Fiberglass repair tips?

chugs · February 13th, 2016, 06:22 PM

First attempt at repairing my fiberglass fairing. The fairings came with the bike and seems its time to get them repaired. Any tips? Left pic, its cracked through the windscreen bolt barely hanging on with the windscreen as support. Right pic as you can see has a big tear in it.

chugs · February 13th, 2016, 06:26 PM

Left pic right side upper, missing upper portion where it bolts to tank. Middle pic, is left side upper torn section as well as below that where it is cracked in mid fairing. Right pic, has a small few holes when it was sanded.

RacinNinja · February 13th, 2016, 06:32 PM

Popsicle sticks or small carbon rods make great reinforcement for weak or flexible areas. You can get the small carbon rods at a hobby shop that sells airplanes...they're used as wing braces.

Use only enough resin to WET the fabric! Strength comes from the fabric, not the resin.

Get a good quality weave not the random chop stuff like you get from an auto parts store.

Glass the inside, bondo the outside. Glass mat is pretty rough texture when it's done right.

Racer x · February 13th, 2016, 06:56 PM

Wax paper on the final surface is a nice way to get a smooth surface.

hfd1 tuner · February 14th, 2016, 03:32 PM

Something that I am well suited for crash damage repair! Lots of practice

Repair using west marine epoxy from back side use woven fiberglass just a couple layers is fine. Chopped strand is too thick as said pop sticks work good to hold stuff in place use blue painters tape on the outside it keeps epoxy from running out and gives shape to the cracks that can be sanded down. You can mix some 404 filler up in the epoxy good and thick and paste in big cracks in the gel coat The epoxy is strong and bonds super good to fiberglass. New bodywork always looks great but fixing broken stuff builds your skills...something about the smell of fiberglass dust

chugs · February 14th, 2016, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacinNinja

Popsicle sticks or small carbon rods make great reinforcement for weak or flexible areas. You can get the small carbon rods at a hobby shop that sells airplanes...they're used as wing braces.

Use only enough resin to WET the fabric! Strength comes from the fabric, not the resin.

Get a good quality weave not the random chop stuff like you get from an auto parts store.

Glass the inside, bondo the outside. Glass mat is pretty rough texture when it's done right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racer x

Wax paper on the final surface is a nice way to get a smooth surface.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hfd1 tuner

Something that I am well suited for crash damage repair! Lots of practice

Repair using west marine epoxy from back side use woven fiberglass just a couple layers is fine. Chopped strand is too thick as said pop sticks work good to hold stuff in place use blue painters tape on the outside it keeps epoxy from running out and gives shape to the cracks that can be sanded down. You can mix some 404 filler up in the epoxy good and thick and paste in big cracks in the gel coat The epoxy is strong and bonds super good to fiberglass. New bodywork always looks great but fixing broken stuff builds your skills...something about the smell of fiberglass dust

Thanks for the tips, will update as I make progress.

tgold · February 15th, 2016, 09:44 AM

Rough up the surface that you are bonding to with 100 grit sandpaper to remove loose paint and to promote better adhesion.
Don't sand too much though because you start to cut into the glass fibers and that reduces strength. The pebbly surface on the inside of the bodywork will bond ok, just a little roughing it up will help.
Sometimes you can have problems with adhesion due to the oily residue and grime that can get all over the inside of the bodywork. This is especially true when you are fixing a belly pan, so make sure that the bonding surface is super clean.

chugs · February 16th, 2016, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgold

Rough up the surface that you are bonding to with 100 grit sandpaper to remove loose paint and to promote better adhesion.
Don't sand too much though because you start to cut into the glass fibers and that reduces strength. The pebbly surface on the inside of the bodywork will bond ok, just a little roughing it up will help.
Sometimes you can have problems with adhesion due to the oily residue and grime that can get all over the inside of the bodywork. This is especially true when you are fixing a belly pan, so make sure that the bonding surface is super clean.

Thanks will keep that in mind.

February 13th, 2016, 06:32 PM	#3
RacinNinja Vintage Screwball Name: B Location: Washington Join Date: Feb 2016 Motorcycle(s): 2011 Ninja 250, 2008 Ninja 250, 2019 KTM 1290SDR, 2017 FZ10 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Mar '16	Popsicle sticks or small carbon rods make great reinforcement for weak or flexible areas. You can get the small carbon rods at a hobby shop that sells airplanes...they're used as wing braces. Use only enough resin to WET the fabric! Strength comes from the fabric, not the resin. Get a good quality weave not the random chop stuff like you get from an auto parts store. Glass the inside, bondo the outside. Glass mat is pretty rough texture when it's done right. __________________________________________________ Goin' fast on slow bikes!
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

February 13th, 2016, 06:56 PM	#4
Racer x ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Eric Location: Iowa City Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Kawmeracchi 350 2010 Project X Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 54 MOTM - Sep '18, Feb '16	Wax paper on the final surface is a nice way to get a smooth surface. __________________________________________________ Top speed 123.369mph. Ohio mile Worlds fastest 250 ninja
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

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February 14th, 2016, 03:32 PM	#5
hfd1 tuner ninjette.org member Name: charles Location: Sugar Hill GA. Join Date: Feb 2016 Motorcycle(s): many mostly racebikes cbr565 fzr490 ex250ish Posts: 40	Something that I am well suited for crash damage repair! Lots of practice Repair using west marine epoxy from back side use woven fiberglass just a couple layers is fine. Chopped strand is too thick as said pop sticks work good to hold stuff in place use blue painters tape on the outside it keeps epoxy from running out and gives shape to the cracks that can be sanded down. You can mix some 404 filler up in the epoxy good and thick and paste in big cracks in the gel coat The epoxy is strong and bonds super good to fiberglass. New bodywork always looks great but fixing broken stuff builds your skills...something about the smell of fiberglass dust

February 15th, 2016, 09:44 AM	#7
tgold ninjette.org sage Name: Timm Location: West Seneca, NY Join Date: Oct 2015 Motorcycle(s): 2006 1050 Speed Triple, 2010 250 Ninja racebike, YZF320RR? Racebike Posts: 556 MOTM - Nov '15	Rough up the surface that you are bonding to with 100 grit sandpaper to remove loose paint and to promote better adhesion. Don't sand too much though because you start to cut into the glass fibers and that reduces strength. The pebbly surface on the inside of the bodywork will bond ok, just a little roughing it up will help. Sometimes you can have problems with adhesion due to the oily residue and grime that can get all over the inside of the bodywork. This is especially true when you are fixing a belly pan, so make sure that the bonding surface is super clean.