Fiberglass repair help/suggestions needed...

[CaptNugget]

Hi, im restoring a few old trikes..right now i have a Alsport TS-110, BGW Tri-Rod, and a Owosso Explorer 800S...The seats all have stress cracks in the tops of the fiberglass seats. The Alsport i believe i used some kind of putty on the chunks/chips in it and cracks i believe i used some kind of filler epoxy (Dont remember, i kno should've wrote it down haha). I was just wondering whats the best way to take care of these cracks? ill include a pic of what i mean. I was thinking just a fiberglass resin coat over it, smooth it out and then should be ready for paint? Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.also need a bracket for the back of my Tri-Rod, ill include pics of that piece i need too:shrug:

 

[CaptNugget]

Also had a few questions about parts. Im making my list of parts i need to order for multiple trikes..On the brake levers, whats the difference between the "OD" brake lever and the "Compression release" brake lever?(on OldMiniBikes warehouse, of course)thanks again

Also need to kno, i need throttle grips and the " with Trail Grips" one sounds appealing, i got the cheap normal ones last time and theyre fine but would like trikes to be different. The "with Trail grips" didnt look to have the metal connector where the throttle cable connects, does it have one or would i need to buy one ?

 

[Havasu Dave]

Capt Nugget, those are gel coat cracks. Applying resin and catalyst over it will be a temporary fix, because resin alone is extremely brittle.

You have two choices. Either re-gel coat it, or paint it after filling. If the cracks were causes by stresses, those causes have to be corrected first. I assume the weight of a rider is causing the seat stress, so perhaps you should lay some woven and mat with resin on the weaker areas underneath, out of sight.

Here are a couple of articles that detail gel coat repair from marine sources, since this is common on boats.

BoatUS Magazine: Gelcoat Repair On Boats | DIY December 2011

How to repair spider cracks on your fiberglass boat

 

[Paticus]

............................... duplicate

 

[Paticus]

I used to get those cracks on my surf boards (longboards). No doubt you are losing some structural stability.. Whether it's significant or not in that application, I'm not sure. If it were me, I would roughen the surface with some sandpaper, slap some resin on top, lay down some extra glass cloth, then hit it with another layer of resin. Then you can smooth it out and it will be structurally sound (probably more stable than before).

 

[Egorspyle65]

First things first be prepared to itch. I do fiberglass repairs all the time on truck hoods. My best suggestion it to get a small angle grinder with a 36 grit disc to grind out the cracks. The mix and add resin. Covered by a layer of glass matt. Then soak with more resin. After its dried then grind it level the smooth out with bondo and a putty coat to get a good smooth surface. If you dont use bondo or putty over it you will have pinholes in the fiberglass. Just make sure not to put too much hardener in the resin or it can crack back. Hope this helps.

 

[gumpit]

this one had a chunk taken out. I fiberglassed the hole and covered it with spray on bedliner. You can get it in many other colors now. But it makes it super strong. I would do the next one the same way.

 

[Bruceo]

Stress cracks.you need to glass it with resin and cloth/matt. then re gel coat or paint. They WILL come back if not repaired right.

 

[rugblaster]

what Bruce said.....I haf to tell you, they (the cracks) will probably reappear after some bounces. I did this old golf car for sporting clay shooting...it looked really good till we josseled it around a bit and the cracks (actually a hole) cracked again.....I used a 36 grit disc on the affected area, used fiberglass on both sides and a little filler, high build primer and base/clear coat.....still cracked.....it was a big hole, however.

after a while you have to decide how much time to put into this.

 

[CaptNugget]

THANKS for ALL the suggestions! They basically outlined some thoughts id had and gave me good tips to go forward. The links were really helpful, definitely saved that info! Im not too concerned with the cracks coming back. I figured they might but what can you expect from vintage fiberglass that gets rode around on! Id just like to make them look the best i can so hopefully there decent for awhile after i paint...I kno fiberglass is a pain and itchy!, i reinforced the bottom and back of the seat (and fix a seat mounting hole) on my TS-110 with fiberglass ((My first attempt ever at fiberglass)) Dont think it came out too bad, little bumpy around the fixed hole on corner but ehh first try and its solid.

All in all -- Just trying to figure out a good way to repair/fix/hide them w/o doing too much extensive + expensive work.
Thanks Again!:thumbsup:

 

[wjustice]

I don't know about the other trikes but the alsport is NOT gelcoated. They used vacuum molded plastic backed with fiberglass. When I repaired mine I ground back till the glass and plastic were still bonded, then glassed and body filled back to shape. I have some pics in my gallery. They usually are not so much stress cracks as they are flex cracks.

 

[Havasu Dave]

I don't know about the other trikes but the alsport is NOT gelcoated. They used vacuum molded plastic backed with fiberglass. When I repaired mine I ground back till the glass and plastic were still bonded, then glassed and body filled back to shape. I have some pics in my gallery. They usually are not so much stress cracks as they are flex cracks.

Thanks wjustice. So they hand glassed inside of the molded plastic piece?

Sorry to OP for wrong information. I've worked fiberglass for 30 years, but most of it on boats- all gel coat.