Damaged front Driver corner

05Winger

Active Member
During our last camping trip I encounterd an off camber sharp turn and hit the corner front driver side of the 5th wheel against the corner of the truck. Lucky for me very little damage was done but I would still like to repair the corner. Anyone have a fix that would make it look new again... I just don't like seeing the corner in my rearview mirror as a reminder. I have included pictures.
 

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loafer

Well-known member
Ouch
Duct tape Red green uses it for everything LOL
Like Alan says fill and sand and paint
JMHO
Bill
 

GOTTOYS

Well-known member
It probably isn't painted to start with. the color is usually in the Gel coat. Trying to match it with paint isn't going to give you professional results. I would bring it to a bodyshop, preferably one with some experience with fiberglass cars or boats and get an estimate. Then you can decide how good you want it to look...Don
 

codycarver

Founding Wyoming Chapter Leader-retired
I've fixed dings very similar to that on my John Deere tractors with resin and fiber glass sheets and bondo and get like new results with either. I'd call Heartland customer service and see if they have a paint code for your coach. The color may be in the gell coat but there are still metal parts that have to be painted to match. With the right tools and a little time this is an easy fix for under $100.00. PM me if you need a walk through. Good luck
 

porthole

Retired
Matching Gel coat is best done with someone who works with it. Gel coat yellows, whether you see it or not. Look on line for a mobile boat repair if they are in your area. If you live near any of the lakes the odds are someone does the work.

You can do it yourself, but sometimes having an expert is cheaper. Gel coat repairs are sprayed on, then they have to be covered to keep the atmosphere away.

The picture below is our boat. The repair is a 5' long 1/4" deep gouge. The boat was 23 years old when the repair was made (color shift) and to this day, 7 years later you can't tell.

The green stuff you see is a barrier to allow the gel coat to cure.
 

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05Winger

Active Member
Thanks for all the advise... I think this spring I will give it shot with bondo and paint. If I am not happy with the repair I'll take in to the pros.
 

PUG

Pug
I fix dings and scratches in my sailboat all the time. (my wife runs into things). Go to an auto parts store and get a qt of fiberglass resin which will come with a hardener. Also get some gel coat paste, hardener, and white pigment. Clean up the wound and cut it back say with a Dremel where you have nice clean sharp edges. Tape the area off with painting tape to keep the resin from going beyond the repair. (it all has to be eventually sanded down and this saves a lot of time. Spread the mixed resin into it a bit at a time building it up as the wound appears to be fairly deep. When you are built up close, mix up the gel coat resin and white pigment getting the color match as good as you can. Add resin and spread on. Take some saran wrap or wax paper and cover over the repair and tape into place. This helps to hold the paste from sagging. Let dry very well.

From here I start with 400 grit Wet and Dry Sandpaper on a rubber sanding block keeping it very wet and bring the level down close to the finished level. Now I use 2000 wet and dry, After that I use Maguires fine cut polish to get it up to a gloss. When you are done (might have to add the paste a couple of times to get the level right) then wax and buff out. It will usually turn a little bit off color to a yellowish tint. Something you might do is to paint a strip or something to cover it too. If you go to Westmarine.come they have tutorials on how to do this and products. Good luck.
 
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