Different Types Of Fiberglass Repair 

This is THE BEST fiberglass repair instruction on the Web! He quickly explains the "Where", "Why", "What" and "How". His productions have vastly improved from his first videos....this is very well done and very helpful....thanks Boatworks guy!

You're a true craftsman and a pleasure to watch. You have no idea what these videos mean to us DIYers. Many thanks

I am taking so much notes. I am currently restauring the cutest 1964 fiberglass RV and this is so incredibly helpful. Not only all the steps, but the additional info about curing, heat, glass fibre... incredibly useful. Thank you so much! Love from Belgium.

This guy needs a show on the DISCOVERY CHANNEL! I have just bought a Mahogany 60,s twin engine cruiser and she has ALL this to do! I think MANY of us owe this guy a beer each!

Here's how I compare the two: Bondo: Not 100% waterproof, relatively low bonding strength to it's substrate, very short working time (1-2 minutes per batch) can only be mixed in small amounts and is more porous than epoxy. Epoxy w/410 Filler: It's 100% waterproof, very high bonding strength, working time can be up to 30+ minutes with the appropriate hardener allowing much larger batches to be mixed, gives a non-porous finish and is able to be used in lower air temperatures. Hope this helps!

I love this guy! He presents not only how, but why you do what you do to repair. Very good information and plus it's presented in a logical and understandable way. Thank you for this!

This is by far the best fiberglass repair video I have ever seen

Andy I watched all your videos, purchased some West Systems 105 Fiberglass repair kit and fixed the halyard cleat and pulley that pulled out of the fiberglass deck of my 1979 Sunfish. Thank you for the instruction and confidence to do it myself.

Love the detail! In talking with West Systems they promote the wedding cake vs inverse wedding cake style of glass layers. Their book also recommends that and what I saw you do was the inverted cake (smallest first, then next size, until the largest is last). From a shape perspective it makes sense but they said "because if you add one too many pieces you would have to grind into your largest piece which is the strongest"

Bob Ross of Fiberglass right there!

I've had problems with permanent markers bleeding through the finished paint surface months after the finished job, even after washing with lacquer thinner and acetone, I only use pencil now and have never had any issues. Having to repaint a Multi- stage pearl white job was a good lesson on not using permanent markers!

Great video, it’s very informative and you explain it so well! A small tip for when you have tight rounded edges: at 17 min into the video you can make different sized sanding blocks by winding printing paper tightly in small tubes and tape it with duct tape. Make sure you use enough paper so that it is rigid enough to sand with. You can pre-make different sizes and add them to your tool box! Thanks again!

6:50 You can buy a chopped fiber that is compatible with epoxy. It uses a different bonder: powder and works as well with epoxy as polyester does with the chopped mat you have in this video.

More than likely they are just minor stress cracks which are fairly common; yes they will most likely print through the new bottom paint. A quick Q: are the cracks somewhat grouped in a pattern or randomly scattered throughout the hull? I'd tap the areas lightly with a hammer to see if there is a sound difference. Let me know what you find out :-)

Hi Andy. This video has over 1 million views. Cant wait to see you at work in the new shop and back to the Bertram. You are a Legend 🙌

Good deal; the next vid is going to cover stress cracks and working with poly resin. Was hoping to have it up today, but looks like it will be closer to the end of the week (warm weather has forced my Spring rush a month early getting boats ready to launch; busy busy...) It will be up very soon :-) Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for your beautiful videos you teach as a lot. Greeting and big big warm thanks to you sire from Morocco the north of africa. I love the way that you present and the way that you try to make everyone understand simply. Thanks again and again

Great job on videos. I’ve picked up a boat for my son so we can do a project together he wanted his own boat an I know nothing about fiberglass. But now I think it’s something we can do. So thanks again from Louisiana. Keep it up buddy.

Andy, that is just what I need. 😀👍 I bought a Spirit 28 and it needs exactly every kind of fiberglas repair you explain, not many, but still a hole here and a spidercrack there. Your explanations are very detailed and easy to understand. Thank you 🏅🤗

I'd like to register a complaint, your videos are far to interesting and informative and I've learned too much today. ;-) Good stuff, I was actually looking for some tips on doing some small repairs on my Hobie 16 hulls and I can't believe all the useful info in your shows. Keep up the good work and thanks!

As always a highly detailed, thoroughly explained repair video. As they say, the devil is in the details, and so many other sites tend to leave out what this fellow puts in. Excellent info delivered in a personable easily understood style. Five thumbs up!

Your content is seriously amazing.. you're super informative, and you make your videos entertaining to watch. I am astonished at how well these videos are made, and how much great info is in them.

@SebastianDeBeer Hmmm. I think you'd still need to have some type of coating over the flow coat for UV protection. Paint would be my first choice, if you would be using a polyester based product for the top coat (gelcoat), then the repairs would need to be done with polyester resin and glass rather than epoxy as shown in the video. I used epoxy only because I knew I was going to be painting. Thanks for the comment!

The next video is called Fiberglass Repair ~ Stress Cracks Also, If you go to my YT homepage and click on Playlists there will be a group of videos called Fiberglass Repair and Awlgrip Paint Project.. That will contain all the videos for that project.

I hit the jackpot motherload when I found your channel. OMG... Great content. Great teacher.... Thank you...

Great video! I am Patrick Cunningham, NTL Sales MGR for CASS POLYMERS INC, the maker of the ADTECH P-14. We proud of our entire polyester line and we also make all the products that you demonstrated with the epoxy products. Our general purpose epoxy is called PROBUILD. We offer four different hardeners depending on how much working time that you want. Our polyesters are the best on the market, least moisture absorption, easy sanding. Thanks!

Excellent Video. Nice to see there are still people that actually know how to do something. Good job.

Your information is as important as the epoxy-material itself.

yes, this guy is excellent. Very professional and clear.

this winter im going to be undertaking a small 14 foot runabout reno and all your advice is really helpful, thanks eh!

I haven't but it's pretty straight forward. Just make sure to have everything planned out, be prepared to work very fast as the foam starts to expand very quickly and don't do large pours in enclosed cavities. A few small pours are better than 1 large pour :-)

This is a voice from the future Andy. You didn't age at all!

Great video series! You're giving me tons of confidence (maybe too much), to tackle some soft deck spots on my 22' sailboat!

Take a look at the West System site and follow this menu list (products -> 105 System -> Resins / Hardeners -> Hardeners).. Unfortunately I can't include links in RU-vid comments.. It really depends on the temperature that you'll be working in. The warmer it is, the faster the epoxy will set up and cure. I would do some small tests to get a feel before you start laying the bulk of the material up :-) Good luck!

Explained so well, takes the wystery and aprehensions out or attempting DIY

This guy is awesome. Great detail, easy to understand.....my go to guy for info.

Thank you sir! Just venturing into the mold making/repair world and you do an excellent presentation! Godspeed!

thank you so much very informative I have been watching clip after clip for an entire day and only this one quenched my thirst for the information great work

Beautiful.....thanks for the vids .much better to watch resin set up then waiting for paint to dry

Very good videos, like the detailed information. I am restoring a thirty one year old bass boat and you are a big help! Keep up the good work...

Great demonstration. Many thanks for sharing your immense talent.

Thank yous for sharing.... Very informative guidelines for the day. And tutorials on what you prefer on different types of damages. Like your painting and filling strokes. Hello tree... Appreciate your time and effort plus teaching someone that may pass it on one day to there kids or grandkids,or friend

Love your vids! I have to fix some damage on a large truck with fiberglass hood. The hood was smacked with a piece of equipment. Its all intact still, but lots of cracks. I realize you are a pro with marine stuff, but fiberglass work can be applied to so many things... I have good access to both sides of the hood, so i will taper back both sides and use CSM to do my repairs. I would like your opinion on whether or not to use poly resin or epoxy resin. I already have poly resin on hand, but do you think id have a better repair with epoxy? I will do final repair on finished side of the hood with body filler, primer, and paint. Thank you kindly, hope your enjoying your Friday!

If you're looking to re-tap the hole, personally I would drill the hole out slightly oversized, fill with thickened epoxy and let it cure. Re-drill the proper sized hole for the screw and insert :-) Having the new screw surrounded with epoxy will also help prevent future possible issues with water absorption into the core..

you are The Master. (and a great Teacher!)

I love this video so much. THANK YOU.

I have used a cut piece of acetate or mylar and cover my filler . Then squeegee all around to outside edges, to really make it flat . Super flat ,smooth and easy sanding .

oh mate it is so good to see a fellow boat builder showing how to do a job the right way. so sick of seeing others stuffing up rebuilds for floor and transom repairs, standard rule of thumb what you take out you put back in, you need to mention they need to take note of how thick the work surface is to how much glass they need to use on the repair.

You are the only person I can watch on youtube how to videos that I am with you through the whole thing! Love your videos. Sooo helpful.

Nice seeing someone doing it right!!

Hi Greg, I am not able to include links in this comment section but if you go to my showpage (click Boatworks Today bottom left corner of the video) you'll see a list of all my videos starting with the most recent. The next one you'll be looking for is about stress cracks. Hope this helps!

@boatworkstoday Thanks - will do. Going down to the boat tomorrow so will take some photos the. Cheers Sebastian

Thank you so much for all of this information Andy, it's helping me get my 1963 Sears Runabout back to life. Whoever is disliking your videos needs a swift kick in their junk.

Thanks for putting together all these videos. I bought your Ebook as well.

Love watching your channel, I haved learned a lot..I haven'tseen you show how to extend the base of like a fiberglass console. Lucky you asked!! yes, I have a console that I will need to make a foot taller. Not sure how to extend it with fiberglass on it sucurely..

I am going to try to install a fiberglass bulkhead on my Alden open water scull to beef it up and maybe make it float better. Thank you for the info!

Thanks @Timulator :-) My reasoning for going with epoxy / paint boils down to time (which directly effects customer cost). Doing these types of repairs in gelcoat adds a significant amount of finishing time. Key word here is REPAIR.. When building something new and being able to use molds for the non-skid and shape, poly resin and gelcoat are much more economical. But when repairing something and blending into existing surfaces not so much; there's a tradeoff between material cost and time.

The repair with the dimples that you used filler to smooth out, if you needed to could you put csm on top of that if trying to make it level? I have an uneven surface i am trying to level out before glassing. Your thoughts appreciated and by the way i really love and enjoy your videos. You have given me the courage to try this on my own. Thank you!!

I would like for you to do a segment on repairing blisters on bottoms.

Your the best man I’m using all my acquired knowledge rebuilding my pilot house back wall and a side rail. A lot of work but satisfying when done.

Exactly what I need to know as I need it. Thanks.

i have learned a lot from your videos so... thank you for your explanations. i will have two or three 14 in x 14 in holes in the top of a fiberglass van top to fill in. the top has three vents coming through, only really need 1. so i have been soaking up knowledge on how to fix fiberglass so that i do not mess it up too badly. the only thing i am worried about is the gel coat. getting it smooth enough. will cross that bridge when i get to it. may have to recoat the whole top depending on if the patches can be seen from the ground.

it is a masterpiece video about fiberglass repair ever seen... well done!

Hello Andy! I love your videos. Do you have any videos on how to repair cracks and damages on top of anti skid mats, without messing up its look and function? My old sailboat has a lot of them, and I would love to fix them with solid repairs. Greetings from Norway.

Super informative. Thanks so much for sharing this awesome video

Really enjoy watching your videos. I'm trying to learn how to work with fiberglass on my own project boat and you are a great teacher. Production is clean too. Camera and audio look and sound good. Nice job. Please keep the info coming. Trying to find a rattle between inner and outer liner on a 23' Seacraft. Thinking about cutting an access hole and filling with foam. Have you done a demo on using foam?

I agree. Very informative and expertly done. You ought to put on a show on PBS called this old boat. YOur that good!

Your show is very informative thank you very much. I used to work in a paint shop and my boss would have our head if we used a magic marker on the surface to be painted. I’ve seen it bleed through just about everything

Love your videos. What would I do if I cut the deck of my Kenner center console to put in a hatch to protect the exposed core? Do have a video for that?

Hey Joseph, if the repair spots are below the waterline and not requiring gelcoat then I would just use thickened epoxy. I am doing a blister repair / prevention video now that should be of some help. I'll have that video ready sometime in Sept :-) BTW, surprised the marina does not allow sanding outside; never heard of that. Usually as long as there are tarps on the ground and a curtain hanging down from the hull to contain dust that should be good.. May want to look into that a bit more.

Excellent communicator!

Great Video, Andy. I'm New to Boat Repair Channels. Considering Buying a Sailboat, That Hit Some Coral in the Bahamas, and Now Has a Fist Size Hole Punched in the Hull. 16:40 I've Heard You Can Put Poly Over Epoxy, if the Epoxy is Fully Cured. I Heard Poly is Just as Good as Epoxy, and the Only Difference is Poly Will Cure in 24 hours, but Epoxy Takes a Week. I Don't Know, I've Never Worked with Any of It. I'm Just Making a Conjecture Off Info I've Read, or Listened to. Like I'm Said, I'm New to You-Tube Boat Maintenance. The Sailboat I'm Looking at Has a Hole, and I'm Trying to Convince Myself, I Can Fix It. Great Videos...I Believe I Still Have About 30 of Your Videos to Watch. 😁

Very informative and well presented. I'm finding a lot of useful information in your videos for repairing a 17ft. Fibreglass/gelcoat Boler trailer. Thank you for posting. I have subscribed. Very good job.

Excellent presentation, maybe I can take on that hole in my RV now!

Great vid! Now I feel a lot more confident to repair my boat for the first time! 😁

Great videos and extremely informative. I learned more in two of your videos than I did in two weeks searching the internet. Will definitely watch the rest. Got a 32 Ericson sloop that I'm refurbishing. Got some deep deck cracks going into the core and about 4-5 inches long. Just stemming from to the hull. The area of the core seems to have some amount of dry rot. Could you point me to a video that deals with a similar situation?

Your timing as always is just right - need to do just this kind of work on my boat over the next couple of months. Instead of painting could you coat these repairs with flow coat?

Would you please redo the video with the current product and your current knowledge? Love this video, just wondering if you would pick different product/material.

Great presentation, good pace, solid instruction. Can I send a picture of a fiberglass aircraft fairing with a missing piece from the manufacturer?

Excellent videos

Very helpful, I am repairing molds used to pour concrete umbrella anchors. Thanks!

High quality instructional video!

Andy please do a video on what you do for dust control, without the high end tools with vacuum systems, Thanks

Well, it depends :-). You can apply additional coats of epoxy without sanding providing you do so before it fully cures. Once its too hard to make a mark with your fingernail you'll need to sand and clean w acetone before the next layup. Each layup should not exceed a 1/4" in thickness (MAX)..

Something that size you'll need to remove parts of the interior for access; I would not recommend patching something that big from one side only.. Just remove the damage and grind back your tapers. It would be helpful to use a thin plastic board or ply sealed with plastic to press against the hull to maintain shape for the first couple layers of glass. Once the shape is established you can then move onto laying up the bulk of the material and final fairing. Any repair area needs to be dry

I would love if you could give me some tips on a project I am doing now. I need to prolong the hull of a 19-feet boat in 13,5 centimeters around 5 inches below at the stern of the boat. It’s gonna meet a new transom. But I am in Brazil and what I have here is 600 fiberglass fabric and polyester resin. I’m not sure how many layers I should have and neither how to make connection between the hull and the new lamination. The hull is solid fiber glass so I want my layers to be solid too. I guess the full thickness is about 1 inch at the stern. So it’s pretty thick. It’s down at the keel. If you can help, we could start with you telling me how many layers of 600g/square inch fiberglass I need to reach that thickness. The area is about (5 x 32 “) 150”. It’s a retangular area. It follows the design of the transom. I will be prolonging it downward because the boat was designed to inboard engine and refitted to outboard engine but not in a nice way. The space for the inboard engine was kept closed at the stern of the boat and I want to gain this space.

Very informative, thank you for that. I was about to pay someone to do some minor repairs in my fiberglass but now I think I can do it myself!

We purchased an older fiberglass green house (Solar Prism) that developed a few little holes that need repaired. Just a note: They must have joined the front and back of the shell, as you can see where the joints have separated in a couple of areas. I’m assuming I can repair these few issues using your fiberglass repair methods! Am I right? It appears someone already tried to repair the jointed separation using some kind of brown putty! It apparently wasn’t the right method as it has a large void. If you have any suggestions I would be very appreciative. Thank you for your great video.

Thank you for your videos ! They have helped me alot !

:-) Depending on location, yes! Feel free to post a pic or two on my Facebook page and I'll be able to give more detail...

Thank you! Right now I don't know of any good vids to show how core replacement is done, but if you are able to send me some pics and more info I can help walk you through the process :-)

Hi Andy. Thanks for creating and sharing some great videos! I have a question that I hope you can answer. I recently removed an old teak deck from my sailboat. I've removed and sanded all the material down and I am getting ready paint. But.. Before I paint I have a lot of screw holes in the deck, that I need to take care of. I've seen your video and how you repair these small holes but my question is; since I've got like 500 small holes will I need to fill every hole with epoxy, or can i buy some padding that would do the trick? I hope you get my question.Thanks! Best Regards Mark.

Andy…what is the difference between Epoxy Resin and Polyester Resin? Is there vinylester resin? A chat room discussed not to use epoxy resin for a swim platform repair. Use vinylester resin. Your thoughts please?

For the second hole where you cut down a 2 or 3 inch area around it, I have a couple of questions. Would there be anything wrong with using polyester resin if that's all you had for the top piece of fiberglass? And why would you not use a roto-zip to make the hole bigger on bottom like a triangular cone in order to lock in the resin plug so it could not come out? That is the way I would do it not knowing much about it; but is there a reason I should not do it that way? Thanks. Great videos!! I really enjoy learning from them. All the best!

Imagine if he also played guitar….would have the best instructional vids on YT….

Hey Tony, I'm not able to provide links here in the comment section, but look up a set of video's on my channel called there's a hole in my boat :-) I think there's 6 vids in the playlist now, and I'll be wrapping up the gelcoat portion of that series before then end of the month.. The size of the hole that you need to patch doesn't really matter, it's the same steps and process, just with a bit more material.. Let me know if you have any Q's..

Are any of these techniques and products shown good for below waterline application? Thanks and great videos.

Great video Andy such as great presentation as always

Thanks for producing this training episode, you the man!

Your name is now the boat master, your so good at this I now think I can do it..and I'm gonna try