Gluing wood to Fiberglass?

[SaltyB]

Hi all,
I purchased a seabreeze roller shade/screen for an overhead hatch.
The problem is that the old trim kit did not extend very far. The new screw holes for the shade/screen are located out past the current wooden frame under the vinyl headliner.
So can I just pull back the headliner, glue some wood in there (with 3M 5200) staple the headliner back, then drill screw into it to hold the new shade/screen?
I'm not sure if just gluing it would be strong enough.

[Stumble]

Good wood glue is stronger than the wood it is attached to. But you may want to use a few tack nails to hold the new trim piece in place and apply clamping preassure while the glue is drying.

[rognvald]

I would use West System epoxy with high-density structural filler. Bullet proof. Good luck and safe sailing.

[Cheechako]

If I understand correctly it should work. If the ceiling is curved you may need to slice the plywood to get it to bend and stay against the fiberglass while the 5200 sets up. Use a few screws to hold it in place while setting up, short screws that penetrate only the inside layer of the glass/deck core.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by rognvald

I would use West System epoxy with high-density structural filler.

me too. sets up a lot quicker than 5200 as well.

[SaltyB]

I think there is a slight curve to the ceiling under the headliner so I will try the slicing technique. The glass is pretty thin in that area so I don't think I can tack it, but clamps should work through the hatch until the 5200 sets up. I have some at hand as well as PL premium but I figured the 5200 would be better for fiberglass. The PL premium is insanely strong when gluing wood together but not sure about it's ability on Fiberglass.

[valhalla360]

Epoxy or 5200 should work fine. Once either sets screws no need for any other support. If it's just a thin strip. You might wedge it in place with some sticks braced on the dinnet seats, so it matches the curve. If you use epoxy get some thickener so it has a peanut butter consistency when applying and don't try to squeeze it all out. Either option, make sure you put down some plastic sheets as either will make hard to remove mess if it gets on the seats.

[Lake-Effect]

I would definitely choose epoxy (with cotton fiber filler added for strength and thickening) over 5200 for this project. Even slow epoxy will set faster than 5200, and the 5200 smell will linger for weeks.

I mainly use 'proper' epoxy for boat work, but recently I reattached the foot of a wooden cabinet with some hardware-store 5-min epoxy - also using a bit of cotton fiber filler, and a dowel - and the results were excellent, so for the OP's applicatiion I wouldn't hesitate to use some 5-min epoxy there, which will drastically reduce clamping time.

Another option might be a polyurethane glue like Gorilla Glue, as long as the fiberglass is roughed up a bit first.

I'm not a big fan of PL adhesives, but maybe I've just had bad luck.

[Zach]

You can use hot glue in place of screws if you leave about an inch or so bare of epoxy or 5200 at each end.

[HopCar]

About ten years ago I wanted to attach some hooks to fiberglass that would hold my boat hook and brush handle. I used 5200 to stick blocks of teak to the fiberglass. I used masking tape to hold them while the 5200 set. When set, I screwed the hooks to the teak. They are still there with no sign of failing.

Im sure epoxy would have worked too but 5200 was easier.

[SaltyB]

Thanks guys,
I think I will try to get some epoxy locally.

[Cheechako]

Either will be fine. If you have a tube of 5200 around just use that before it hardens up. Aint no big thang. Epoxy doesn't have to be used for everything. To me Epoxy smells more than 5200. The other thing that will work is Gorilla Glue. It expands filling up al the voids. That stuff is tough. So tough you cant remove the lid off the bottle once you open it up.

[SaltyB]

I managed to use epoxy in three corners. The fourth corner curves down to much for the wood piece to make solid contact. I'm wondering how thick I can get the epoxy or some other filler and just screw into that?

[Zach]

If you use chopped or milled glass fiber, or cotton flock as the filler in Epoxy, you can go in half inch layers with slow at 77f hardener or tropical hardener up to around 90f. Thinner layers the hotter it is...

You can also drill and tap the epoxy thickened with fibers for machine screws. Just make sure that you have used a solvent wash to de-wax the area, and roughed up the area with 40-80 grit until there isn't anything shiny where the epoxy is going to go.

Cheers,

Zach

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by SaltyB

I managed to use epoxy in three corners. The fourth corner curves down to much for the wood piece to make solid contact. I'm wondering how thick I can get the epoxy or some other filler and just screw into that?

If you get to a peanut butter consistency you can go fairly thick without it dripping down. You don't want to go much more than 1/2inch because the curing process creates heat and a really thick application can't dissipate the heat.

I would think 1/2inch would be enough to span the gap and hold the wood or you can do a second layer after the first cures.

Even if you use a different brand google "west system" they have a nice free application guide for how to do various things with epoxy.