Fiberglass Help

I just looked at the cover a little harder, and I think the only thing holding it together is the duct tape and all the screws. Yikes!

I think maybe I did to good of a job on Bens tank :laugh:

Missy

Post edited by: quadsheavn, at: 2005/11/12 09:54

MAN.. that things rough... I'd almost call it a loss... but give it a shot... it can only get better fron there. be paitent fitting the cracks back to gether... and things sould turn out ok... get yourself some of those spring clamps to help hold it together while you work on it.... good luck!

BTW.. make sure you get all the 'glue'? stuff off... down to the glass or the resin wont stick to it

Post edited by: kzjim, at: 2005/11/12 18:07

Yeah I am going to give it a go, and see what happens. I cant make it look any worse then it does now. Its all up hill from here.... hopefully :laugh:


Missy

True Dat! Good God Gertrude!!! What a mess...But I'm sure you will prevail---Show some 'after' pics when you're finished.

good luck,
Oz

I hope you are charging whoever for your labor.

A job like that, easily could be 9 hours to prime, 14 hours total.

9 @ $42 = $378 bodywork
5 @ $38 = $190 prime/refinish
5 @ $21 = $105 materials

---

***********$673

And that's a low estimate for something like that.
You could justify $800+ for a piece in that condition.

John68 wrote:

I hope you are charging whoever for your labor.

A job like that, easily could be 9 hours to prime, 14 hours total.

9 @ $42 = $378 bodywork
5 @ $38 = $190 prime/refinish
5 @ $21 = $105 materials

---

***********$673

And that's a low estimate for something like that.
You could justify $800+ for a piece in that condition.

Heh... Too bad this is a donation..

The whole boat was donated to a county run search and rescue. My wife was asked to see what she could do with it after the "man in charge" saw what she did with my bike. She has a soft heart...

If it was me, I'd stick it to em!

Ben

Post edited by: twin_rotor, at: 2005/11/19 17:45

twin_rotor wrote:

She has a soft heart...

[/quote]

What can I say


Missy

Post edited by: quadsheavn, at: 2005/11/23 07:45

I would like to ask anyone that has had experience with fiberglass repair for some help.

I really tore into the cover a few days ago, and after I got all the old uncured bondo off it, I started to sand the cracked areas. I know that I need to sand it down in the cracked areas, but do I want to open up the cracks and sand them smooth?

Also, what would be the best way to get clue off? The inside of the cover had foam padding glued in, and I have tried a heat gun thinking it would soften it some.. It did not help any. Then I tried a blade, and that just took the hard edges off.

Any help you gentlemen would be willing to share would be wonderful.

Missy

For the glue.....try "Goo_Gone" or MEK. OR...if you got a paint/body jobber around....some "real" adhesive remover. I know 3M makes some and it works REALLY well. OH!....and a good putty knife for scraping the yuck off......Good luck.

Missy,

I don't know much about fiberglass, but I'm pretty sure that when it's made originally, each layer is put on before the last one has dried. This lets the layers chemically mesh together, so that they adhere.

I wouldn't sand ANYTHING smooth that I wanted the fiberglass to stick to. Since the existing fiberglass is dried, the new stuff won't settle into it chemically. The more surface area you have, the more chance you'll have for mechanical adhesion. A smooth surface won't have enough surface features to hold onto the new stuff very well, so you need to really rough it up to get a good bond. Consider the grittiest sandpaper you can find, or even a rough file.

get all the paint/goo and what else is on there off... use about a 60 grit to rough up the area to be fixed.. you can trim the cracked area if needed to get the cracked area to fit together properly.. 'glass dosent break clean.
like i mentioned in my first post.. start with cloth 'glass to reinforce from the back .. if you have gaps.. take 'chopped mat' and shred it up and fill the gaps. build up the front area with resin.. so it can be sanded and shaped.
make sure there are no air bubbles in the new areas..


www.jamestowndistributors.com/to;ID;,Fiberglass

One other item that has not been discussed is tempeture.
I have done a considerable amount of fiberglass work and have found that the ambient and/or artificial temperture will affect the quality of the work, IE: the ideal tempeture appears to be 65/70~. If too cold the resin will not set properly and the cloth may not adhere to the previous layer. If too much over 70~ the resin may set so rapidly that it is difficult to properly work the cloth and/or matting. However, in either case the mixture of resin can be adjusted, somewhat, to compensate for these problems.
Harry