Making an Older Car New Again

« Back to Home

How To Fix Fiberglass Bumpers

Posted on

RVs have more fiberglass surfaces that most cars. This is actually a big advantage for owners who like to make their own body repairs. Fiberglass is much easier to work with than the metal that constitutes the large percentage of most auto bodies. With a basic fiberglass repair kit, you can fix everything from small holes, to scratches, to deep dents in your RV. This article explains how you can use a fiberglass repair kit to repair most blemishes in your RV body.

What Comes in a Fiberglass Repair Kit

A fiberglass repair kit will usually include most, but not all, of the things that you need to repair holes. Most kits come with a large tub of resin and a small tubes of liquid hardener. They also come with fiberglass cloth, sandpaper, and a small plastic mixing tray and stick. In addition to these supplies, you will also want to have some patiner's tape and the appropriate touch up paint.

All of these items can be purchased at the dealership or at an auto parts store.

Prepping to Patch

The most important step in the prepping process is sanding the surface the affected area. You basically want to sand the entire area that you plan on covering with the cloth patch. You can tape of a small section to show where you need to sand. Then, you can cut the cloth to this exact size to make sure it fits.

Applying the Cloth

You can now remove that tape that you use to mark of the sanding area. But, you will need more tape to lightly hang the cloth exactly where you want it to be. This is needed when working on vertical surface. Just put the tape on the corners, because you will need to remove it once you start to spread the resin.

Spreading the Resin

When you mix the fiberglass resin with the liquid hardener, it dries within a matter of minutes. So make sure the area is fully prepared. You use the provided plastic putty knife to spread the resin onto the taped up cloth. Remove the tape from the corners once enough resin is holding the cloth in place. Make sure the resin completely covers the cloth texture. Put it on thick and let it dry. Then, you will sand it down to smooth it out and make the surfaces blend together after the resin is completely dry.  

For professional assistance, take your vehicle to a local RV collision repair shop.


Share