Fix a crack in the fiberglass?

[Lisle]

There are 3 small cracks in the fiberglass above the bellyband and under the back window of my 2018 Casita. A repair guy told me it would be expensive and difficult to fix these. You'd have to carve out the area, support it, and put on new webbing and layers of fiberglass. So I have white duct tape covering them to prevent water leaking in.

Then I just took a turn too tightly and scored a line down the driver's side of my camper on a piece of metal that was sticking out!!! I'm heartsick.

Does anyone know of a way to apply something like sealer or paint to these very small cracks and scratches in the fiberglass? Otherwise, it's more white duct tape.

Thanks

[Darwin Maring]

JB Weld
https://www.jbweld.com/

[John in Santa Cruz]

JB. Weld is absolutely the wrong stuff here.

Find a fiberglass BOAT repair shop, they will fix it like new.
Local guy here fixed this rip on my door so good I can't tell it was ever broken

[Mike_L]

I'm not sure why these cracks are appearing however in my experience, fiberglass is very strong and cracks can indicate an underlying problem. Maybe the underlying problem is the support structures need attention. Without sufficient structural support, stresses are transferred to the fiberglass and causes cracks.
The repair guy is correct as to how the cracks should be fixed.

[Darwin Maring]

Gell coat always has small cracks as the item ages. A picture would be good.
Fiberglass on the other hand may crack when stressed or damaged.

[Glenn Baglo]

I think fibreglass tears, rather than cracks, because of the fibres.

[Darwin Maring]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I think fibreglass tears, rather than cracks, because of the fibres.

The chop guns make it look like Orient Strand Board and it delaminates. The woven cloth that is the best has at least 2 layers going in opposite directions and is the absolute best and higher priced. Does not delaminate or tear. High priced boats are woven and most campers are chop gun. When the glass comes out of the gun it is chopped and resin applied and the operator must use a roller to get air bubles out and to insure adhesion of the resin. A lazy operator and you wind up with chop that is not glued correctly.

[Jon in AZ]

There are at least three distinct types of damage. To start we need to know which we're talking about.

(1) Spider cracks are surface cracks that only go through the outer gelcoat layer.

(2) Gouges and scrapes go deeper than the gelcoat into structural layers but not all the way through.

(3) Fractures, tears, and punctures go all the way through all layers of the fiberglass.

The first two can generally be repaired from the outside only.

The third requires access to the inside to do structural reinforcement. It also calls for assessment of the cause if it's not obvious, or it may recur.

[Lisle]

I can't figure out how to post a picture here from my computer. But the scoring on the side of my camper is very narrow (1/32"). It does go into the gel coat in a couple places, I think, because white powdery stuff fell out of the gouged line in places. What would be the right material to seal this up?

[ShelbyM]

Anyone try this for spider cracks? https://buy.magicezy.com/repairing-h...epair-gelcoat/

[parmm]

Deep cracks - Drill a tiny hole at each end of the crack. This will stop the crack from extending any further.

[John in Michigan]

Originally Posted by Lisle

I can't figure out how to post a picture here from my computer. But the scoring on the side of my camper is very narrow (1/32"). It does go into the gel coat in a couple places, I think, because white powdery stuff fell out of the gouged line in places. What would be the right material to seal this up?

Lisle, your Casita's shell is constructed is polyester resin and chopped fiberglass. The gelcoat layer is simply pigmented (white) and thickened polyester resin.

Having owned "vintage" molded fiberglass campers for a number of years I have done many fiberglass repairs from gelcoat layer scratches and pinholes to holes in the body that I can put my hand through.

Because the cracks to your trailer are limited to the gelcoat layer, you should be able to attempt repairing. If you aren't happy with the results, just sand out and try again. Many youtube videos explain how to do gelcoat scratch and crack repairs.

First I would:

- For cracks use a small v shaped grinding bit to grind a hole into the gelcoat (but not below) at each end of the crack.
- Using the v shaped bit enlarge each crack line to accept repair material.
- Any jagged or irregular damage should be removed again with a v shaped bit.

Repair material options:

- Contact Casita to determine if they have a matching gelcoat repair kit.
- Buy a gelcoat repair kit from Amazon or Westmarine or other supplier. Here's an example of products:

https://www.westmarine.com/gelcoat-repair

- Some people use marine tex epoxy for easy repairs to cosmetic damage.

[RollinMike]

Do not use jb weld as someone suggested. Fiberglass is very easy to repair and anyone who says otherwise hasn't done it before.


As said above, take it to a boat yard. They will have 500x more experience with fiberglass than any RV shop.


It's not hard to DIY just search fiberglass repair on youtube or read the manual from West System.


https://www.westsystem.com/wp-conten...anual-2015.pdf

[Jane P.]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

JB. Weld is absolutely the wrong stuff here.

Find a fiberglass BOAT repair shop, they will fix it like new.
Local guy here fixed this rip on my door so good I can't tell it was ever broken

You can take John’s suggestion to the bank.

I use to race sailboats, and Boat repair shops understand fiberglass repair. Once the damaged area is repaired you’ll need to match it to the surrounding gelcoat texture & color. This is something best done by a professional.

[jerrybob]

If you have only spider cracks......they won't hurt anything and you really need to do nothing unless the look bothers you. They're kinda like wrinkles on your face as you get older......they don't hurt anything but some folks don't like them and spend a lot of time and money getting rid of them. I've got a few spider cracks and wrinkles......probalby will get a few more over time.