How To Repair Fiberglass Hot Tub Crack
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Before you make an attempt to repair your hot tub, take a close look at the damage. Is it a surface scratch, or a deeper gash into the fiberglass or ABS-backing material beneath? Also, be sure to check if the damage is covered under warranty before taking any action. If you attempt to repair covered damage on your own and fail, the warranty will no longer be valid.
Once you assess the issue, decide if it's something you feel comfortable repairing. If a gash or crack is large, or if there's damage to the fiberglass or ABS-backing material, strongly consider contacting your local dealer for assistance. Experienced and licensed hot tub technicians should be available to help you handle any repair.
It's never fun to get halfway through a repair and then realize you lack some of the specific materials you need. Before you start the job, prepare a workspace that's clean and safe, and gather the right tools and materials. Here's what you'll need:
These supplies should be adequate for repairing scratches and cracks in the acrylic shell. However, if the damage extends to the fiberglass or ABS-backing material beneath the acrylic layer, you'll need fiberglass repair equipment, as well as protective glasses and gloves.
Repairing a scratch or crack in your spa's shell is typically a quick and relatively simple task. In fact, the part that will likely take the longest is draining and refilling your hot tub. But once it's refilled, you're done, and you can spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing in your freshly repaired spa.
The first way to go about acrylic hot tub crack repair is to get yourself a soft sanding block, a water proof marine epoxy, a set of rubber gloves, a fiberglass mesh, a flashlight, a bowl, a drill and a pair of scissors. Remove the tub and lay it on its side. Drill a hole at either end of the crack in order to prevent the crack growing further. These types of hot tub supplies can be purchased at your at your local Miami spa dealer, All Florida Pool & Spa Center.
A dip in the hot tub may help relieve the stress that builds through the day, but a small crack in the surface of your fiberglass hot tub can allow the water to slowly seep from the tub and reduce its enjoyment valve. Over time, a small crack can increase in size and cause irreparable damage. Fixing a crack in the fiberglass can stop the crack from spreading and extend the life of your hot tub.
Install a 1/16-inch drill bit into a cordless drill. Drill a small hole through the fiberglass at the tip of the crack where it starts, and drill another hole at the tip of the crack where it ends to keep the crack from spreading.
Insert a grinding bit into a cordless rotary drill. Use the tool to create a "V" shape in the fiberglass along the crack, increasing the crack depth to at least 1/16 inch, but no deeper than 3/16 inch.
Pour the paste and activator from a fiberglass tub repair kit into a small disposable container. Use the correct amount of repair products suggested by the manufacturer, and mix them together with a wooden craft stick.
Fixing cracks and scratches in your hot tub may sound like something that should be left to the professionals, but truthfully it is easier than you think. Anyone can do it with just a little bit of time and hard work.
The water is already drained, so why not give the hot tub a good cleaning? Take special care to clean the cracks and scratches to make sure there is no debris lodged in them that could prevent a proper patch job.
If the crack is larger, you may need to use a rotary tool to grind the crack into a V shape. Once that is done, apply the patch material and then sand it down. Once it is sanded, buff it out so it shines.
Even the smallest cracks and scratches in your hot tub can compromise its safety, comfort and performance. While cracks can cause leaks, scratches can cause discomfort for users and become grooves for collection of debris and bacteria.
The hot tub must rest on a level, concrete slab engineered to support the length, width and weight of the filled spa. If the hot tub is not installed and used on such a surface it is extremely vulnerable to damage, including cracks.
The hot tub must be emptied, cleaned and treated according to manufacturer instructions to avoid conditions that could deteriorate and weaken the acrylic. If the acrylic becomes to weak, it will be more likely to scratch and crack.
Very rarely, a hot tub will crack or be scratched due to a problem with the materials or workmanship. If this is the case, document the damage and contact the manufacturer immediately to put warranty protections into motion.
Fill with epoxy: The spot to be filled should be V-shaped. You may need to dremmel some acrylic out for this. Fill the space with epoxy from the acrylic repair kit, let it dry and then sand and buff it out until smooth.
Melt the acrylic together: Run the hot soldering iron along a crack to melt together acrylic that has fully separated. You may need to push the iron into the acrylic to get to the bottom of the crack. Sand down any excess acrylic after melting, then follow the steps above for epoxy fill.
If you keep your hot tub long enough, knicks and scratches are likely to happen at some point. Observe all recommended practices to minimize damage, and follow all product instructions if you repair damage yourself to get the most out of your Aqua Living hot tub.
Once the problems are identified, selecting the right product for the job is the next step. AquaBond® has all the repair products professionals need to fix a wide variety of problems that occur in fiberglass pools, spas and hot tubs, as well as in vinyl pool liners.
The best product for the job is determined by the extent of the problem. Many leaks and cracks can be fixed underwater without draining the pool. However, sometimes the best solution is obtained by lowering the water level below the repair area. For technical advice on choosing the best product(s) for your situation give us a call at 714-961-1420 Ext 1.
I am a spa surface repair contractor, and I perform manufacturer warranty work and non-warranty repairs. I have a customer with an acrylic spa containing a crack at the rim. What causes these type of problems, and what is correct method to repair?Thanks,CarlosTo: Carlos
Before repairing a cracked spa, a repair professional should investigate the circumstances enough to try to determine the root cause of the crack. This may not be easy, but you should strive to define the most logical cause. First, cracks occur when the material is subjected to a stress that exceeds its strength. The material strength will decline as temperature is increased. Certain types of chemicals will also accelerate crack formation. See other blog entries that discuss chemical attack. Acrylic is known as a fairly brittle polymer, and will crack under excessive stress. Obviously, a large impact from another object will cause a crack.
In the absence of an impact, most spa cracks occur due to inadequate structural reinforcement. An 8-ft. spa may contain 400 gallons of water, which results in about 3200 pounds of weight. Add a few people, and the total weight can exceed 4000 pounds. Unless the stress ( pounds per sq. ft.) from this weight is spread over the entire surface area, it can cause a crack(s) at the high-stress points. This is typically at the rim.
So, manufacturers of portable spas must incorporate enough support beams or other devices under the rim, seats, and floor to accomplish this stress reduction. Sometimes, manufacturers fail to accomplish it 100% of the time. The following picture shows one example where the weight actually caused the vertical support boards to bow under the weight. This magnitude of deflection is very likely to cause sagging and cracking of the rim.
Now, if the spa is in-ground or installed into a wooden deck, it falls to the installer to assure that ample support is included under the frame, rim, seats, and foot-well of the shell to distribute the weight around those load-bearing surface areas. A commonly used technique is to wash sand into the cavity between the shell and the excavated dirt. It is important to provide support that limits deflection in all critical areas similar to the photo above showing the use of PVC pipe. The rim area also needs to be supported. The information above will apply to analyzing the cause of cracks in these type installations.
A technician should inform the customer of these issues, and make a recommendation to correct the support issues. If the customer chooses to ignore the advice but still wants the contractor to perform the repair, a warranty should not be provided. Also, this example of a crack edge would require structure repair at the back of the shell before the cosmetic repair was performed. Otherwise, new cracks would likely form in the future. The best service is to fix all of the problem sources to prevent future call-backs, and an unhappy customer.
Fiber Glass repair paste kit. Gelcoat and acrylic bathtubs showers are white, oyster, almond or bone. Each manufacturer has variations in the tones of colors. Colors for Jacuzzi Brands and other OEM are available with this kit.
Amazing Plast-aid is a 2-part liquid & powder acrylic compound. Mixed, it transforms from a castable liquid, to a glue, to a putty, to a molding clay. After 10 minutes forms a hard, waterproof, sandable plastic. Permanently seals PVC plumbing leaks. For cracked spa shells, can be pre-colored with artist's acrylic paints.
Reinforcement repair kit for bath, shower, spa, hot tub and other fiberglass (FRP) structural damage such as boats, power sports, utility covers, automotive and more. Our specially formulated resin will bond to ABS, Plastics and Polyurethane. This kit is designed to repair as reinforcement first, a large crack or hole, missing structure, or structure repair from the front side or behind the unit. The kit is available in three different colors to help blend the structure repair. it is not intended as an exact match. For exact match of the surface see our Paste Repair kits. 2b1af7f3a8