Fiberglass Question

[toberlindacher]

So, I just did a fiberglass repair on the deck of my boat. I coated the stripped and repaired deck board with a marine grade wood sealant and then put fiberglass over the top to match the rest of the deck fiberglass.
It felt like it cured just fine but two days later I got a couple of drops of water on the new fiberglass and the resin became a bit tacky. I am concerned because I am going to lay new carpet down on the deck and want to make sure everything is fine underneath when it gets wet in the boat. My questions are:

1. Shouldn't the fiberglass resist the water?
2. Do I need to put anything down on the new fiberglass to make it waterproof before gluing the carpet down? Will the fiberglass keep water from invading the wood deck?
3. Do I need to put down a coating of poly-vinyl alcohol to help it fully cure?


Any help would be great. As you can tell, I'm kinda new to the fiberglass-over-wood/deck thing.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Some good news and some possibly not so good.


If you didn't use waxed resin or use something else over the resin then the surface will stay tacky for a while. This tacky surface is from the resin not curing completely when exposed to air. Having it turn white, or become slightly tacky when it first gets wet is normal. You would need to apply another coat of resin and add wax this time to have it cure tack free.

The bad part is that using sealer can possibly stop the resin from bonding to the wood.

 

[toberlindacher]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Ok, thanks for the info. What kind of wax should I add to the resin? Also, what signs will I see if the resin is not bonding with the wood due to the sealant I put down?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass Question

As long as you added enough catalyst the tacky surface should go away fairly soon, you could put it in the sun to help speed up the process. The other option is buy some wax additive for the resin you have, or some waxed resin and put down another layer.

If it peels off, you know it didn't bond.

 

[toberlindacher]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Alright, I'll add another layer with a wax additive. After it cures, I take it that I sand and then lay the carpet down. There is not another step that I'm missing, right?

Thanks for the help ondarvr.

 

[tdrudd87]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Unless rvr says different, you are correct.

Terry

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Many people would say to not replace the carpet and use a non skid coating instead....less chance of rot.

You only need to sand it if you want to, or if it needs to be leveled more, other than that there's no need for it.

 

[toberlindacher]

Re: Fiberglass Question

Thanks for your help everyone. Much appreciated as always.