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Subject: Fiberglass Fab Question Author: JD [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 8:50pm Q.I was just watching Monster Garage and noticed something interesting. While making fiberglass modifications to a car/boat the guy used body filler on top of the glass mat and cloth to smooth the surface and the clear benefit was very little sanding. They then gelcoated over the entire thing. Is this body filler (I think that is what it was called) good enough to use on a saltwater boat? Are there any drawbacks? Having mixed feelings toward the answer I'm soliciting because this would be good on a future pilot house project but I'm also reluctant to hear that I've wasted lots of time sanding fiberglass and scratching the resulting itch. A.Just because it's on TV doesn't mean it's the right way to do it..LOL When it comes to Monster Garage: Well....I guess I can speak from experiance You can use filler over glass but it adds little strength, is prone to cracking, and can adsorb water creating blisters. The best way to do it is use Roving for the repair then fair it out with several layers of matt. Roving is strong but has a texture, mat conforms when rolled filling that texture. The deal is you need to get one of those special ribbed rollers designed for working with glass then roll the mat mashing it in to the imperfections. Any plastics house has them. In LA I recomend Hastings or South Bay. You might try making the repair, adding a layer of rolled 8 oz mat, then a coarse sanding with a 24 grit disk to get your shape. Then roll on a light 6 ounce mat layer to fill scratches and imperfections. Bondo and filler will work but stick to glass and resin only... if you can. It'll be stronger and stick better. Tight lines, Jim [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]