Down to bare fiberglass

[wildmaninal]

Hello

I have a 1977 Challenger bass boat, pictured on my website. I took this boat to a relatives upholstry shop to have carpet installed and the bottom patched in a few different areas, these areas are down to the bare fiberglass. Unfortunatly my relative didn't repair these spots and told me that it was no big problem, that if I wanted to repair them use bondo. Now the previous owner did sand on the boat in spots and there down to the bare fiberglass and there was a little bit of primer painting done below the water line, I honestly think he painted over the original paint with the primer there. I plan on using the boat like it is when I get the machanic work done on the motor, then before next season I'll try and get it painted myself.

My questions are:

Is bondo a safe logical way to repair these spots? I know I have one boat that has bondo on it but it was above the water line. If not what is a safe repair?

What website would you recomend searching for the paint. I had a guy tell me that the type of paint that I need would cost $200 a gallon if not more (I think he may of flipped his lid). I have a link on my website to a man on ebay whom is selling paint, but I am sort of wurry about it, I mainly have the link because of the color chart.

Visitors are welcome to check out my website. I don't have any pictures posted of the bottom of the boat though. "http://www.freewebs.com/wild1979inal"

Thanks ahead of time for any replies

[jrstorm]

well bondo is porus and will absorb water and cause blisters. i have repaired blisters before, you have to grind the spots back to dry fiberglass.the holes or spots you have to repair you will have to do the same thing. grind it back a few inches around the spot so the new glass will bite to the boat, you need to remove all the old stuff to get a good bite. depending on how deep i would use biax to fill the depth then put chopped strand mat on it then mix up some thickened epoxy with glass bubbles, then spread it over the repair like bondo[ sanding /grinding between layers for a good strong bite]. all iv ever used on that type of repair is epoxy because of its strength, but you can use poly . it will take longer to cure with epoxy but it will last longer. then you ned to put on a barier coat of primer then paint it with a good paint . all the repairs iv done were getting bottom anti fouling paint but i think you could use emron or awl grip. awl grip is a strong paint and its a 2 part paint , it can be roled and tipped and it will come out good. heres a link http://www.awlgrip.com/awlgrip_pages/Default.htm thats what iv done on bottom repairs and it has worked for me and never had any issues with any of the boats iv repaired that way.

[wildmaninal]

Thank you for that input jrstorm, I'll keep it in mind when I go to repair these spots.

[North Texas Fiberglass]

Don't use "Bondo" or other plastic fillers. As stated earlier, it has a horrible tendency to absorb water.

Here is an example of Spectrum Color's available patch kits. It is made from Gelcote and aerosil (Cabosil) mixture, and spreads on like a plastic filler. Once hardened, it is sandable.

http://spectrumcolor.com/catalog.htm (brouse the various boats makes until you find the color you need).

Then you can primer and paint over it. It will turn out much, much better than just using a plastic "bondo" type filler.

Awlgrip is one of the best paints out there, but as mentioned earlier, it is extremely expensive. Imron will also suffice if needed.

Just remember to use a self etching epoxy primer, spray it on good and wet, block it with 320 paper, then paint over it. Allow plenty of time to cure. If you are really going to all this trouble, you may want to consider gelcote. It will last much, much longer than any paint you put on the bottom. The difference is, you don't have to primer and block the hull. Just prep sand with 80 or 180 grit sandpaper and shoot it directly on the bottom of the hull, Just make sure the hull is actually gelcote and not poly urethane paint. Once you spray the gelcote on, you will have to sand it with 400,600, then 800 grit paper, then buff it. Takes longer, but it will turn out much better.

[wildmaninal]

I appreciate all the replies. This seems to be a much better forum then others I have been in the past (for other questions). I just couldn't believe that my uncle would steer me wrong, he must not know as much as I thought about these boats even though he has been around them for years.