Repairing small cracks in livewell

[Muddyjeep810]

I have some small cracks in my fiberglass livewell that are dripping into the hull of my boat. I've never done a fiberglass repair but I watched videos so now I am a YouTube expert.

Anyway, the outside of the livewell is covered in foam overspray and what looks like Flex Seal to me. The previous owner rigged literally everything he could on this boat so Flex Seal is the most likely coating.

Ok, so my question is, can I repair the fiberglass from the inside of the livewell? I bought a can of Bondo Fiberglass Resin with some of the Bondo mat. That is what I planned on using. Can I just sand it down really good, cut a piece of mat the same size as the back wall of my livewell, and glue it up? If I do this, do I need to paint the inside of the livewell again after I am done?

 

[Muddyjeep810]

Additional info since I can't edit the main body for some reason. The entire back wall of the livewell feels really thin and fragile. The rest of the livewell feels more solid. That's why I thought it would be best to go over the entire back wall with a sheet of fiberglass mat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would not use bondo resin as it is more expensive than good resin and it has wax

 

[Muddyjeep810]

I would not use bondo resin as it is more expensive than good resin and it has wax

What effect will the wax have on the repair?

 

[Scott Danforth]

What effect will the wax have on the repair?

none, if the resin is fresh and you can do the whole repair at once (one layup and gel coat all at once). or you have to let it cure and then grind the surface back down a bit if you have to do a second layer or to add gel. however most of the time the bondo brand resin is at least 6 months to a year old on the shelff so it starts to go bad before you buy it.

a good layup resin is about half the cost (currenly about $28 a gallon) and has no wax

have you looked at the information in the DIY stickies? https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-tos-and-other-great-information.283508/

 

[Muddyjeep810]

none, if the resin is fresh and you can do the whole repair at once (one layup and gel coat all at once). or you have to let it cure and then grind the surface back down a bit if you have to do a second layer or to add gel. however most of the time the bondo brand resin is at least 6 months to a year old on the shelff so it starts to go bad before you buy it.

a good layup resin is about half the cost (currenly about $28 a gallon) and has no wax

have you looked at the information in the DIY stickies? https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-tos-and-other-great-information.283508/

Thank you for that guidance. There is a wealth of information in there!

Choice of materials aside, is there a reason why I cannot patch the live well from the inside versus the outside to avoid having to clean up all of the foam and flex Seal?

 

[mike_i]

You want to patch from the inside since the water pressure will be pushing from the inside out. How long and wide are the cracks? I wonder if 5200 would work.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Choice of materials aside, is there a reason why I cannot patch the live well from the inside versus the outside to avoid having to clean up all of the foam and flex Seal?

No, you can fix from the inside.

Grind away the gel, down to fiberglass. Apply a layer of CSM, and a layer of 1708

Apply 2-3 coats of gel. The last coat with wax in the gel

40 grit DA discs work well to remove the gel

 

[Muddyjeep810]

No, you can fix from the inside.

Grind away the gel, down to fiberglass. Apply a layer of CSM, and a layer of 1708

Apply 2-3 coats of gel. The last coat with wax in the gel

40 grit DA discs work well to remove the gel

I have one crack around the drain outlet which definitely needs to be reinforced, and two in the back wall of it that are probably 1-1/2" - 2" long. The entire back wall feels really weak. The livewell is only like 1/8" thick.

When you say apply 2 coats of gel, do you have a cheap gel to recommend?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have one crack around the drain outlet which definitely needs to be reinforced, and two in the back wall of it that are probably 1-1/2" - 2" long. The entire back wall feels really weak. The livewell is only like 1/8" thick.

When you say apply 2 coats of gel, do you have a cheap gel to recommend?

I do not recommend cheap anything. However a good gel is about $18 a quart

Remember, your boat was designed to last about 15 years and be replaced. The 3mm of glass is all that was needed to meet the design life expectancy