Zooming off in uncharted waters with your own fiberglass boat is not a thing you would give up on. But this glorious plan could go down in dumps because you favorite fiberglass boat is going through a rough patch. Your boat needs a damage control. Even though fiberglass, made from thin fibers of glass is a tough material, it is bound to undergo some wear and tear at some point of time. In that case, you either have to call an expert or do the fiberglass boat repair by yourself. If you choose the latter and are thinking how can you go about it, here is what you can do.
Fiberglass Boat Floor Repair
Materials
Fiberglass mat fiberglass gel coating, Bondo, supports (if curved piece), sandpaper and cleaning agents and the tools needed are orbit sander, scraper, scissors, tape measure, coping saw/jig saw and cleaning supplies.
Method
Accessing the Damaged Spot
First things first, you have to identify where does the fiberglass repair needs to be done. Ideally, in case of a boat floor, one can access it better from the back side of the floor. However, this is not possible in all the situations. Where it is, make sure you remove anything you might have stored there, to provide convenient and easy fiberglass boat restoration.
Get the Edge
Now for a fiberglass boat floor, the repair instructions are almost going to be the same as fiberglass repair instructions. So after detecting the damage, cut out the damaged section in a way that the edges are as smooth as possible. This will facilitate in easy fiberglass hole repair.
Clean Up
For maximum adherence of the fiberglass epoxy, you require a clean surface. So, after you cut the faulty piece, clean the area around it thoroughly, as all the marine impurities cannot be seen. Further, avoid using agents similar to bleach. They do not gel well and are not suitable with fiberglass epoxy. Before applying epoxy, affirm that the floor surface is dry.
Back Up
Now, in a situation where the faulty part involves a curved section of the boat, repairing it could be tricky. You might need some support to carry out the repair. For that, cut consecutive shapes of plywood and put them together. In the circumstance where you feel you are not going on track, you could refer to fiberglass repair kit for boats as well.
Support Application
Rough up the fiberglass around the damaged area with a steel brush so that the epoxy would have a base to get attached to. Then, cut a piece from the fiberglass sheet which will just be enough to give in 3 inches of overlap to the faulty section.
When the Floor is Curved
In this case, make a foam shape approximating the curve and for matching the curve, cover using a Bondo. Then, follow this up by sanding the Bondo smooth in thin layers. After that, put the fiberglass sheet over the bondo and for getting the requisite shape, apply epoxy. Once the shape is cured, get the fiberglass shape in place with several layers of fiberglass. Finally, smoothen the new shape by rubbing it with sandpaper. This is very important for fiberglass boat floor repair.
The Other Side
After the support is set well in its proper place, check out if the facing side is clean. Now cut the fiberglass in a shape that it will include roughly a 3 inch overlap of the affected area. Now to the deck and underside support, lay out the epoxy and fiberglass. Get rid of any bubbles or wrinkles from the fiberglass mat, which is wet. For a perfect, finished look, this is very crucial.
Use of Sandpaper
Fiberglass boat repair is not complete without a proper sandpaper treatment. Thus, have a 400-grit paper at your disposal and move upwards, while smoothening the surface. Between the grits, though, make sure that the surface is clean. Apart from that, if there is any kind of painting to be done, use the sandpaper after the patch which you think is smooth. Painting would highlight irregularities in the surface.
This was how you could go about a fiberglass boat floor repair. If at all you face a problem, there is always a repair kit to help you out. Actually floor damage is the most common type of damage which occurs in fiberglass boats. That is why the focus is on repairing the floor of the boat.
Do not let a crack or hole in a fiberglass boat spoil your day, you can always mend it! But do not procrastinate the repair as a stitch in time saves nine! I sign off here!
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