Fiberglass repair

[ichthos]

Hello,
I need some help on fiberglass repair and have no idea on where to start. I have spoken to a number of people locally, but they are not of much help. I'm hoping someone out there can offer some suggestions. I have two main fiberglass problems: 1) about one third of the smooth coat (of fiber glass?) on the inside of my hardtop is lifting away from the fiberglass. When I pushed on it, it broke and fell off. How do I get the rest off, and what do I recoat it with? 2) I have a 1 inch crack on the edge fiberglass. How do I make a lasting repair? Would epoxy work? Help on either problem would greatly be appreciated.
Kevin

 

[DNK]

Kevin- I thought the hardtops were steel.'Hope you didn't float or blow away in the last storm. Merry Christmas.
Don

 

[mgb4tim]

Kevin,

Take some pictures. The smooth coat on the inside? What is the outside of the top? Fiberglass or vinyl covered?

I would get some good fiberglass cloth (not roving) and some fiberglass (polyester) resin. Carefully, with a cut off wheel on a grinder, remove what's near falling off, and lay in the new fiberglass cloth over a layer or 2 of chopped strand mat.

You'll need to rough up the surface of the "smooth coat" if it's gelcoat. If you can see strands in it, then you shouldn't need to rough it up.

Overlap the new and old be about 1-2". You can get the resin at a boat supplier.

But, before you start, get some pictures up here so we can see what's coming off.

As for the crack, same process. Let me see how big of an area you need to repair, and I can send you some good cloth.

 

[martx-5]

Google "fiberglass repair". I came up with this... some good info on fiberglass repair.