# Fixing a chipped piece of fiberglass?



## Bowyer29 (Apr 18, 2010)

Can I repair a missing piece of fiberglass? I work with wood, not fiberglass.

There is a small piece of fiberglass missing from the bottom limb on an old Bear recurve of my Gramps. He passed away last month and I would like to shoot this particular recurve but am afraid to with the piece missing. I have never worked with fiberglass on a bow so I am not sure if I can repair this or not.

Maybe I can just add a lot of epoxy or glue to the area to reinforce and/or fill in the fiberglass so it does not raise?

Thanks all,
Nick


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## Bowyer29 (Apr 18, 2010)

I promise I did not cuss!!! There is a small piece of fiberglass missing.


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## longbowdave1 (Apr 18, 2010)

how big and deep is the piece that is missing? where is it on the location of the limb? i may have some ideas for ya depending on the size and location.

dave


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## Al33 (Apr 18, 2010)

You can buy a fiberglass patch kit (Wal-Mart has them) and use the fiberglass mix without the cloth for small repairs. It will require some sanding once dry but should serve your purposes well.


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## longbowdave1 (Apr 18, 2010)

nick, can you post a picture of the area wher the glass is missing?


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## Bowyer29 (Apr 18, 2010)

I will post a pick here in just a minute!!!!!

Thanks!!


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## Bowyer29 (Apr 18, 2010)

Here is a pick. It is more of a splinter really, but it is for sure the fiberglass that is splintered. 

Thanks in advance for any help guys!!!

Nick


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## longbowdave1 (Apr 18, 2010)

if i'm seeing it correctly it looks like a splinter running lengthwise on the edge of the limb, is it about 3 inches long? that is a tough one to fix.
 i think i would see if you can lift the splinter, and put some smooth on epoxy in the gap and then clamp it down for the entire length of the splinter. it's going to take some sanding and some new finish on that area. the repair may be noticable but you may be able to use the bow.

 see  what advice some of the others can offer.


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## Bowyer29 (Apr 18, 2010)

Thanks man, I will try to get this one fixed up and show everyone if it seems to work well.

Nick


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## Apex Predator (Apr 19, 2010)

It looks like the splinter is completely missing?  You could put superglue on it to seal it, and prevent it from lifting further.  Lightly sand it after to keep from snagging on stuff.


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## Bowyer29 (Apr 20, 2010)

Yeah, the piece of fiberglass is gone.


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## Apex Predator (Apr 20, 2010)

I would just wick some thin super glue at the ends to seal any further splitting, and then sand the sharp stuff down some.


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## longbowdave1 (Apr 20, 2010)

marty,
do think you could put a piece of masking tape along the edge of the bow with it sticking up past the face of the limb. then fill the area with thick ca glue, overfilling it a bit higher than the surrounding glass. let it dry overnight then sand it flush using some 400 grit, with the original glass. after sanding it down you could then fill in any small voids with the thin ca glue? just an idea, i think it would work pretty good.


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## Apex Predator (Apr 20, 2010)

CA is brittle if you build it up to any thickness at all.  I would think it would break/crack in that application.  You could probably use smooth-on like you describe though.


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## LanceColeman (Apr 28, 2010)

Not only is CA brittle. Polyester resin (fiber layup resin used in fiber glass)can be brittle in thin layers. Smooth on or epoxies will give some flex but all you are doing is creating a "filler". It's not going to have any strength or replace the compression or elasticity of the glass that was there.

Martys got more know how on it than I do but I agree with him on this one. a couple thin coats of CA "superglue" NOT GEL! runny runny liquid light sanding between em. nothin else will jump up and pull free. Gotta 12 year old recurve here with probably around 15,000 shots on it. she raised and chipped a splinter 6 yrs ago and I did exactly what Marty described to it. aint had no trouble out of it since.


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