Fixing cracks in pop top canopy

[Marc]

I have 2 cracks in the pop top right where the sliding hatch is.  This needs to be a strong fix cause I think it is a little on the structural side.  I'm going to try to post pics but they may be too big.  Marc

[Marc]

It says my file is too large.  Just one picture?

[AdriftAtSea]

Marc-

Get yourself a photobucket.com or flickr.com account, and post the photo there.  Then post a link to the photo using the image tags.

[Marc]

Okay, I'm gonna try pleas go to  http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk49/Huskerfan50315/   I hope it works cause that is where the pics are  Marc

[skylark]

It would help if we could see the back as well. 

Scratch open the crack with a chisel till you get to glass fibers, then saturate the fibers with as much epoxy resin as they will take.  Let it cure. 

Sand the area around the crack and use epoxy mixed with filler to make the area flat. Let it cure.

Then sand or grind the crack and surrounding surface down flat and lay one or two layers of glass cloth down over the cracked area.  I would use about a 6" piece, it does not need to extend very far away from the crack, only a few inches.  Saturate this glass with epoxy.

If the back is accessible, and if it is channel shaped, grind or sand it a bit around the crack area and put a couple of pieces of glass cloth there too.

[AdriftAtSea]

If the underside is channel shaped as well...it might be well worth filling it with wood and epoxying/fiberglassing the wood into place underneath.  This will give a fair bit of additional strength to the area.

[Marc]

I will try to get some pics of the backside tonight after work.  I had the canopy on sawhorses earlier, and I noticed the crack became bigger when I pressed down on it.  Marc                                                                 P.S.  Thanks Guys

[s/v Faith]

Couple of ideas you might consider....



  While I know that weight is an issue with a pop-top, you might need to add some reenforcement on the bottom.  Kind of like Adrift was saying, but rather then adding wood, I might think about a half tube.

  you can either slice a cardboard tube in half, or even use 2 pieces of faux wood quarter-round trim from a home improvement store.... you just lay these along the axis you want to strengthen and lay wetted cloth across them.  The strength does not come from the filling, but from the fiberglass that you lay over it.

  I know that there is not a lot of room to work with, but you might be able to fit a 3/4" half round under there... and it would be stronger then just flat wood and lighter to boot.

  A second idea, would be to add some thin wood and glass to the underside... but add a pair of hand holds,  a pair of 2 or 3 loop hand holds through bolted back to back (one on top, one under) would make it very strong, and give a couple more places to hold on to....