Repairing fiberglass nick

I looked online for fiberglass repair help and it seems it's all the same kind of resin, gel coat, scratch repair stuff.
The chip/nick I received today is pretty significant as far as it not only chipped the paint off it also chipped some of the fiberglass off as well. It'll need building up and before repainting is done.
I figure I'll tape off the surrounding area and use some resin to fill it in and then sand it down til it's smooth.
Anyone have any experience with this? I feel pretty confident I won't be able to make it new again but I want to minimize it and DO NOT want to have the entire lid painted again if I can help it.

Polyester spot putty fill in the damaged area I use somthing like a single edge razar blade fill in to low spot using as little as posible may take a couple of layers sand smooth with something level if area is small use a piece of a paint padle wrapped with sand paper touch up paint .

If you have some of the original paint left over as touch-up, then go find a marine supply store (West Marine will do in a pinch, but ask around for a marine paint supplier in the area) and get some neutral gel coat patch - it usually comes in a kit. You'll need the two-part resin, but won't need the fiberglass mat material (you're chip isn't big enough to need it).

Mix equal parts of paint and resin to get a soup of the same color (you may need 75% paint, if the resin is not clear), then add the appropriate amount of hardener and mix. Apply the mixture to your wound (think artist's paint brush or toothpicks here). Don't try to build it all up at once - just put in enough to coat the wound, and let it set, then do another round to bring it up a bit more, let it set and then a final coat to finish it off. At that point, the "patch" should be just a little higher than the surrounding, original material.

Then get out your sandpaper and appropriate sanding tools (a block or screwdriver blade - whatever you need to get the sanded shapes you need - and go at it.

I would start with 400-600 to get the rough shape, then go to higher paper numbers to finish it off, ending with 1500 - 2000 for the final sheen. Then use some polishing compound to blend the area and you'll never know it was done.

gn

Can you use regular body putty (Bondo) that you would use on metal??? I have been wanting to ask this question but didn't think of it till reading this post. I have a few spots that I need to fill also.

Mickey - I think those vents (where your picture showed the chip) are metal. If so, carefully bend or tap it back into shape. You may not need to add bondo, but if you do, build it up slowly and shape it. I'd suggest that you can skip that after reshaping the metal (if I'm right about that) and the carefully prime and repaint.

You can use bondo on fiberglass. But a really good product for this application is called Duraglass. It is a filler that actually has little polyester fibers in it.

angela

Yes, you can use Bondo on fiberglass, but, as Angela mentions, if it were the best choice, then the boat builders would be using a lot more of it.

You also have to ask yourself, am I repairing a surface nick or chip (which is a resin/color repair only), or a chunk taken out into the mat layer (which may need reinforcing glass strands)? Each takes a different repair method.

The trouble with using Bondo for gel coat repairs is that it is opaque, doesn't have much shear strength and it's extremely difficult to put a colored pigment into it, so you end up painting over it (just like on a steel car). That becomes a secondary operation not necessarily needed on fiberglass (at least for a repair like Mickey needs).

Think of your little car as a boat on wheels. The boat people have been building and repairing fiberglass for decades and have a whole slew of nifty products to make those repairs go much easier and give a better finished result. Embedding colors in gel coat repairs have gone from a black art to common practice (at least with the boat builders I used to hang out with in Rhode Island).

Try surfing through www.westmarine.com or www.jamestowndistributors.com to see what's out there for fiberglass fixit stuff, and then see if it's available in your area. You could also try googling something like fiberglass repair products and see what you get.

Oh, and Mickey: I can't see the part from all sides, but I would be tempted to make a small form for the back side of the louver to maintain the shape as you repair it and then face it with a small piece of wax paper (the curing resin won't stick to the wax) as a release. Then make up the colored gel coat repair and slowly build it up to where you can work it to the final shape.

gn

I have a boat in the bay area that has some nicks in the gel coat. I think that I'll try and fix those first (practice) as I don't care about it being perfect like I want the Speedster to be. Then I'll be ready to go for it on the Speedster. As far as painting it. I plan on using a good primer, block sand and guide coat, then paint. Does that sound right? Just like I would on a metal car???

Mickey,

Do you have any extra red left over from the re-spray? Are you comfortable removing the rear deck lid to repair it?

Let's say that you haven't got any internal issues here, no cracks or stress fractures that
are going to continue to extend with vibration, and you will ONLY have to deal with that tiny area.

If possible, pull the lid and place it on the bench or on a blanket on the ground and grab up some blocks and boxes and stuff to prop it up, and get a small cup of water.
Prop the deck lid up in such a way that you can fill the divot with water and not have it run out of the hole and down the lid.

Get the extra red paint and a package of two part clear epoxy (the stuff in the twin syringe.
Squeeze out enough to fill the divot and add the red paint to make it into a nice matching red paste and carefully fill the hole
using a tooth pick or something similar.

The tinted epoxy will harden like fiberglass gel coat as it cures, it'll be WAY stronger than Bondo, stronger than just gel coat
or resin alone (without mat) and easier to control. Plus the epoxy is nicer than JB Weld or other such fillers as it will flow into the fiberglass mat much like the resin and
strengthen THAT was well. Bondo, Tiger Hair, JB Weld and the like will just fill the hole, not flow into the fibers.

Once the epoxy levels off and cures hard, check it over and see of any more is needed.
If the color isn't perfect, since you have the deck lid in a perfect Drip-Free position, you can use a small brush or tooth pick
to flow more red onto/into the divot and make for a flawless repair.

Using this technique you will only be working with the damage and NOT ruining another surrounding inch of surface.
A TON of time, the repair make the damage much worse and look even "worserer" than before.

Think small and precise here. A simple surgical restoration, no sanding and taping and calling boat yards or body shops.
With the damage in an area of the deck lid where there are multiple compound curves and louver-like distractions, you should be able to hide the repair pretty well.
If it happened in an open area of the lid/body, THEN you might be in trouble.

If you're uncomfortable with this idea, Gordon's' is a good one. He's correct in telling you to think of the Speedster as a boat,
I'll go one further and use an old term for the car. Think of it as a fiberglass "bath tub," hit Home Depot and see what they have.
Tubs and shower stalls crack all of the time, they may even have a repair kit in bright red.

Maybe?

Luck ! ! !


FP