Fiberglass cloth exposed on old kayak

[Richas]

Hi all,
I hope the experts here can help me with this. I have an old fiberglass kayak that that has been exposed to the weather for years. The bottoms are fiberglass with no gelcoat. Over about forty percent of the surface the glass cloth is exposed. It is as if the epoxy resin went away in these areas
What is the proper way to repair this? Can I re-apply resin?

Thanks for the help.

Rich

[alan white]

It a knotty problem, since what hasn't eroded away is still weak. The 60% remaining, in other words, is cooked. Others might chime in, but while you could add epoxy and see what happens (with nothing to lose), you won't have a kayak with the strength designed into it. Any repair will increase weight dramatically.

[rwatson]

I would think that the original canoe was made with Polyester resin if it is moulded. New Polyester resin can be a problem to make a sound bond with old Polyester, so epoxy is the stuff to use for repairs..

I would add a light cloth with the epoxy. For the little bit of extra cost, you add a whole lot more real strength without any extra weight. Make sure you paint the new stuff to prevent degradation from UV.