Let's fix the fiberglass on the luggage rack

[VicVan]

Thanks again for the tips. Not sure yet regarding outside vs inside. I think it's now time to stop looking at a screen and get my hands dirty. I'll start grinding and sanding away the nasty pieces and take it from there.

MsTaboo, yes, that's the garage door opener after the impact. It does show how strong and structurally awesome fiberglass is. The door opener is wrecked.
I got another photo for fun: the railing on which the door opener is fixed is screwed in the concrete ceiling. Here it is after impact (the rusty corner pieces were vertical initially)

Westfalia 1 - concrete and metal 0.
(And no, I wasn't the one driving... I'll just say it's someone close to me, both sentimentally and geographically )
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'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)

[?Waldo?]

There are 'infrared beam' alarms available that could be set up to give an alert that would prevent the same mishap in the future. Set the beam at westy roof height and hook it up to activate a flashing red light or the like.

[VicVan]

Prepped the smaller damaged area.

Before:

After:
Outside

Inside

I'll go from the inside. I guess I'll just put tape on the outside to create a mold, and see how that goes! As per original design (it seems), no gelcoat involved, I'll sand and paint the outside afterwards.
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'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)

[dobryan]

Git er dun.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Ronzo_volvo_guy]

VicVan;

Good advice from all...it would obviously be nice not to have to do this repair at all, but a small area fiberglass repair like this is actually the best way to get your feet wet working with Fglass...and dare I say: Kinda Fun!

A couple of notes and pointers...

The epoxy or polyester debate...for a repair, where there is no requirement for hydrocarbon compatibility, and imperviousness, less expensive polyester resin will do just fine...remember, the strength is in the glass fibers, the resin simply locks them in place...patch wants good adhesion and overlap to existing structure to have structural strength in the end...

Packing tape "cheat " by Kourt is BRILLIANT (as the British would say) for small repair areas like this, as the tape is an instant negative mold, which gives a near perfect finish on the front side (requiring low afterprocessing), while holding all the patch/damage pieces together on the backside in prep for resin...just be careful...resin likes to find its way through the tiniest of holes to run out below..use a tape wider than the repair area if possible and try to avoid a tape seam right at the repair area...tape the edges of the packing tape AGAIN with duct tape to prevent leaks and monitor for this during cure! BEFORE applying tape on the front, grind the back so that overlapping glass adheres well!

Once you get your glass and resin materials, doing a little test piece on the bench is not a bad thing to move you along on the learning curve, so that when its time to "do the deed" for real, it wont be "your first rodeo"!

MsTaboo; Compliments on your vehicle stable!

Cheers

Edit after seeing your prep post: Prep looks OK...but I'd go a bit further on that crack radiating out a 8 O'clock, so that you can get a better overlap with glass on the backside. The smaller damage area is a good first time! Happy Glassing!

[DuncanS]

I use blue masking tape to prevent run through. Epoxy doesn't really stick to the tape and it conforms to wiggles in the surface far better than packing tape which is too stiff and could create a possible leak.

[Ronzo_volvo_guy]

Duncan;

I like the transparency of the packing tape...this might come in handy in some instances...but OK also on the blue tape...I presume you are saying that the adhesive is not challenged by the resin, so does this "no run-through" include overlaps at tape edges if you don't happen to have it wide enough to span the entire repair area, and you must overlap?

Cheers

[DuncanS]

The epoxy sort sticks to the blue tape gummy side, but no so hard that it is difficult to get off. Yes, I overlap the tape frequently, especially when there is a large gap to fill. See
I’m

See https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=689888&highlight= where there was extensive fiberglass reworking.

Duncan

[VicVan]

So here's the result:

Not too bad. The spot at 5 o'clock turned out perfectly flat and level. The rest, bacause of the curve, not so well but not that bad. I just uded cheap transparent packing tape.

Prep on the outside:

I think I'm afraid of digging in in too deep/wide. I tried a grinder with flap disc, but it removes way too much material that I can handle.

After laying the fiberglass:

Some sanding to be expected!

And now, I have to move to the big one...
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'90 Little Blue Truck, 2WD auto, FAS GenV 2.0 NA (AVH)

[Love My Westy]

Just like the old fiberglass whitewater kayak days (after every trip). A new roll of duct tape every season.