Few materials rival fiberglass. It has several advantages over steel. For example, low-volume parts made from it cost far less than steel ones. It resists more chemicals, including an abundant one that causes steel to whither away into brown dust: oxygen. Size being equal, properly made fiberglass can be several times stronger yet still lighter than steel. In fact, it won’t even dent.
The hand-lamination technique is the backbone of most fiberglass repairs. Rather than merely joining broken materials at the point of damage as we do when welding metal, we literally grind away the damage and replace it with new material. By grinding the damaged panels in a particular manner, fiberglass repairs achieve great surface-area contact, which is essential to ply construction technique. What’s more, a properly made repair is every bit as strong as the remainder of the panel. In some cases-particularly with chopper gun-made parts-repairs made by this technique can be stronger than the existing panel. But best of all, any enthusiast with a few very common tools and a good supplier can repair fiberglass with the same kind of quality and reliability as a seasoned veteran can offer.
Though we can’t anticipate every type of damage, this method applies to 99 percent of all fiberglass repairs. In fact, this information applies to things like chopping fiberglass tops and grafting together two panels. Only the person doing the chopping is creating the damage. The repairs after the modifications remain largely the same.
While we don’t think you’ll intentionally create damage just to get the opportunity to try out this technique, merely knowing how to do it certainly eliminates a lot of anxiety. At the very least you’ll rest easy knowing that strong and reliable fiberglass repairs are easier than you thought.
Post time: Aug-02-2021