Fiberglass Repair & Lock Rust

[Grey56]

Good afternoon all -

Have two fairly mundane questions today - one is whether this lid for the livewell can be salvaged with enough fiberglass repair:



The second has to do with the new locks (which claimed to be stainless...) which we bought/replaced the old ones with:


The small escutcheon ring is what has rusted - even though the lock itself is all right. Any suggestions on perhaps other locks?

 

[Hookup1]

Yes the hatch can be saved. It needs to be cleaned up and the edge gel coated. I would do an epoxy fairing compound and spray the gelcoat. The substrate material is difficult to bond to.

Try GemLux for lock hardware. Probably have to replace them.

 

[Jimsalv]

I bet the hatch opposite the livewell looks the same! If you are handy and have the time and space, you can do the painful but easy enough to do. My hatches looked worse. You have to chip and clean down to "solid" fiberglass, probably use wet cloth on the inside, yes, fairing compound on the outside. You can actually match the original paint. I went to a commercial paint dealer who carries "SEM" paint products. Mine came out fantastic compared to what they were. Or, you can spend probably $400 to have it repaired. There may be other options which people here may help you with. Good luck!

 

[Grey56]

Yes the hatch can be saved. It needs to be cleaned up and the edge gel coated. I would do an epoxy fairing compound and spray the gelcoat. The substrate material is difficult to bond to.

Try GemLux for lock hardware. Probably have to replace them.

Looked at the GemLux; whew those are not cheap - but they do look good! Thank you as always, sir!

 

[Grey56]

I bet the hatch opposite the livewell looks the same! If you are handy and have the time and space, you can do the painful but easy enough to do. My hatches looked worse. You have to chip and clean down to "solid" fiberglass, probably use wet cloth on the inside, yes, fairing compound on the outside. You can actually match the original paint. I went to a commercial paint dealer who carries "SEM" paint products. Mine came out fantastic compared to what they were. Or, you can spend probably $400 to have it repaired. There may be other options which people here may help you with. Good luck!

This does help; will try to see if there is a YT video (I follow BoatWorksToday so maybe he has some tips). I've never done any type of scale fiberglass repair like this - and we live in an apartment here in LA so the only real space is at the storage lot.

In any event - do you have any before/after photos?? Either way thanks!!

 

[Hookup1]

This does help; will try to see if there is a YT video (I follow BoatWorksToday so maybe he has some tips). I've never done any type of scale fiberglass repair like this - and we live in an apartment here in LA so the only real space is at the storage lot.

In any event - do you have any before/after photos?? Either way thanks!!

I did all my glass work and paint outside with no roof! It was a PITA but it came out amazing. These pictures are of the hardtop. I have not done hatches yet but its the same problem. The way GW makes all these parts (at least on the older boats) edge chipping is a common problem.



All edges and bad gelcoat were sanded down. I don't remember if I primed them with AwlGrip primer. They were then built up with AwlFair epoxy fairing compound. Several coats of filling and sanding. Then primed with AwlGrip primer and finished with AwlCraft 2000 Brightside White Revisited paint. Close match for faded GW gelcoat. Also redid the non-skid on top and underside in new bot color.



You need to be careful with the compatibility of polyester resin, gelcoat, epoxy and paint. So far everything seems fine. A couple of years will tell.

 

[Grey56]

I did all my glass work and paint outside with no roof! It was a PITA but it came out amazing. These pictures are of the hardtop. I have not done hatches yet but its the same problem. The way GW makes all these parts (at least on the older boats) edge chipping is a common problem.

View attachment 28601 View attachment 28602

All edges and bad gelcoat were sanded down. I don't remember if I primed them with AwlGrip primer. They were then built up with AwlFair epoxy fairing compound. Several coats of filling and sanding. Then primed with AwlGrip primer and finished with AwlCraft 2000 Brightside White Revisited paint. Close match for faded GW gelcoat. Also redid the non-skid on top and underside in new bot color.

View attachment 28603 View attachment 28604 View attachment 28605

You need to be careful with the compatibility of polyester resin, gelcoat, epoxy and paint. So far everything seems fine. A couple of years will tell.

This is literal gold - truly appreciate the intel. I really would like to pull the top off as well - but with the tuna tower in place I'm worried since it has throttle controls in place.

I've worked with Bondo before on doors to build up deep scratches - is it a similar process if you know?

 

[SkunkBoat]

yes, in fact, you could use Bondo. Bondo is a polyester resin sandable filler(fairing compound). The boat is made of polyester resin and fiberglass.
You could use a 60 grit grinding pad to take the cracks and chips down to clean glass and then Bondo & sand it smooth and prime & paint.
Hardest part is matching the shiny new paint to old gelcoat shine & color because you are only doing the hatch not the whole boat.

On the hatch edges you could use a higher density epoxy filler. It would be harder to sand but less prone to chipping later.

Hookup used epoxy fairing compound(low density filler). Epoxy has a better adhesion to "old" fiberglass and everything else.

 

[Hookup1]

I don't like using a polyester resin (Bondo and some marine fillers/fairing) to repair polyester resin (your hatch). I prefer an epoxy resin (AwlFair). Get some responses from other members. Ask yourself "If it was such a good bond why did it chip off?".

 

[Sea Shift]

Great read. I'm going to be trying this! Thanks

 

[SkunkBoat]

Great read. I'm going to be trying this! Thanks

Plastic packing tape is your friend. Neither polyester nor epoxy stick to it. Cover areas that don't need work. You can make straight lines. You can use it as a dam.

 

[Hookup1]

As ShunkBoat says mask things to control where the epoxy goes. Don't make more work for yourself with a mess. Masking tape is ok for paint but epoxy sticks to it. Plastic film is good - just tape in place. I also use a fabric release film to make a moldable dam for epoxy in place. Tear it off and sand. The AwlFair is a two part 1:1 epoxy pre-thickened fast cure faring mix. Not that light weight and easy to sand. Not cheap I would use it anywhere (and I did!). I do mix my own occasionally like ShunkBoat when I want a real strong repair but be careful it can be hard to sand. Use this for structural repairs and AwlFair to bring the finish up to paint/gelcoat ready.