Glass work on TY

[Bill Lawson]

I have a repair to make on my TY. I bought the boat with a crack in the glass about at the boot stripe. Previous owner tangled with his dock. The area was patched once before and it cracked. Any way, I ground down through the crack which did not damage the fiber glass (lucky for me). I did go down to glass to be sure. The patch is about 10 inchhes long and 2 inches wide at the widest point and not real deep...just through the gel coat. I have done glass work on autos but never on a boat. What does your experience tell me to use to patch? Do I need to lay in some mat or will a bondo type material stick? There is a Bondo type material on the market that is blue that I have seen in a video but the name was not mentioned. Only that it was a bondo type patch. Will appreciate your help at... billlawson911@msn.com Thanks in advance. Bill



billlawson911@msn.com

[Jim S]

I would not use a Bondo type product which is a polyester resin. I would recommend an epoxy if a deep fill is needed before application of the gel coat. Somes choices are Marine-Tex (White) or West System. You may not even need to do this since it appears from your description that the depth to fill in is only the thickness of the original gel coat. If this is the case, then you could apply (spray) the gel coat to the affected area. I have successfully used a small aerator glass spray bottle (Preval brand, available at automotive supply stores)to apply gel coat to small areas. The gel coat was first thinned with acetone,the catalyst added and the contents were then sprayed. I used a small hair dryer to gently warm the surface before and while applying the gel coat. Once hardened, the gel coat can be wet sanded and then compounded to match the surrounding area.

I have a repair to make on my TY. I bought the boat with a crack in the glass about at the boot stripe. Previous owner tangled with his dock. The area was patched once before and it cracked. Any way, I ground down through the crack which did not damage the fiber glass (lucky for me). I did go down to glass to be sure. The patch is about 10 inchhes long and 2 inches wide at the widest point and not real deep...just through the gel coat. I have done glass work on autos but never on a boat. What does your experience tell me to use to patch? Do I need to lay in some mat or will a bondo type material stick? There is a Bondo type material on the market that is blue that I have seen in a video but the name was not mentioned. Only that it was a bondo type patch. Will appreciate your help at... billlawson911@msn.com Thanks in advance. Bill

atea@att.net

[Rutan]

I agree with Jim S., bondo is NG...better to use epoxy systems like West....However, I would use an epoxy mixture that is thin to start with and not add acetone as this might change the quality of the bond when mixing epoxies. The mfg has researched extensively and the recomended mixes should be followed with no thining, etc. I know Jim S.... and he's no Alberg! Just kidding Jim!
Rutan



msquick@msn.com