissolve the foam.

Best regards

JD Barron

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[David Tilston]

I have no experiance with epoxy, but I have heard that is expensive, nothing but epoxy will stick to it, and it is more suitable to a boat environment.

Polyester resin is available at an automotive store, and is what our trailers are made of to begin with. But people with a boating background frequently recommend epoxy.

[squatch-lover]

I have heard that about epoxy. Thanks. So much great info and I really appreciate the help. I did see that scamp sells body panels on their website. Seems like it might make it simpler than trying to mat and glass a large broad area.

[redbarron55]

My experience is that polyester resin is that it will dissolve the foam.
Epoxy is required in underwater repairs, polyester is OK for above waterline.
However you should use what you want, but you may want to test the foam first.



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[Keaner]

Originally Posted by redbarron55

Sometimes you can use thin blue foam to hand lay up fiberglass on.
You can tape the foam to the back side and feather the edge on the existing part you want to match. The layup goes over this and will later be sanded smooth and flat to match the surface. For greater strength you then fiberglass the back and you have a stiff sandwich composite made in place.
I scarfed some of the internal fiberglass walls removed from my Scamp to fill in the many many cutouts in the camper. In this case I used heavy aluminum tape to hold the patched i place with the inside scarfed and layed up strips of fiberglass to bond them in place. The outside is relatively flush and I will use bondo to fair in the repair.



The above are examples of both sides of the patch behind the door where the big hole was. Sorry for the out of focus first shot, but you can get the idea.

Hi JD. How many sheets of mat did you use to get the proper thickness? The avg thickness of my boler is approx 3/16. I'm planning on laying up sheets to patch the holes left from my fridge removal.
Cheers

[redbarron55]

I did not use mat, but rather woven fabric. What I bought off ebay was 6.4 oz. 59 inc wide X 30' long. Here is a link :

Brand New *fiberglass Cloth Plain Weave 6 48oz 59"Wide in 30ft Long | eBay

Here is the link to the epoxy I used:

Epoxy Resin Boat Building Marine Grade Laminating for Fiberglass and Wood 2 Gal | eBay
This resin mixed 1:1 to make mixing it easier. There may easily be better resin, but I think it is more than adequate for our use.

As to how many plies you should use depends on how much resin is in the layup and the weight of the fabric. I would plan on 4 -5 ply to build up the thickness. You can judge by paying attention the the buildup across the scarf. If you layup across the scarf (which you wull have to grind flat after the cure) the build up here is the same thickness as the panel you are building up.
You want to work the resin through the fabric and make sure it s fully wetted out, but no excess to add weight, but little strength.
Here is a Utube for layup off the unit, but the techniques are similar.

Here is a good write up that looks pretty good:

Fiberglass Repair by Don Casey - BoatTECH - BoatUS

I scarfed in scrap pieces left over from the internal fiberglass pieces removed to be replaced with new cabinets etc. I did not make new panels from fiberglass layup, but listed is what I could find to help.

Good luck