Fiberglass Help

[David70FJ40]

Is there anyone here who can help me with fiberglass? The hard top I purchased has some serious spider cracks in the fiberglass cap. The local boat repair shop says that it can be repaired by sanding down to a good surface and adding more mat and resin then cheese cloth and resin for a smoother finish. I have never worked with fiberglass and would appreciate any help.

 

[jamesurq]

I've done it. It's fairly simple on a horizontal panel, work slow and buy a BIG box of decent disposable gloves. Anything vertical is a massive headache - my old boat took the brunt of my Fiberglas learning. Came out strong and usable. But hideous, and I could have sanded for weeks and it still would have been terrible.

My advice is, if it's a flat bit, go for it. If it's a big spot with angles and/or vertical bits have a pro do it.

 

[stevezero]

Youtube is your friend. There are tons of videos that show you how to deal with spider cracks. The two biggest issues folks have is either going too deep and narrow and burning through on the spider cracks or not going deep and wide enough.

The most important thing to remember, the epoxy will be much harder than the older gelcoated surface, and its easy to sand through the old surface while taking down the repaired areas.

If youve done regular bodywork, you should be fine doing fiberglass work.