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Old 11-24-2017, 06:52 PM   #1
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Exterior Fiberglass Side Panel Damage - Repair with Marine Tex?

We bought the Coach with this damage. Last / 2nd Owner said this was caused leaving a campground one night late, perhaps in too much of a hurry.

I was thinking I could repair the gouge in the first picture with this Marine Tex after reading some positive results on RV repairs. I would of course clean/remove the small cracked pieces first. I think this is the kit.

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Tex-RM...rds=marine+tex

That kit is white, may not match but I also thought I could add some vinyl graphics to each rear side (over that area on the Passenger side)

I'm most concern about protecting from the elements vs looks, exact match right now.

Not sure on the 2nd picture. Perhaps just gel-coat?


Where we had our Propane Tank and Regulator replaced, they also do fiberglass RV repair. I had asked about repair that area and he talked about replaced the entire side wall from top (@ roof) to the bottom.. not even sure how that would work. I did ask for a temporary solution (to protect from weather) and he said tape it but didn't tell me what type of tape. What type of tape could protect this from the weater on a temporary basis (maybe a year)?

Opinions on using Marine Tex and suggestions for other repair solutions appreciated.

Marine Tex for repair here?


Not sure here:





.
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Old 11-24-2017, 07:16 PM   #2
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You can get White Eternabond Tape in 8" Widths. Would protect from water for many years. The outside layer of Eternabond Tape is subject to damage from abrasion or cutting it is similar to a decal.
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Old 11-24-2017, 07:26 PM   #3
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yes you need to tape it to keep water out till you fix it.
when you want to fix it buy fiberglass mat and resin
you can buy at auto parts store lowes home depot even walmart
easy to work with check you tube for fiberglass repair
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Old 11-24-2017, 08:34 PM   #4
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I think my approach would be to repair just like damage to a boat hull. Grind the damaged area enough to apply a resin gel, like Bondo Glass or other like product, to the void apply strips to glass mat and cover with another layer of the resin gel cover the area with wax paper let it set up sand with 80 grit enough to apply a white gel coat and sand it smooth feather the edges into the old gel coat I would suggest trying to match the dark blue at the bottom of the coach and paint the entire back of the coach up to the top trim line curving up from the damaged area. This how I would approach the job. Done a lot of this on damaged fiberglass.
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Old 11-24-2017, 08:57 PM   #5
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If you want the patch to hold up use a West system epoxy product, they have repair kits and sandable additives. It forms a great bond to the existing gel coat which most other stuff doesn't. You can even gelcoat the finished patch if you want to get fancy
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Old 11-24-2017, 09:54 PM   #6
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Marine Tex is amazing, a two part putty that bonds well and does not come loose. It is often used to patch fuel tanks, even when wet (although I have not tried wet). It was used to mend my motorcycle tank, and when the tank was sand blasted, prep for paint, the marine Tex held better than the metal.

I think it would be an excellent choice for mending all the damage.
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Old 11-24-2017, 10:13 PM   #7
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Marine Tex

I used Marine Tex on a boat repair several years ago. Great product. For me it is much easier to use than fiber glass. My repair was much small than yours. I don't know if you can build it up enough to fill those large gaps. Lwt us know what you decide.
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Old 11-25-2017, 04:25 AM   #8
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Marine Tex would work but it would take an awful lot of it $ and is kind of hard to get smooth on a large area like that. I would use bondo or fiberglass/resin mix to fill it.
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Old 11-25-2017, 04:48 AM   #9
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Fibra glass kit.
Resin and the Fiberglass material, is your best way.

It is not hard to do and this is how body shops would work on it.
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Old 11-25-2017, 06:15 AM   #10
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The whole idea of them suggesting to replace the whole wall from top to bottom is BS.

I suspect you probably got this rig pretty darn cheap with this damage and the MH's age and the previous owner just didn't want to deal with it, and your goal is not to get it factory perfect but pleasingly repaired to where—when done— if you stood 5' away you could hardly notice anything was damaged unless you pointed it out.

I would not put any of these recommended tapes on these areas as the shop and some have suggested to prevent water entry. It will just further complicate the repair in several ways when it's tackled. To prevent water damage before or during your repair process, just get a large piece of plastic, and use painters blue tape from Home Depot to cover the damaged areas while you prepare for the repair and during the steps of repair. When your ready to repair, remove the plastic, do some repairs, then cover it back up taping the plastic to the MH.

DYI Glass repair:
Sooooo, as most everyone else has said, you can approach this DIY, by repairing each area separately with fiberglass cloth, resin, some sanding, rinse and repeat till it's glass smooth and feathered in, just like in any other fiberglass repair process.

DYI Paint:
Once the glass is repaired, take an old piece of the white section of the damaged glass to a paint shop and have that color matched. For me, I would paint that whole rear corner using this matched white paint all the way from the top section where the glass is still good all the way down to the bottom. Looks to be around 3'-4' or so. You have that piece of vertical molding there that acts as a great border for this repair. For that one gouged area in the white section under the Scenic Cruiser name, just do that part separately in the white too because it's not touching any other colors. For me, I would not try to match the blues, the red, gray, the graphics etc. in the back part. A paint shop can put this matched white paint in regular spray cans and you could then paint these areas—feathering it into the edges of the other glass—lightly sanding between coats, then add a couple 3 coats of clear coat to finish it up. Then a final compound, polish & wax and it would look great. Probably do the whole repair, paint and all for about $300-$500 or so. The paint would be the most expensive part. Many video's on youtube about fiberglass repair process to get your head around the process.

Shop Repair:
If you're going to have a shop do this, I would NOT use a multi-purpose RV repair shop to do this. I would take it to any body shop that does nothing but fiberglass repairs like this. They could have this done in a 2-3 of days. Get 2 or 3 quotes. If I was to guess, a shop probably would charge somewhere around $1,500 - 2K for something like this and that would including painting these sections using one color as I have suggested. If you have them match all those other colors, grays, reds, 2 shades of blue etc., it will cost A LOT more.

DIY...much longer of course but a whole lot cheaper and give you a pleasing repair.
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Old 11-25-2017, 06:42 AM   #11
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There is a product called Tigers hair, it's like bondo but has fiberglass strands in it. It comes in a gallon can, mix with hardener, like bondo. The area needs to be rough sanded first then apply filler. This is the same type of product that is used to repair rotted transoms on boats,(I just did one for my SIL). In your case the area can be sanded to a semi smooth condition then add a thin layer of Icing finishing filler, sand to a perfect finish, prime then paint.
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Old 11-26-2017, 05:10 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marjoa View Post
use painters blue tape from Home Depot
I had read that blue painters tape wont' hold up to weather rain on rv side fiberglass and some of it can leave residue/hard to get off. I saw one post about a scotch silver tape in the line that holds up to weather, not sure about when it's time to remove it. It seems some put some material on the exterior over their windows in the cold months, not sure what tape is being used.

I also saw someone recommending to use aluminum tape to temporary cover it (perhaps until spring)? Not sure where to find that.

Can you recommend the specific blue tape type (there are several types at home depot) that will work so I can have the plastic up for 2-3 months?

I bought the plastic today (9'x12' 2mil dropcloth that I will cut to about 3-4' width) but decided to research a little more on the tape to secure the plastic over those areas and on the fiberglass.

This Coach is of course not full body paint, it's gelcoat.

I want it to hold but not be a major chore to take the tape off either.



In regards to Marine Tex, I used it on our boat years ago for a below surface repair (must have hit some wood in Lake Washington), probably was the same size as the gouge on the RV. I see some have had good luck with it. I wouldn't try to use it on those other areas where just the gelcoat has come up so I need solutions for both areas. Trying to find more links and get more input here in my thread here which is very much appreciated.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/ind...?topic=47503.0
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tex-76637.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...air-49364.html
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/f...print/true.cfm

I may also contact a local boat repair place, maybe they would be cheaper than using an auto body show. I wouldn't mind just getting the base repair and maybe do the gelcoat repair in the spring. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

My Wife wants to take a road trip to Utah towards the end of December/Early Jan to visit friends. Wouldn't mind getting it protected.

I think my priority should be to fill that thin 12 inch long gouge or am I wrong about the severity of the other areas where jut the gelcoat is cracked off?

.
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Old 11-26-2017, 05:30 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rapid rick View Post
There is a product called Tigers hair, it's like bondo but has fiberglass strands in it. It comes in a gallon can, mix with hardener, like bondo. The area needs to be rough sanded first then apply filler. This is the same type of product that is used to repair rotted transoms on boats,(I just did one for my SIL). In your case the area can be sanded to a semi smooth condition then add a thin layer of Icing finishing filler, sand to a perfect finish, prime then paint.
Have not seen that before, will read up on that and see if I can find anyone that has used that combo on a RV exterior fiberglass sidewall.

Are these the two products here are posting about?

https://www.amazon.com/Evercoat-1190...air+fiberglass
https://www.amazon.com/USC-26006-Ici.../dp/B00GQ1X1MQ

Looks like Tiger Hair is available in a Quart size, that gouge is not that long.
https://www.amazon.com/Fibreglass-Ev...air+fiberglass

Did read this in one of the Amazon reviews:
Quote:
I will mention however, that I was doing this during the winter so getting the mixture right and knowing when to apply it took some trial and error. I recommend doing this during the warmer months as recommended on the instructions for the can.
The Coach is parked in our yard and it's this time of year.

EDIT: It looks like Tiger Hair needs a catalyst/hardener, which to buy with it?
I also see BONDO has something to compete with Tiger Hair:

Bondo 762 Bondo-Hair Long Strand Fiberglass Reinforced Filler
https://www.amazon.com/762-Bondo-Hai...t_sims?ie=UTF8


To add to the links I posted in my last post, saw this for not deep damage, not sure if the damage on the very rear is considered deep, seems to me just the gelcoat layer is cracked off.





I also just read more about Marine Tex and temperature, minimum us 55F so this is not the best time of year. When I did my boat, is was summer time.

.
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Old 11-26-2017, 06:36 PM   #14
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, Yes, those are the products that I was talking about, many different brands out there,those I mentioned, I have used with good results and yes weather is a big factor. I would try putting a large tarp/cover or?over entire area, then add heat to area that you need to work on. propane salamander heater or ? use caution with heater, keeping it 55 degrees would be great temp. You will have to use your discretion as to how much product to buy as I can't tell by pics. The hardner should come with the tiger's hair and icing, if not ask for it, the containers will tell you how much to use,both use the same hardener.
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