Repairs to fibreglass

My  1997 AS Executive got a bit of a bashing on the rear left hand corner at some stage. (It was there when I bought it) There is a 1cm (approx) hole in the fibreglass - you can see what I assume is the insulation behind it, and a few hairline cracks have also appeared radiating out from this small hole. . I've since noticed a wet patch on the floor of the cupboard under the sink. It's not coming from sink, I don't use the sink plus there is no water on the shelf under the sink. So:

1) am I right in thinking that water could be coming in where the fibreglass is busted?
2) I've been quoted €800 for repairs which include painting rear and side of vehicle ... does this sound OTT?
3) can anyone suggest any alternative treatment - some kind of sealant as a stop gap measure?

thanks,

Sue

Damaged fibreglass can indeed allow water ingress. 

I can’t comment on the price quoted but it does need a specialist repair to stop the problem getting worse. Marine repairers might be a possibility for an alternative quote.

Thanks!

I dont dont if you have sorted it out yet, but if not, I feel you could fix that yourself.

You can buy fibreglass repair kits for about £15 and follow the instructions. I fixed a hole in my fibreglass with a kit.  If you can get to the back of it that makes things easier. If not, it can still be done from outside, I will explain the trick if you want me to.

You may have to enlarge it a little, v out the cracks and when you are done, sand it down then you can send it off for the paint to be fixed. That should make it a lot cheaper.

If you look on YouTube for fibreglass repairs there are some useful tips.

The kit I used is called david's FASTGLAS Glass fibre kit. It worked well for me.

Good luck

Andy

DIY is possible as Andy has suggested, it is something your local body shop should be able to cope with easily enough so worth shopping around. Even temporarily squirting some silicone in the hole might stop it leaking.

groundhog wrote:Even temporarily squirting some silicone in the hole might stop it leaking.

But be conscious of the fact that silicone sealant will seriously impair any later attempt to bond in a fibreglass repair, and will make paint finishing difficult, unless every trace of the silicone is removed first.

My own limited experience of DIY fibreglass work is that it's an enjoyable material to work with, but it does have a bit of a knack to it, so I would recommend having a practice on something unimportant first!

Thanks all. I left it to the specialist who did a fantastic job. Fixed cracks/crazing over good portion of the rear, a crack on door and a hole in the side plus repainted side and rear. Looks great now.