Repairing a fiberglass crack

[mmcgowan55]

I need to repair a triangular crack in the fiberglass directly behind the tire. Looks like it hit a curb hard and bent the fiberglass. It is a deep crack, almost bent through. My concern is that the piece will come off when I start working with it. Open to suggestions!

[Jack L]

Please post a photo or two. Inside view as well as outside if possible.

[emij]

We had a similar type crack in one of our wheel wells. I patched it with fiberglass from the inside to strengthen it and then used a bondo product on the outside to fill in the crack. Sanded it then used a 3m marine grade paint to touch it up. If you look close, you can see it because the color doesn't match exactly, but you have to be looking for it.

[Kevin K]

This might work.

[CampyTime]

Captain Tolley's product is not for repairing structural damage to FG, as OP has written about. It is for sealing fine cracks, such as the spider cracking we often see on our trailers due to gelcoat and FG flexing at different rates, or minor impact damage. It is thinner than water, and will not work here.

The reply you received to use FG and resin patch on inside coupled with bondo or other similar product on outside to fill crack followed with painting will strengthen the substrate.


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[Keaner]

I would lay a piece of fiberglass mat from the inside as well as the outside. Fill in with fiberglass paste - Bondo having the best product. Sand, prime, paint.

[kevin57]

This video series will show you how to properly fix it while retaining full structural integrity. He makes good videos, has a cool personality and knows what he's doing.

http://youtu.be/i9hfpOCnzEs

[Kai in Seattle]

Suggestion for holding it together while you work on it (we know exactly what you mean--or we think we do!):

To hold the loose/questionable parts together, put some blue masking/ construction tape across a few places and gently work around them. The kind used for home interior work to mask and whatnot. They hold well for a while (days, weeks, but not forever) and come off nearly perfectly clean. No residue if you don't leave them for months.

Then when that has set, pull those off and fill in the gaps with more fibierglass & resin. Possibly use only mat rather than fiberglass cloth, as it may have more strength.

Paul's becoming really comfortable doing this, and yesterday finished the 2 x 3 foot hole where the fridge vent used to be, hole #58 out of 59.

Earlier he had to redo an area of the wheel well that also was probably a curb strike. He's used the blue masking tape many times now to hold bits together before the glass could take over, and it's worked very well.

Good luck! Good glassing!

[CampyTime]

I agree with the blue masking tape or green frog tape. Just enough to keep all stable and held, albeit gently and loosely, till you're done.

Great ideas here. After all the reading I've done on the site, if I had repairs to do, I'd use the polyester resin like found in bondo as it's like on like for our trailers. Then I'd finish up with gelcoat or paint, depending upon how flashy I felt at the time. In the end, no repair will be dead on perfect unless you take to a pro. And we're all trying for the best we can do, saving structural and cosmetic integrity, while still having a few bucks left in out bank accounts.

I took my scamp to a gelcoat guy locally. After a $2000 price tag for what amounts to gelcoat cracks, I'll live with it. 😊


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[mmcgowan55]

Thanks for all the ideas! I feel more confident that i can do-it-myself!