Help! - Fiberglass Patch - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-04-2013, 01:40 AM   #1
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Name: Peter
Trailer: Trillium Jubilee 15'-0
British Columbia
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Help! - Fiberglass Patch

Can anyone point me to an instructional video ( or offer advice ) that will help me to patch the hole in my trailer that was left when I removed the furnace vent - see attached photo.

I've been to the local fibreglass shop and they really helped me out with supplies, mat resin etc. I've kind of got a feel for taping something smooth over the hole on the exterior to act as a 'form' to lay the resin and mat against from the inside and build it up in 4 or 5 layers.

What is a mystery to me though is what you do with the 'Gel Coat' on the outside. What is Gel Coat - is it just a type of paint that goes over the patch once it's sanded smooth outside? How do you blend it in to the surrounding surface without having a ridge somewhere ? How do you match the colour ?

Thanks for any forthcoming help !
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Trillium - Furnace Vent Openeing .jpg  
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Old 03-04-2013, 03:56 AM   #2
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"Real" gelcoat cures in a non oxygen environment on the inside of a form. Normally you would do the gelcoat first and then put the resin, matt, etc on top of it.

When you are all done with your repair you will use a small amount of bondo, sand it smooth, and touch it up with the finish product of your choice.
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Old 03-04-2013, 05:05 AM   #3
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You can get gelcoat color matched, might be worth asking the same shop. If so, and they do the work, I might have them do that part of it, after you do the repair. They'll have more experience in getting it to blend in.

If not, I would get paint color matched, mask off a square to paint, and hope for the best.
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Old 03-04-2013, 06:10 AM   #4
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Peter
I would just get a piece of 3/16" aluminum plate and cut it to match the old vent then use the same mounting holes. Leave it with the mill finish or paint the patch to match trailer. A lot less issues and problems.
Eddie
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Old 03-04-2013, 06:18 AM   #5
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do like i did and mount an outside light there. My furnace vent hole was just a little big, about 1/4"or so, for the light I was using so I made an adapter plate from 1/8" aluminum. I used a 12 volt light, and it's been real handy having it there.
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Old 03-04-2013, 06:26 AM   #6
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I second the aluminum plate idea.
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Old 03-04-2013, 06:51 AM   #7
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+1 for light, aluminum plate or other access door. You could get an access door and wire in an external outlet for something useful.

Round Electrical Hatch 21-481-2-A

If you want to learn about fiberglass go to Youtube. There are lots of instructional videos there, including gelcoat.
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Old 03-04-2013, 07:13 AM   #8
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Fiberglass is easy to work with, but Ive not gotten to be able to not be able to tell work was done in that spot stage yet. Sometimes its better to let a pro do it and they can match the colour and it wont be visible. Or add a hatch to camoflage the hole.

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Old 03-04-2013, 07:19 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deryk View Post
...... colour .......
Are you going Canadian on us?
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Old 03-04-2013, 08:42 AM   #10
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I took out the furnace and just insulated the hole and put the old vent back on

Ron
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Old 03-04-2013, 09:09 AM   #11
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There is certainly a lot of good options. This what is so great about this Forum .
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Old 03-04-2013, 09:45 AM   #12
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Peter, as others have suggested putting a dummy cover on it may be your best option. Matching up the gelcoat colour can be a challenge unless you are planning on repainting the whole trailer as can be doing a nice smooth job without damaging a bigger area than you had planned to. If you are not comfortable doing body work on your trailer another option is if you are anywhere near Escape Trailers in Chilliwack is to contact them. They may be able to help you with it or point you in the direction of someone who is good at fiberglass repair. Escape does a lot of trailer repairs/fixes of all kinds for owners of all makes of fiberglass trailers and compared to other big RV repair shops their prices are very reasonable. Not to mention they know a lot about Trillium's having sold one of the models for awhile.
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Old 03-04-2013, 11:44 AM   #13
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About +5 for putting a cover plate on it and calling it a day.

I'm a great believer in DIY but I also have a ton on fg experience and without sounding really negative and for a whole bunch of reasons that I won't get into, put a cover plate on it
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Old 03-04-2013, 12:53 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RRJR View Post
I took out the furnace and just insulated the hole and put the old vent back on

Ron
Times.....how many?

You'll never be able to "hide" the repair, so much better in my opinion to just put the original cover back in place over some insulation.

Another consideration is that someone down the road-even possibly you- may want to put a furnace in again.

Francesca
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Old 03-04-2013, 01:07 PM   #15
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Could use the spot to wire in an ac and dc plugs... Never know when You will have use for them!

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Old 03-04-2013, 01:14 PM   #16
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I say if you feel okay with trying your hand at fiberglass work, go for it! Sand the outside as smooth as you can, Bondo where needed, get the best spray-paint match you can find for color, and don't worry too much about it, unless you are planning to take the trailer to some kind of Super Fancy Trailer Show.

Or, you could patch it up, squirt on some paint, and then put a big sticker on that spot if you don't want the fiberglass patch to show.

And if some owner in the future wants a hole in that spot, it's pretty easy to make a new hole.
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Old 03-04-2013, 01:30 PM   #17
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I patched some large openings in my Trillium, including the heater hole:

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post302849

I decided at the start to paint the whole trailer, so I wasn't worried about matching gelcoat.

It will be very hard for you to fiberglass/gelcoat in place. The problem will be that the gelcoat, glass will want to flow downward since your surface is vertical.

I prepared fiberglass "patch" panels flat on a work table. These were cut to the size of the hole. I screwed thru the trailer wall, and the new patch into some wood blocks to provide temporary mounting. Then I applied fiberglass around the seam of the patch with lots of overlap. Careful not to glass in the wood if you don't mean to. Wood blocking is removed when things are set/dry.

Lastly, I applied bondo to the outside seam and temporary drill holes and sanded smooth.
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Old 03-04-2013, 03:02 PM   #18
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I 14th the hatch or re purposing ideas, but if you don't want that, you can do what we used to call in the used RV biz.."an old gypsy trick". Glass in the hole to the best of your ability then put a flat louvered type vent cover over it. Lowes and home depot have them akimbo. It will look like it is supposed to be there, but it has no purpose other than cosmetic. They are paintable.
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Old 03-04-2013, 03:14 PM   #19
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IF proficiency in glass repairs (both structural and cosmetic) is one of your desires, why not? IF you shake when you think about catalyzing a pot of polyester, go with the cover plate, louvre, grill, smiley face or whatever. An expected discontinuity (typical thru hull or furnace exhaust grill) is superior to a patch that isn't. Don't use an old license plate; it ain't a corn crib.

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Old 03-04-2013, 05:40 PM   #20
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tape

if you are painting anyway try the fiberglass

One thing i learned over the years building kayaks is that fiberglass will not stick to clear packing tape.

So coat anything you do not want covered with the tape first
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