Fiberglass crack questions

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J

Jaredsdad

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May 23, 2017
35
Virginia Beach, VA
I have two cracks on my pool. The one under water is obviously not all the way through as it is not leaking water

for the crack on the coping edge, I am thinking of filling it with a good self level polyurethane caulk. Something that will stand up to outdoors and chlorine.

The second crack under water.... I am not sure what to do.

Help? Comments, advice.
Pool is 19 years old but new to me.
 
Just use fiberglass to repair the crack on the top.
Same goes if you ever drain your pool.
For the underwater repair you can use marine silicone for a temp patch to keep slivers from feet.

Use Duct Tape to make a square around the repair - say 2" around crack.
This will allow you to sand and make repairs and keep a clean repair (not sanding other areas)

Sand area with rough 60/80 grit paper. Aggressive to make patch stick.
Clean inside crack area with sandpaper or even enlarge with an angle grinder.
Wipe clean with rag and acetone.
Apply fiberglass cloth and resin. (can buy at most home stores or online)
You can also chop up fiberglass cloth with scissors to make a paste to fill the area. (may be better for this application)
REMOVE TAPE AFTER APPLYING CLOTH AND REPAIR.. REMOVE WHEN FIBERGLASS IS WET/ tacky.

Let dry then sand flush. + reapply duct take before sanding.
Repete if you need to raise the area to be flush.
Reapply duct tape before sanding.
Sand with 100/150/220 by hand or with hand sander.
Top coat with colored or pigmented resin - no cloth.. like paint it on (mix white and brown) to make a match.
Sand lightly with 220/320/400 not going through the color coat.
Buff if you want with rubbing compound.

I used to build surfboards and repair boats. This would be the preferred method vs calking - eliminating one cut from fiberglass is worth it.
 
Are you sure that the one in the bottom is not leaking? It sure looks like it goes all the way through. That one would concern me. A slow leak under a FG pool can undermine the fill under it. Especially if yours was done with sand. If you are taking the time to do the top one I would consider doing the other at the same time. Is it in the shallow end or deep end? You definitely want to FG the coping one as well. It looks like it might spread if not fixed. Really the best way to repair the coping one is to grind down a few layers and then layer many new layers of fiberglass on it. That coping is very thick. You want to grind an larger area than the crack. The outer parts of the "grind area" should be fairly shallow and then you want to grind deeper as you get close to the crack. It is OK if the whole area looks rough after grinding. Then buy the woven FG cloth. You can get the cloth and fiberglass stuff at HD. I use disposable gloves when working with FG resin and buy a lot of the .25c paintbrushes when I do FG work. Just toss them after each batch. Cut smaller pieces of FG cloth, get them resined and cover the area. You use successive and larger cuts of cloth to build out the grind area. You probably will want at least 5-7 total layers. And do not do all layers at the same time. Mix small batches, do one or two layers, let it dry and then do another batch. Don't worry about smoothness yet. You can also buy white gelcoat wich is basically just tinted resin. Do the last layer with gelcoat and the sand smooth or just below the original coping and then do just white gelcoat. Then sand with a really fine grit. Takes some time to learn but fiberglass work is not that hard. Just messy.
 
Very thorough reply keithw, thank you.
Yes. 99.9% sure no leak there. It's actually a crack in a prior patch (from when I don't know). I took a very fine pick from my tool box and it appears to be surface. I could not push through anywhere. PLUS the pool is not losin water.
I did a temp, ugly patch with a line of Vulcan polyurethane caulk. That should hold, IF it's leaking, until I get it professionally fixed. Also MIGHT help it from getting bigger.
The coping part - very helpful. I'll probably do that myself.
 
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