Do-It-Yourself Fiberglass Repair
Fiberglass is used in many areas of our lives. Among others, there's a chance your shower walls or bathtub are made of it. If a fiberglass surface in your home is damaged, you can repair it yourself with a repair kit available at your local home improvement store.
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Sand the Damaged Area
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Use a power detail sander or a drill with sanding wheel attachment to sand out and buff the damaged spot on the fiberglass. Use rough 40-grit sandpaper. Make sure to sand off any loose strands or pieces, taking it down to a layer of fiberglass that's solid and undamaged. Sand the fiberglass surface about an inch beyond the damaged area, with the sanded area going deeper at the center of the area and tapering up to the surface at the edges. Thoroughly wipe and vacuum up the dust.
Lay the Patches
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Cut your fiberglass patches. You'll need three or four patches of slightly varying sizes, with the smallest fitting over the damaged area and the largest coming to just inside the edge of the sanded area. Mix your resin compound. Wearing rubber gloves, dip the patches in the resin and lay them over each other on the area, starting with the smallest patch and working up to the largest one. The top one should be even with the rest of the fiberglass surface. Smooth them out with a plastic putty knife.
Topcoating
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Once the resin dries, hand-sand the patched area with 100-grit sandpaper in quick, light strokes, getting it as smooth as possible. Make sure to wear a particle mask, as resin and fiberglass are harmful if inhaled. Mix your surface layer of gel coat with the appropriate color tinting from your kit to match the color of your fiberglass. Spread the gel coat over the area, smooth it out, and sand it lightly with 220-grit sandpaper after it dries.
Paint if Necessary
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If you have a white, almond, or other standard color tub, the kit should allow you to match the color. If your fiberglass is an unusual color that can't be matched, talk to your hardware store about getting a fiberglass painting kit to repaint the whole item after making the repair.
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