Broken slide from knee breaking through - how to fix?

[Phoenix2000]

First post, however I've learned a ton by scanning the forums these last few months owning my first pool. (Moved to Phoenix=necessity)

Last weekend a friends son went down the pool slide backwards on his knees, and his right knee punched through the water slide top surface, making a nasty crack/hole in both the slide and his leg. OUCH! his leg is healing nicely, and now the rule exists of small children only going down on their bottoms for the slide....if I can fix it.???

Question is how to fix it?
My initial thoughts are to fill in the hole with a hard drying putty or epoxy, sand the surface down, then coat it in some type of clear coat, or other plastic polish. (I believe it is a plastic/acrylic/vinyl material as the bottom is smooth and I cannot seem to find fibrous surfaces on it to indicate that it is fiber glass)

Will this work, is there specific glue or filler material for specific water/pool use that would work? I don't imagine this is a common problem. the whole cracked area is 2-3 inches long.

Photos below:

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Wow ... I am not sure if that is repairable at all.

Oh, that is only 2-3"? Looks like 2-3 feet the way the pictures are taken.

 

[Phoenix2000]

Maybe 4 inches?
I was thinking about filling the void with something, removing and sanding the sharp edges, and then topping with some epoxy of some type that can be sanded.....?

 

[jblizzle]

Might work ... you are the guinea pig. Certainly worth a try given the costs of these slides.

Can you take another picture zoomed out?

 

[Phoenix2000]

I'll take another shot after work, my wife text these photos to me.
I was also thinking of packing then sanding it with JB Water weld, then sanding and polishing afterwards???

http://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-Waterweld-8277/202528473


Yes, I've looked online and $1000 is not something I am ready to put down for a new slide, it would be removed if not reparable sadly.

 

[Phoenix2000]

Okay she sent me a zoomed out shot:
you can see the crack on the lower right side, the small circular lower water spout opening is just above it. I had to shrink the size and resolution a bit to meet the attachment size requirements, hope this helps.

I was thinking about filling it with JB Water Weld then sanding it and coating it with something?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-Waterweld-8277/202528473

 

[jblizzle]

Kind of a poor design if it is that easy to crack ... although I had a shower basin that appeared to be the same plastic material that cracked once too. How old is the slide?

To post more/larger pictures, you either need to raise your storage allotment by Becoming a TFP Supporter or follow the How To Post Pictures tutorial.

 

[Phoenix2000]

the 'BIG' kid was on his knees and all his weight was concentrated in one spot.... ...Poor leg, looked bad, but healed okay.

The slide is 10 years old max, maybe less???

 

[bdex]

I think anything that would stick to fiberglass would work. You will want to break out all of the loose pieces and sand inside that void if you can. So the repair can bond. Sand smooth and coat with epoxy paint as you mentioned. It's your best shot.


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[Isaac-1]

How old is the slide, could this be due to long term UV exposure to the AZ sun? If so it is likely to happen again if you don't reinforce the whole slide. If it were mine I would consider getting a strip of marine grade woven fiberglass cloth about 3 ft wide and a bit longer than the full length of the slide and wet it with a good slow cure no blush marine grade epoxy and wrap the entire exposed part of the slide in it tucking the excess underneath. In fact I might go so far as to do 2 layers. Then finish it with a good white gelcoat layer. Total cost around $100, or if you want to go a bit fancy and modernize the look of the slide you could get a carbon fiber look fiber glass cloth in a variety of colors (hot pink and black, etc.) for about $50-$100 more.

 

[n240sxguy]

My mom had a slide that did that. It tore my cousins leg up. I don't think she was going down in any off fashion even. The slide broke a whole lot worse than yours, and she threw it away. Good luck with the repair.


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[suzook]

Fiberglass mesh would work just fine...reapply a few mesh panels with fiberglass, sand smooth.

 

[JohnT]

Look at boat repair materials. They are the same thing. Mesh and resin underneath for structure, and then gel coat on top to make it smooth.

You may even be able to get a boat repair place to fix it if you can remove the slide from the frame. Just a real quick search gave Tempe Fiberglass Repair who mention pool slides.