Fiberglass repair questions

[albinotrout]

Since my son attempted to park the boat on the dock and not next to it I now have a small repair to make to the hull. The damaged spot is only about the size of a quarter and did not penetrate. I plan on purchasing the supplies thursday for the repair. What am I going to need?

Here is a pic.

[inline securedownload-400.jpg]
[signature]

[Q_Ball]

You can do a quick patch job or take the time to do a real repair. If its just the gel coat(tinted resin), easy fix with a gel coat repair kit that has multiple colors to get the shade just right. 80, 120, 320 grit sandpaper, acetone.
If the damage is a little deeper, looks like it is(fiber strands are white and stressed, no longer bound in resin) same as above for finishing but you'll need to grind out the damage and flair out from the center. Quarter size damage could go to 2" or even 6" or more depending. flapper wheel on a grinder works great, 5 bucks at HF.
After grinding and cleaning, the depression needs to be built back up in layers with fiberglass and resin. cut small circle of fiberglass cloth the progressively larger for each additional layer until its just above level the sand flush.

Sounds harder than it is. I did an entire boat with no previous experience. Mine suffered from an owner that had a drill and a saws all.
[signature]

[albinotrout]

You do good work. Now I just gotta find the stuff. Any recommendations?
[signature]

[Q_Ball]

Thanks. So a few notes on resin.
There is waxed ad un-waxed, the resin will not fully cure if exposed to oxygen. the wax will rise to the surface and create a shell and allow it to cure. the down side is resin will not adhere to the wax, so it must be sanded if allowed to cure. un-waxed will harden but stays tacky and can add more layers then add wax on the final coat. un-waxed is also called laminating resin.

fiberglass comes in multiple ways and thickness. for your repair just the basic is needed.
mat-short strands arranged in a random pattern to make sheets. very strong in all directions, uses lots of resin, tends to lay uneven but great for build up.
cloth-also called woven roven. full length strands woven at 90 deg of each other. looks like denim or heavy cloth. extremely strong but only in two directions LxW. diagonal very weak but if layered at 45 deg angles it super strong. typically thinner and lays flat.

now that that out of they way. Lowes, Home Depot and even Wal-mart have fiberglass in small packages and waxed resin in pint size. note: this inexpensive resin has a short working time. best to do small batches 4-8 oz. disposable brushes and plastic bondo scrapers work great. paint and push the resin into the fiberglass till saturated then the next layer. use the scrapper to even out the resin and even squeegee off excess.

I know West Marine and Marine products have the gel coat repair kits along with resin on fiberglass. gets expensive if you buy their high end resins and only use 1/4 of it.

found a couple good videos.

[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz5WCfipaNw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz5WCfipaNw[/url]
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoKAHU5xUw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsoKAHU5xUw[/url]
[signature]

[albinotrout]

Thanks for the help. I will be at lowes thirsday anyway so I will check them out. Also will be at west marine picking up parts for the Bimini. I am adding a support brace for that to get it up and out of the way.
[signature]

[albinotrout]

Well I got it done. I found the repair kits at west marine. Ha a little hard time matching the color but not bad for a first time. Here's the after pic.
[signature]