Boler fiberglass repair advice..

[spaghettiroad]

Notice the chunk missing near the wheel. Suggestions on how to repair this?

[ArneB]

I would repair with fiberglass. It's not hard to work with and is very forgiving if you make a mistake. I have never done any type of fiberglassing until I bought my 1974 Boler just over a year ago. Since then I have done dozens of hours and had great results. It's all practice and hard work. I think the way I would approach your repair would be to fiberglass a panel in the shape you need on a piece of plywood covered in poly. Then fasten the panel to the damaged area with fiberglass and shape by sanding and apply additional coats of fiberglass. If it doesn't workout first time just cut it out with a saw and start over .


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[spaghettiroad]

Thanks . What's the purpose of the plywood ?

[jkmboler]

The plywood acts as a one sided mold. The piece you need is not flat, but has a slight curve. You can make a curved mold out of almost anything that is flexible but solid enough to allow you to work on it without distorting. The poly will act as a release between the mold and the fiberglass.

[ArneB]

Thanks jkmboler! I found styrofoam can be cut and shaped quiet easy help shape fiberglass.


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[spaghettiroad]

So if I'm understanding correctly shape/curve the Styrofoam to match the curve required, carve out the styrofoam to match the missing piece, pour the Fiberglass let harden to get the proper piece and then bond to shell with epoxy ? What about bonding a hidden piece on the inside of the shell ?

[spaghettiroad]

I'm not getting the process ..,.

[Borrego Dave]

One other way to go for you but you would need to find another owner willing to help. A buddy and I made a mold off of my dune buggy for a repair patch for his as the bodies were the same. Used FG mold release wax on my car, FG matting and resin to get mold to make the curved form he needed to make his repair piece. It worked perfectly but I do have to say that I was a tad nervous about it releasing but it popped off fine with nothing left on my body. Anyway, the same thing would work for you.
Just saw your last post. Not sure but resin may eat the Styrofoam by direct contact.

[jkmboler]

Fiberglass resin will eat Styrofoam. But if you use poly over the Styrofoam, then apply fiberglass mat and resin, you will be fine. (I would test the resin on a test piece of poly to make sure it does not eat the poly)


Also, you could make a fiberglass mold from your own camper, the curved profile further behind the wheel opening is the same curve. You would just need to cut the wheel opening shape after repairing the missing part (and the wheel opening was cut at the factory after the shell was molded anyways). Refer to post #8 regarding procedure for making a mold out of fiberglass.

[Roy in TO]

The body curves should be just about the same to the right or rear of the damage. Rough shape a piece of Styrofoam bigger than the damaged area to match the curve. Tape a piece of saran wrap bigger than the area you want to copy. Get a fast setting gypsum product like poly-filla or sandable 90 and spread a layer onto the rough fitting styrofoam and press that up to the body area you want to copy.

Once set, you have a mold that will give you the curve you need to match the missing piece. Wax the mold surface and lay your fiberglass onto that, with or without gel coat. Once set you will have a piece of fiberglass you can use as a patch. From there, you can do a fiberglass repair.

Alternatively, you could make a mold of the interior surface of the body in a similar fashion. Position that behind the missing area and lay your new FG over that. This allows you to do the repair at the same time as the missing piece. It is just a little harder to finish smooth.

How you finish it will depend on whether the trailer is original or painted. If you are uncomfortable doing fiberglass, this should be an easy cheap repair in a body or boat shop.

[jkmboler]

Poly-filla or sandable 90 is an excellent idea! (sandable 90 will setup in 90 minutes, so it would be much faster than poly-filla).


I don't think you could get the curve from the inside since the curve is below the frame.

[spaghettiroad]

I like it ! Thanks gentlemen ! Once mold is created adhering it from behind and on top I assume ?

[jkmboler]

Once you have the mold made, you can lay up fiberglass and resin to match the thickness of the existing trailer in the mold (don't forget the release agent so you can get the patch out of the mold). You will want to cut the broken edge on the trailer to create a clean straight edge to fit your patch to.


Fiberglass the patch in place from behind after you cut and fit the patch. The better the fit, the less work you will have to finish it up. When the patch is in place, you can cut the wheel opening shape to match the other side.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by jkmboler

Poly-filla or sandable 90 is an excellent idea! (sandable 90 will setup in 90 minutes, so it would be much faster than poly-filla).


I don't think you could get the curve from the inside since the curve is below the frame.

Dental Lab or dental impression plaster sets up in a few minutes. (you could try sourcing out a few cups from a local dental lab)

The lower edge of the body hangs down about 4" from the floor, a little more than the height of the frame. You should be able to copy that curve from the inside.
This picture is from my axle thread a years back, but it gives you an idea of the cross section of a body. The floor under the bed of a boler sits on the top of the frame - the body hangs down from there. The picture is not to scale and actually shows the cross section a little forward where the floor is lower in the kitchen.

[spaghettiroad]

This is great advice. It will be challenging but not impossible. Thanks. Curiously this boler was painted 2yrs ago with marine paint. If I wanted to roll and tip, could I just go over the existing or do I have to sand everything off?

[jkmboler]

I stand corrected (on accessing from the backside). But creating the mold from the outside will result in a nice flat/smooth surface finish on the patch when pulled from the mold. And ultimately, less work when the patch is fitted, glassed in place and final surface work prior to paint is done.


If you can match the paint, you should only need to do some minor sanding and surface prep, then paint the area blending into existing areas.

[spaghettiroad]

Thanks. Planning to go with a silver marine. Still light sanding and 2 coats over the existing ?

[jkmboler]

Should be fine. Use a primer on any areas of bare fiberglass. And possibly a skim coat of non-hydroscopic (marine grade non-water absorbing) body filler to smooth out the repaired areas.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by spaghettiroad

Still light sanding and 2 coats over the existing ?

Best bet is to find out what marine paint was used in the 1st place. Some may be finicky when being recoated with a different product and no priming.

[Johnny M]

Cardboard & great stuff expandable foam is great for making molds for fiberglassing on top of. You can use them to make molds of the curves of the camper too, I did it and it works well. The key when using fiberglass with anything wood, styrofoam or similar products is to use wax paper so the fiber glass will release from you molds as a substitution for the gel coat used in professional molds. Gel coat serves as a release agent but also as the exterior finish of the finished product.