Bodywork Crack Repair (1 Viewer)

[Tincataylor]

I backed up and inch too far today and clouted the back of our van against the corner of the garage door with the result that I now have a 2" long crack in the GRP / Gelcoat bodywork. Is there a home repair option or is it something only a specialist can do?

Tinca

 

[Badknee]

I backed up and inch too far today and clouted the back of our van against the corner of the garage door with the result that I now have a 2" long crack in the GRP / Gelcoat bodywork. Is there a home repair option or is it something only a specialist can do?

Tinca

There are DIY options but as it is gel coat the colour is impregnated and anything you do will be visible without resorting to painting.

 

[scotjimland]

If it's white.. an easy DIY repair

use gel coat filler http://www.fibreglassdirect.co.uk/boat-repair-maintenance/gelcoat-filler/gelcoat-filler.html

 

[Baggers53]

I am a professional mobile car body/caravan/motorhome repairer....based in Nth Staffs.
If its plastic use a std 240v soldering iron to "weld" the crack together...
fill the weld crevice with a suitable filler ( suitable for plastic ).
Sand down to reshape....Now the hard part, its needs painting
and unless you know what to do it is best left to a professional...
This is because the paint needs to be mixed to match the original colour
and blended in at the edges of the repair to look good..
Hope this is of use. Mike

 

[funflair]

If it's white.. an easy DIY repair

use gel coat filler http://www.fibreglassdirect.co.uk/boat-repair-maintenance/gelcoat-filler/gelcoat-filler.html

I would have thought that there were too many shades of white for for product to cover them all.

If you contact the manufacturer you might get a RAL number for the colour allowing you to get a fully matched gel coat pigment or paint. You can do it yourself if you know what you are doing otherwise a good bodyshop should be able to sort it.

Are you sure it's fibreglass and not plastic.

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[Funnymunny]

If it is fibreglass then go along to the nearest boat yard I am sure they will either be able to do it or know a man that can, it can be done without you even seeing where it was

 

[Baggers53]

If its fibreglass buy a repair kit from somewhere like Halfords....its a little bit involved but you
can achieve a good finish....its important to have a good gel surface ( no fibre ends on show )...My previous comments regarding the painting still apply ....Mike

 

[Tincataylor]

I ended up with a white gel coat filler from Plastic Padding which has made quite a good job of it. The colour match is not perfect but its good enough for now and the viscosity of the product meant that filling a vertical surface was no a problem due to it being too "runny". One tip I picked up on line was after masking off the area to be treated and squeegeeing off the excess, I applied a tight layer of cling film over the filler while it was setting and this has enabled it to dry (10 minutes) to a flat shiny surface. I hope others might find this useful,

Tincataylor

 

[jdk62]

I use my Son......

He used to work at a sailing club and was always repairing dinghies.. GRP/Plastic/FRP/Carbon

So all the years of ferrying him around the UK to compete in regatta's is finally getting a bit of pay back...

At last!