Fibreglass Repairs

Cracked fibreglass boat hulls or roofs can suffer substantial damage if left unrepaired, as even small cracks and chips in their fibreglass can allow water to ingress, leading to leakage and eventual rotting.

Automotive & Marine composite repairs Fiberglass repair systems are intended for use outside a controlled environment - thus it's essential that environmental factors like humidity and temperature be taken into account when considering bond strength and durability.

Repairing Damaged Body Panels

Body panels are an integral component of a vehicle, and when damaged due to collision or wear, repair must be made with materials capable of withstanding adverse weather and environmental conditions - fibreglass being one such solution.

Repairs can be completed to either an entire panel or just part of it; it depends on the extent and size of damage. Prior to beginning repair work, all areas affected must be clean, dry and rough-sanded in order to maximize adhesion with fibreglass patches.

A polyester fibreglass repair kit contains resin and catalyst mix, chopped strand mat cloth, and a tool kit. When applying fiberglass, the resin and catalyst mixture should be thoroughly mixed before wetting out with resin before placing onto sanded area - ideally three layers should be added for strength. However, this process takes considerable time and skill.

Repairing Cracked Body Panels

Key to any successful fibreglass repair is cleaning the surface and bonding the new material securely to its predecessors. Achieving this requires creating a mechanical bond through drilling holes around the perimeter of the repaired area.





Prep Work: Clean the surface to be repaired thoroughly before rough sanding a minimum of 75mm all around the repaired area, taping over any holes on its outer surface. Chopped strand matting (commonly known as glass fibre matting) must then be wetted out using resin and catalyst mix on a piece of cardboard or plastic quickly as polyester resin only has a 15 minute working window when heated to ambient conditions.

Matting comes in different weights, with heavier applications preferring woven mat and chop mat. Loose strand mat can also be used as a top layer to provide a smooth finish and fill gaps between other materials.

Repairing Damaged Roof Panels

Cracked roof panels of your boat, car or caravan can be unattractive as well as hazardous over time. Prompt fibreglass repairs may help stop these small imperfections from growing into bigger and more costly issues in time.

Fiberglass repairs should typically be conducted from within, or on the reverse, of the laminate to bridge and reinforce damage areas before restoring its outer surface. This ensures that underlying structures remain strong while also preventing water ingress.

Clean the damaged surface with acetone to remove dirt and promote resin adhesion, then rough sand it to within 75mm (3" of where repairs need to be made. Once this preparation has been completed, tape over holes on outer surface before cutting up fibreglass mat into sizes suitable for fixing. Finally, color-matched urethane sealant must be applied over patch.

Repairing Damaged Car Doors

Most fibreglass repairs are conducted outside a controlled environment - in other words, they are performed CIP with external environmental conditions being exposed that could negatively impact their longevity. While considerable research is conducted into optimizing adhesives, patch materials, geometry and curing temperatures to increase composite repair longevity; environmental conditions remain highly influential factors.

Royan's team of professionals specialize in repairing car doors using fibreglass. By quickly responding to small cracks and chips, they are able to prevent these from developing into larger issues that might necessitate component replacements.

Before applying a fibreglass patch, the surface area must first be cleaned of oil, grease, paint or any other contaminants that could prevent adhesion. A rough sanding to 75 microns must then take place, followed by the application of chopped strand mat and resin mixture - thoroughly mixing both components will ensure seamless application without air bubbles or wrinkles forming under your patch.