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VeggieBullet · 04-05-2012, 04:17 PM

hmmmmm
this is very interesting...
thanks for the very detailed post...
Please keep it coming!

SilverCabin · 05-03-2012, 03:54 PM

I'm back and I've finished the job--sort of.

Here's a photo of mixing the gel coat. One tablespoon gel coat to two drops of the hardener creates the right mix. It has the consistency of latex paint, and doesn't begin to harden for about 20 minutes.

After it hardens, it feels sticky, but the Acetone wipe and sanding take that away.

SilverCabin · 05-03-2012, 03:57 PM

I'm no expert at this so I decided to use a small brush to apply the gel coat. It painted on fairly easy, but didn't go on a smooth as I would have liked. Here's two pictures. One applying the material and after it was all applied.

SilverCabin · 05-03-2012, 04:01 PM

Here I am sanding with the 320 grip paper--wet sanding. The material smooths out very easily. In fact so easy that I removed some of the bumps on the shower floor! If I have to do this again, I'll figure out how to sand it a little more precisely, and not smooth out the floor so much.

SilverCabin · 05-03-2012, 04:04 PM

After sanding with the 320 grit paper, I discovered that there were some parts of the crack that I either missed or didn't quite fill. I mixed up another batch and made another application. I also tried to restore some of the bumps 0n the floor that I sanded away. Here's the area after the second coat.

SilverCabin · 05-03-2012, 04:10 PM

Here's the area after the final wet sanding (320 grit followed by 600 grit), and a few minutes of hand polishing with polishing compound. Viewed from standing height, you can't tell anything different on the shower floor except a few bumps are missing in one area.

I decided to quit with this. If I have to do it again, I'll try not to remove the factory bumps and figure out how to add them back so they have smooth edges--mine have a distinct edge. The important thing is that the crack is filled.

I'll let you know how this holds up on our five month road trip this summer.

Thanks for following along,

Randy

KYAirstream · 10-05-2013, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverCabin

Here's the area after the final wet sanding (320 grit followed by 600 grit), and a few minutes of hand polishing with polishing compound. Viewed from standing height, you can't tell anything different on the shower floor except a few bumps are missing in one area.

I decided to quit with this. If I have to do it again, I'll try not to remove the factory bumps and figure out how to add them back so they have smooth edges--mine have a distinct edge. The important thing is that the crack is filled.

I'll let you know how this holds up on our five month road trip this summer.

Thanks for following along,

Randy

Just curious how your patch has held up?

SilverCabin · 10-10-2013, 03:20 PM

Well, the patch I did that's shown in the pictures above didn't hold up very well. We spent five months in the trailer in 2012 (traveling to Alaska) and by the time we got back to Florida, there was only a few pieces of the patch left--the rest had flaked off.

I called the company who made the shower and provided the kit, and they let me talk to one of the techs who makes these repairs. BTW, if you can take your trailer to them, they are just south of South Bend, IN, they will fix your shower for free!

After discussing this with the tech, she thought two things may have happened. (1) I didn't get it roughed up enough or clean enough before applying the patch, and (2) I probably didn't use enough hardner. The correct ratio is one tablespoon of the "paint" to 1/8 teaspoon of the hardner. The stuff should harden up pretty quickly, and I recalled that mine took over night.

So back in June of this year I did it again. I made sure the area was really roughed up and cleaned of all dust, soap, grease, etc. Then I carefully mixed the patching material.

I slathered it on pretty thick, and it turns out (because this is the floor of the shower) you really don't need to worry about getting it smooth. The tech told me that after I had it coated, to take a popsicle stick and lightly touch the patched surface to raise a few bumps to blend the patch in with the floor.

This time the patch hardened on schedule, and I didn't do any sanding (again you don't need it smooth) just gave it a quick wipe with Acetone to kill the tackiness.

So far, this patch has held up very well. Next time I'm at the trailer, I'll take a picture and post it here.

Randy

KYAirstream · 10-14-2013, 10:17 AM

Glad the patch is holding up well. I spoke to the company you ordered your kit from and they were very friendly. In fact, I was talked out of doing a repair on the hairline crack in my shower. I was told it was a surface crack in the coating, and the water tightness comes from the fiberglass on the back. So for now, I guess I'll just hold off....