Fiberglass fixes. What do you about the Gel coat?, Need to fix some cracks in my front valance Options

[JRust]

How do you fix them? Can you give me a step by step? I've done a little fiberglass fix but it's been years. What about the gel coat. Does the resin setup enough that it can be sanded smooth? What do you do to get the gel coat looking good?

[iamchappy]

"What do you do to get the gel coat looking good"
Resin will repair it but not the gelcoat finish.
Paint it...

[PanelBilly]

How big are these cracks?

[JRust]

How big are these cracks?

I have a corner missing a good 1" right at the bottom by the tire. I planned to repaint it. Just wasn't sure if the resin would be enough to sand it smooth?

[stownsen914]

Resin doesn't tend to sand as easily as gelcoat in my experience. For the fg work I've done, I try to minimize the sanding of resin for this reason. When you do your repair, put some tape on the shiny/outside of your work to keep excess resin from leaky through and running all over the place - it will save you work later. You can also remove excess with acetone or similar before it sets completely. To fix the cracks and crevices on the shiny side of the fg, just use your favorite autobody filler. It will sand a lot easier than resin.

Actually, I just reread your post, and I'm not quite following what you want to fix. Can you share a pic of what you're trying to repair?

Scott

[JRust]

Resin doesn't tend to sand as easily as gelcoat in my experience. For the fg work I've done, I try to minimize the sanding of resin for this reason. When you do your repair, put some tape on the shiny/outside of your work to keep excess resin from leaky through and running all over the place - it will save you work later. You can also remove excess with acetone or similar before it sets completely. To fix the cracks and crevices on the shiny side of the fg, just use your favorite autobody filler. It will sand a lot easier than resin.

Scott

Ah so a little bondo on the front side. Fiberglass/resin on the back then?

[Andyrew]

You could use kitty hair. Basically fiberglass and bondo. I have done this and added fiberglass strands to the mix to make a big glob of strong material.

[Andyrew]

http://www.evercoat.com/product-detail/base-part/100868/us/

This is what I used on my fenders to metal, I had about a 2"x3"x1/4" section that was very weak with the original fender underneath, I cut it down to metal and used this instead.

[somd914]

I just repaired a lip that had a chip and crack in it due to a curb hit. Used resin and glass on the back side to reinforce it. On the front I used resin and West Systems 407 fairing filler mixed with resin to make the resin sandable.

I've done numerous fiberglass repairs on our boat over the years, try looking at these for ideas:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/how-to-use-demos/

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/use-guides/

Agree with repainting after repair. Gelcoat can be repaired, but it's not worth the hassles and likely won't match.