Fiberglass Repair ~ Stress Cracks

[@toni_jerafe]

Thanks a stack for this video. I am a south african lady who had a stress crack in her pool...got a repair kit, read the instructions and was a bit overwhelmed...watched this video and repaired my pool...by myself! so proud. :).

[@boatworkstoday]

+Toni Joubert That's awesome Toni! Well done ;-)

[@M6K9B]

I am in the UK. Rebuilding a 1970's Lotus Europa. This video has been invaluable. Professionally presented so that even an novice, like me, can feel confident tackling fibreglass repair.

[@cvonkleist]

This is a fantastic video which thoroughly covers every step of stress crack repair, and the closeup camera work is excellent. I'm going to use this video as my primary reference when repairing a similar crack in a corner of my deck. Please keep up the great work.

[@KennethRayable]

I have done some fiberglass repairs to a small degree before. But I have never heard such beautiful guitar music playing in the background while doing so. As a guitar player myself I am twice blessed by watching your channel.

[@thedevilinfrankenstein6503]

You have to be the Bob Ross of boats! Thank you for sharing your expertise. I was looking for repairs for my van with a fiberglass high top. That is how I found your channel, and now you have a new subscriber! 👍👍👍😁😁😁

[@jamesstewart5619]

Your series of videos are very informative and helpful. Your use and explanation of the why for many of the products and techniques helps avoid the pitfalls and gives some solid advice and direction. Many thanks.

[@dynodon427]

I have done fiberglass repairs years ago on truck frontends and corvettes. I learned a lot from your video, thank you.

[@boatworkstoday]

Hey Anthony, I use a 1.4 tip for repairs (would not use this size for an entire boat though :-) I mix non-waxed laminating gel with a product made by Duratec (high gloss additive). 60%gel W/ 40% Duratec. This additive works as a thinner as well as a curing agent to allow the gel to fully harden. With the 1.4 and the flow about half open with a tight pattern 30psi it sprays very nice. VIP Catalyze the mix 2%. Or try going over the tacky gel you sprayed with PVA. I never use gel with wax anymore.

[@stormcerj]

Thanks Andy! Love your tutorials! Best Fiberglass work Ive ever seen!

[@edwardschmitt5710]

I have built in repaired a TON of fiberglass. I have learned i know nothing, so SUBSCRIBED.

[@bowesproject2304]

I live in the UK thanks for your videos there a great help on my boat restoration hadn't been for you would have had to pay someone to redo my fiberglassing on boat keep them coming

[@whileysea]

I am always afraid to mess up. Your videos help me enourmly to even try to start such work. Even more so importend as I have not the funds no more, after the divorce, to hire Professionals. With your videos, I can manage to fix things and thus not give in to in live. THANK YOU, ROVER

[@carmelpule6954]

Sir , you are indeed a very patient man, for this is a labour intensive hand work. I like the manner you run your finger through the finished patch to check for high and low patches and you seem to detect them even if they are so shallow. What worries me in this type of work is that concerns me to know how new resin would fuse in with the old resin laid years before. Last week a colleague of mine lengthened and widened a fibreglass boat and he uses a special resin that would bind and fuse itself to the old resin laid years before. I am not familiar with this product but it is indeed useful to know especially when one lengthens boats to a larger side as the adhesion and fusion must be reliable. Congratulations for your hard core structure and also for your finishing.

[@boedekerj1]

When I find "dry laminate" layers, I take a small drill bit and drill into the hole, then mix a very small batch of resin, then inject the resin into the dry void with a needle. You can actually watch the resin saturate the dry laminate from the surface. It works well. For areas where there is plenty of glass, but someone just didn't quite brush/push out the air from the glass, the adhesion and structure seems to be absolutely fine. Overall, much less sanding/tooling and less disturbing of the surrounding good glass laminate.

[@IrregularPineapples]

ok but that doesn't provide any structural integrity -- I mean I guess it's better than leaving it as is but... i'm not sure

[@Mayhem2019]

@@IrregularPineapples He mentioned a very specific situation where there might have been dry laminate layers where maybe they didn't use enough resin or they did not brush the air bubbles out, but there was enough glass, which is where the structural integrity comes from, it just needed more resin, if that makes any sense, hope that helps explain it a bit better, take care and have a nice day.

[@Fireship1]

Your videos are relaxing and satisfying to watch. I wish I could be this calm when I work on my boat!

[@kentkarlsson8277]

Thank you very much for this one. Love watching people that know what they do with ease.

[@mikemalone9896]

You make fiberglassing look easy, bet if I tried to do it, it would look much harder to accomplish!

[@TheMarpalm]

You are an excellent teacher. Thanks for your work.

[@reefveiw]

Glad I came across this youtube. Great presentation and full of material for those taking on a project like this. GOOD JOB!

[@thetraveller3577]

Mate thanks for this fantastic presentation. Really appreciate you sharing your expertise !

[@robertwilbert1317]

Ive been watching you for awile now and youve helped me alot....i will continue to watch....

[@jameszx7]

Awesome video! The way you demonstrated reminded me of that old tv show with the artist Bob Ross and his painting.

[@perpetualmocean1]

Great videos! Very well done. You explain each step and why you are doing it and then each step is nicely shot on video.

[@Allformyequine]

This is super, now what steps would come next OR which video would take us thru the primer and finishing process?

[@popsoldboats3406]

Just pulled this one back up to show my 13 year old son what we would need to be doing on one of our boat. As You were applying the faring compound my son said " He sounds like Bob Ross". By the way he loves Bob Ross.

[@boatworkstoday]

CSM for the finish layers as it sands smooth for finishing (gelcoat or paint). But generally I use 2 types of glass; 1.5oz csm and 1708 bi-ax

[@billarroo1]

Really great VIDEO, never did epoxy resin, lots of great information. Thanks William

[@mtnbiker49]

Excellent how-to. Easy to follow and understand.

[@jcfpv3454]

thanks for the videos you have truly save me thousands of dollars

[@goodson77784]

Your videos are really great man! Good work, keep it up, I'm learning a lot!

[@boatworkstoday]

In a pinch you could, but it's going to be a much harder surface to sand and it wouldn't smooth out as nicely (will still be a little porous). I've done it, but try to avoid it when possible. Thanks for the comment!

[@efdalzeren2047]

always a pleasure watching your video's. Thx a lot for sharing your knowledge and experiences

[@RudiRednoseChannel]

Thanks for all the information, great job!! Cheers from NorthRineWestPhalia, Germany

[@NitroRoo]

Great job on the video, good level of detail and explanation of why you were doing each step.

[@rwehuman]

Fiberglass and finishing it has always been like a mysterious black art to me. That was until I came across your videos. Thank you for making them and sharing your knowledge. I'll be working with vinyl Ester resin. Is there a certain type of gelcoat I need to use?

[@maxwebster7572]

Hi. I have been doing truck hoods for 25 years and am trying to improve my skill set. We mold using gel coat but during a repair we use resin and Vette Panel Adhesive which is more or less body filler with extra resin. I understand the differences in the poly resins but why do marine repairers use gel coat for repairs? It seems to complicate things IMHO. Total quality repair yes but in our industry we'd get about 2.5 hours to have that in the paint booth and our jobs sit outside in the sun and go down the road vibrating every day. Great vid and thank you

[@jimcrews1125]

Quick question. I recently discovered a soft spot on the deck of my 2002 Sea Ray 340, due to the previous owner had an accident. Removed the hatch and ground out all the mush, vacuumed it all out. I had repair a crack in the Fiberglas and had to sand about a square foot of factory anti-skid (diamond pattern) the first problem I’m having is the repair epoxy is bleeding through the factory color matched gel coat. What do I use as a color block? Then I order the factory anti skid pattern mold from james town dist. Do you think it is possible to blend in a square foot of anti skid perfectly, in the middle of about 6 square feet of anti skid? Thanks! Really enjoy your videos!

[@brucebelyea7433]

About ready to repair 2" cracks in hull of '75Sunfish then gelcoat entire hull. Thanks for giving me much insight about wht this entails and especially confidence! I will be reviewing your vids a few more times beforehand but your details have been great! Nice work! Many thanks.

[@tompelican]

Great job on this tutorial. It was well produced and easy to follow.

[@70dejavu]

Thanks Andy i think i had to open up the flow more on my gun. ill let you know how i make out, im going to be at the boat yard next week. Thanks again

[@meradu2]

That looks like hard work ,I'm working on my Healey wide body ,stop by Thanks Radu

[@eag725]

This guy really deserves his hits. Well done.

[@CnCEndeavors]

really enjoying your show - thanks for taking the time to do it

[@peterekstrom1951]

thks boatworks - assuming i got the gelcoat off the boat (16 grit on a grinder?) is it important to seal the raw fiberglass with gelcoat before painting, or can i prime w 545 and finish. I want to get this right so i don't have to come back to it thks again for your vids

[@boatworkstoday]

Peter Ekstrom If the surface was taken down to bare glass, you'll most likely have a lot of pin holes if you go straight to priming. Might be a good idea to go over the surface with a skim coat of Awlfare LW to smooth out any defects and fill holes. This can be applied with a plastic trowel, has good working time and sands really well. After this is lightly sanded then spray 545. Might have a few more pin holes, but just repeat the process where necessary. www.awlgrip.com/products/fillers/awlfair-lw.aspx

[@WillyRaschke]

Thank you, I'm restoring a Baja VW Beetle. Old fiberglass.... Gotta love it......

[@Kodihuskey]

Thanks mate, really good and informative. Restoring my boat purely using the school of Boatworks Today.

[@ynotsail]

Thanks for the video Andy. You do great work, and your explanations are excellent. Looking forward to the next video. Tony R

[@rmm1086]

Awesome videos!! If I send you some photos of some stress cracks on my boat, can you tell me by looking at them if it's just the gelcoat that cracked, or if I have to actually repair the fiberglass? The cracks are much smaller than in this video, and were caused by a collision with the dock. Thanks in advance for any help.

[@linkcorkery]

Thanks for the response. If you were not repainting the entire boat, how would you match the repair to the existing white top coat?

[@boatworkstoday]

I'd just continue using gelcoat rather than paint and spend the time getting the color matched to blend :-) For this repair it just happened that the paint I was using was a very close color match to the gelcoat.

[@linkcorkery]

Thanks for the informative video. Can u show us how to paint the repaired area? Also, i thought gelcoat was the top final finish that covered the surface of the boat. In your application it sounds like gelcoat is only used to cure the glass. Thank you.

[@boatworkstoday]

Hooverhoff Typically gelcoat is a top finish surface, but it can also be used in place of PVA to seal glass beneath it to allow full cure. I could easily have used PVA in place of the gelcoat for this repair, but I had a bunch of gel laying around that needed to be used up :-)

[@rufustoad1]

You do unbelievable video's for us cream puffs but please do a video on the touch up painting process as well. OR if you already have one point me to it. Again great job!!

[@boatworkstoday]

I haven't simply because I didn't want to take the chance that it wouldn't work :-) PVA, wax or other additives are inexpensive compared to the time needed to re-work a repair.. Not saying that it wouldn't work for a very small patch but I wouldn't recommend it for a repair of larger size..

[@karengreen5599]

You're a great instructor!

[@davidayj8109]

A good tutorial explains tools used etc. What grit sandpaper on the grinder, or was it even sandpaper. Would like to have seen the dremel in action...that's why I'm here. Also like to see what your mixing together in your compound. Again, that's why I'm here. Like a cooking show, I want to see the mix as it happens. Good insight on the color tip offs about too little or too much hardener..

[@Meyersmanx1]

awesome..I am going to use this info to repair my meyers manx buggy..thankyou matey.

[@allamericanjoekansas977]

Great information , I am a new subscriber and fan of your videos!

[@seanrhone5306]

Did not find it on your page but you should offer weekend course on this. I'd be interested in taking them if close enough?

[@IslanderSailboatInfo]

These are fantastic videos, thanks so much for making them!

[@terryhaynes9459]

I have a 1973 fiberglass boat from ss sears I AM ALMOST READY to prime the bottom should I role resin everywhere first or just prime it

[@peterekstrom1951]

Hi Boatworks - Thks for all the great info in your vids My project boat is a cheoy lee sailboat 38ft. built in 1979. the problem is almost the entire topsides are covered with (age related?) hairline cracks in the gelcoat. I painted the boat last year with perfection, and they hairline cracks printed right thru the finish. what is the proper way to take care of the issue?

[@boatworkstoday]

Peter Ekstrom That's a tough one. If the gelcoat is crazed it will need to be removed down to the bare glass. If the glass beneath that is cracked then there will need to be additional layers of csm applied to stabilize the surface before going further with re-gelcoating or painting :-( Most likely it's only the gel, and probably because it's too thick and has gotten brittle.. Either way, there's a lot of sanding required..

[@gumimalac]

this guy is the bob ross of fiberglass.

[@compositestechbb9087]

Thank you for the quick response. :) what I was asking is would a coat of pva over the glass work the same in helping it to cure, would it keep it from gassing off and slow the cure? An old timer showed me the pva trick, it seemed to help with blending the color better, I was putting in a bow thruster and using flag blue. Is it the heat of the gelcoat kicking that does it?

[@SaxophoneHitman008]

Nice job on this "stress" crack. Couldn't have done it better myself:) I do have a question about procedure in repairing a noising line on steps in a fiberglass swimming pool. The crack is 4-5 inches long horizontally along the edge where the step and riser meet. It is not however, a stress crack, it is fully cracked through so that we have a leak. I applied a temp fix with epoxy putty [underwater type], but now it'll need a permanent approach. Could you steer me in a specific direction. I have a pretty good idea on how I'll approach, but any other expert opions are entirely welcome. I don't want to do the job twice. The pool is only 2 years old and in installed in-ground. Thanx. Greg

[@GoofieNewfie69]

My biggest problem with stress cracks is what has let go underneath to allow the cracks to form?

[@TheAlbrowniv]

Love your videos and subscribed. I've seen in other videos that you alternately use woven roving mat and csm for repairs. What about this job made you device not use any mat? I'm under the impression that csm takes shaping better, but the mat is the strength.

[@markporterporter3259]

Great one, exactly what I needed. Thank you.

[@brucetaylor3806]

Great instruction Andy.

[@70dejavu]

Andy what tip do you use in your gun when you spray gel coat. I used a 1.4 that ihave in my gun and it was not the right tip for sure. Also where can i buy wax to put over the coat the gel coat. I got the one that has it in it but i found it to still be sticky. Thanks Anthony

[@CatholicSaintslayIncorrupt]

Are these the best long enduring working materials /resins to use for a F glass fill in job ?

[@NickSpacek]

Nice video! I notice you use a lot of CSM, for small fixes is that usually all that's required, or does it depend more on the surrounding/existing material?

[@homer655]

Hi, i enjoy your videos a lot keep em coming. Since you are working mainly with fiberglass and it produces lots of nasty fine dust from grinding. I was thinking you must have a great shop vacuum /dust collector for you grinding tools. What kind would you recommend?

[@vadimlazutin2651]

Need help. Just got old wooden boat , was long time in water, prettymuch rotten but not completely. Brought it to my yard, now thinking to start . Give me advice please, start it from top or better from bottom .?

[@boatworkstoday]

Sure, go ahead and send them to my Facebook account :-) Also, please feel free to 'Like' the page!

[@boatworkstoday]

Thank you!!!

[@eriksvsirocco]

Thank you!

[@johncasor9698]

WOW incredible talent, great skill... Thank you so much...

[@robertquinn5820]

I understand you did this video 8 years ago but just wondering if done today you’d use a microfibre resin mix to fill that hole? Is that perhaps the same problem with too much resin and not enough fibre?

[@danielfreixo179]

Greetings from Portugal! Nice videos, thanks for the excelent explainations, u make it look so easy.... Just a question, can u use epoxy resin and biaxial on that kind of repair? Thanks !

[@Captainpaulbtyhtr]

Could you use resin with wax on last coat instead of gel coat to seal it ?

[@redneck3211]

Do you have long videos because i am rebuilding my floor and transom in my 1966 thunder hawk 14" try haul

[@jeffreymullis3019]

Thanks for the video, I appreciate the information you guys post, it's great. Quick question, could you sand down the surface like you did and then just fill it with Marinetex and then sand that down so that it is flush and paint over that? I'm curious whether you think that would work as well as using fiberglass?

[@highvelocity123]

I'm not the expert, but if they are "Stress" cracks, then I would think you would want more strength in that spot to prevent a re-occurrence.

[@Pillo656]

look i dont speak too much english but i do my best, actually I work in a company called HUBBELL (Mexico) i do repair to enclosures for transformators for the u.s. and I repair without fiberglass i repair just with resin mixed with calcium like bondo and then I mixed this pasta with paint (Part paint) and i add an accelerator all mixed i put on the crack just wait about 15-20 min. its dry and started to sand until we have an uniform equal area and then I paint and thats it, sorry but my english its not so well greetings

[@highvelocity123]

EL PICADOR DE NEIL Y MORRIS There's different ways to do everything. I trust the man in the video is doing it the right way. I mean why wouldn't you want it stronger?

[@Pillo656]

stronger its fine but i do that way i mentioned sorry for my english

[@Beachnative42]

highvelocity123 Stress crack usually come from too much gelcoat being applied at the time of manufacture. I worked at Sea Ray Boats in their Yacht division and close corners are a pain. When gelcoating you are supposed to apply 3 coats of gelcoat 3 minutes apart to allow to gas off at 7 mils per coat. You have to overlap hence how gelcoat can get thicker in curves and non flat shapes. Also the reason the part had air where he was sanding is because for drain out, drain out occurs after the part has been rolled out and is waiting to cure the resin drains out of the glass leaving air behind. Think about it, this part was actually made upside down, so low points are actually high points when making them. Poor quality control is to blame for this and the air was in the skin coat.

[@billarroo1]

Question, repairing a big truck hood, Epoxy or Polyester ? Thanks William.

[@colindavidson6483]

I thought I knew everything about composites but I’m finding out now that polyester and gel coat is a totally different process than epoxy and urethane prime/ paint.

[@moriver3857]

I learned lots, thanks. Great video.

[@CigRacing]

Thanks for this, and for taking the time to go through in detail, much appreciated.

[@promodracer2191]

great work. Where are you located?

[@mike-ology22]

Brilliant video and certainly learning a lot. Too much epoxy to learn haha

[@philipnussbaumer184]

A Good Instructional Video. Thanks very much

[@JesusLivesandRules]

A total list of the items you used to create this repair would be great!

[@schesoo6]

hi, when you finish up with the fibreglass works, do you leave a space for the gelcoat? or you can apply a very this coat?

[@1975Per]

Also, like Robin Szemeti says in the comments below, why do you need the gelcoat for it to cure? I'm wathicng alot of videos, but never seen that anywhere before. Is there some difference from epoxy compared to polyester resin?

[@calyxllc.132]

Is there a reason you tap it out vs. rolling it out? I'm guessing it is just easier and why dirty another tool?

[@krisjingle]

Do you do any new jobs a posed to just repairs? I'm building a hard dodger and have questions for glassing the dodger to boat and a continuing hard top

[@boatworkstoday]

Hope to change things up mid Summer switching over to more restorations ;-)

[@EvelOttos]

What's your opinion of MagicEzy filler for repair? I watched your video series about gelcoat color matching and have since ordered up all the materials to duplicate. Once I have a batch of gelcoat made up, I would like to then thin it out and use it similar to what MagicEzy advertises. Do you have any recommendations how I should go about doing so? I have a fair amount of superficial hairline cracks in my gelcoat and I'm uncomfortable grinding them all down to repair.

[@Burkesmemories]

Excellent teaching. Thanks!

[@julianachandler2975]

Excellent explanation

[@MultiEsben]

I spoke to west system and they said that you could use polyester on top of epoxy, provided you let the epoxy cure for at least 18 days at 20 deg C.

[@aaronwalderslade]

What do you do with the brushes? Looks like a nice brush but after half an hour of waiting I imagine it's gone horrible

[@psslonaker]

Cool video, but I wish you had more close ups as you are working on this spot. You dont roll any of the glass that you have put in. How do you get the air bubbles out??

[@larrytolentino7909]

Can I make gel coat with laminating resin and just add wax, pigment and hardener?

[@trailtooth1447]

Stupid Question: for stress crack in gelcoat you have used Thixo. I have a tube of Six10. Is it a suitable substance? Or is it not flexible enough? Is Thixo better in your opinion?