Fixing fiberglass chairs with fibers sticking out

[theoverlook]

We have a bunch of nice fiberglass chairs that were in use on the roof deck on our building. They have started to shed fiberglass fibers, which means touching them at all is an exercise in discomfort. The fibers are tiny and scattered around all the surfaces of the chair. (Seating, legs, back.) They're about six years old, and the outdoor warranty is three years. I've decided to try to fix them, if the manufacturer won't do anything for us. (We're in discussions right now.) My thought is to sand them thoroughly and then put a coat of fiberglass resin over the whole thing. My main concern is that it will be very time consuming to do so on 20 chairs. Is there any faster way you guys can think of to eliminate the fibers and protect the surface to prevent it from happening again?

I saw the flame thrower based reconditioning of stadium chairs ( https://old.reddit.com/r/oddlysatisfying/comments/nzqyyx/only_a_bazillion_seats_to_go/ )and considered it for a bit but realized the fibers would reappear sooner or later and I'd rather have a slightly more permanent fix.

I'd prefer something clear like fiberglass resin as the chairs are a cool bold red color.

[uniwelder]

Sorry, I have no useful advice about the splintering and recoating. 

I do wonder with 20 chairs on the roof, there must be other people using them, or do you just throw a lot of parties?  You could organize a chair fix-it party and get some more people involved to make the work go faster.

[Boll weevil]

Maybe give them a good coating of bedliner for pickup trucks? (Rhino Lining, Line-X, etc)

[lthenderson]

The gel coating has worn away and so that is why the fibers are now appearing. Unfortunately, short of adding a new coating to encapsulate the fibers there really isn't a good way to get rid of them.

[trollwithamustache]

resin will probably crack if you apply it over the exposed fiber areas.

you need to apply a gelcoat to the areas with exposed fiber. Gelcoat can be weird to work with and keep covered properly while it cures so YouTUbe is your friend.

[Wintergreen78]

I’ve only done a bit of work with fiberglass and carbon fiber, but the first lesson I got was that prep work is everything. Doing 20 chairs and getting a good result sounds several days’ worth of work to me. Plus, the materials are not cheap.

I normally want to fix things, rather than throw them out, but I would need to really like those chairs before taking that job on.

[theoverlook]

The chair fixing party would be a good idea if this was a home or small business, but this is the roof deck for a 65k sf office building. If the manufacturer doesn't do anything for us, I'll probably take them home, try to fix them myself, and use them at home.

They were $350/ea so it's worth some effort to fix them. If it doesn't work out, I don't think of it as time wasted but time spent learning.

I'll watch from gelcoat videos on YouTube! Thanks for the tip!

[NaN]

I'm not surprised. Fiberglass chairs for a roof top deck are a bad idea. They are going to just be continuously destroyed by UV every year. Even after you spend money to fix it the problem, it will return. Should have chosen something like aluminum.

[trollwithamustache]

I'm not surprised. Fiberglass chairs for a roof top deck are a bad idea. They are going to just be continuously destroyed by UV every year. Even after you spend money to fix it the problem, it will return. Should have chosen something like aluminum.

If they have a good layer of gelcoat they will hold up just fine. Go to any marina for lots of examples.

[theoverlook]

Do you think I need to get rid of all the exposed fibers or is a light sanding OK? They're not long fibers, just like tiny sparkles in the plastic. But skin that contacts them sure doesn't like it!

[lthenderson]

Do you think I need to get rid of all the exposed fibers or is a light sanding OK? They're not long fibers, just like tiny sparkles in the plastic. But skin that contacts them sure doesn't like it!

When I work with fiberglass, I apply the gel coat over the fiberglass cloth and then sand the gel coat to get rid of any fibers that may be sticking out of it. I think if you sand beforehand, you risk tearing or creating more fibers that want to stick up.

[Dicey]

Fiberglass fibers and lungs are a bad combo. Please, please wear proper safety equipment, especially when sanding. And don't track that shit into your house. Seriously, get a proper fitting respirator and a tyvek suit.

[trollwithamustache]

Do you think I need to get rid of all the exposed fibers or is a light sanding OK? They're not long fibers, just like tiny sparkles in the plastic. But skin that contacts them sure doesn't like it!

When I work with fiberglass, I apply the gel coat over the fiberglass cloth and then sand the gel coat to get rid of any fibers that may be sticking out of it. I think if you sand beforehand, you risk tearing or creating more fibers that want to stick up.

I'm on board with this. I usually sand light with sandpaper by hand. Mostly to sand back the old gel coat a little bit so the new gel coat bonds to it. The fiberglass part is usually plenty rough enough for the gelcoat to bond.

[theoverlook]

Well, the chairs have been replaced on the roof deck so I have 20 very red fiberglass chairs to experiment on in repairing them. I have a good respirator and I have a couple tyvek suits.



I'm working on color choices now. The red is cool but might be a bit much in my house. One kiddo suggested we let each person pick their favorite color and do a chair in that color for them. Creative, but a pain in the butt and expensive.

Does anyone have any thoughts on doing a sandable primer and then sand and top coat with paint versus the gelcoat? They'll be living indoors most likely. My assumption is that gelcoat would be sturdier, but do you think primer and top coat would work? I could spray that on outside.

[Dicey]

DH is a painting contractor by trade and a Specialty Surfaces Specialist by job title. He manages Very Big Things.

I showed him the picture and he offered the following advice:

Sand lightly, wipe down, use Automotive Primer (it comes in a spray can), sand lightly and wipe down again. Then go to town with whatever color(s) you choose. DH says spray paint will give you the best results. Of course, he said to use proper protection, but I told him I'd already mentioned that ;-)

He says it's the UV rays that are deteriorating the fiberglass. Therefore, whoever chose them for outdoor use made a sub-par decision.  You're not likely to get anything back for them since they're so far out of warranty.

[theoverlook]

Thank you Dicey! The manufacturer did offer us a concession - 1/2 off new chairs - but the tenant has chosen a different type of chair. They're in place and look cool, though like many outdoor chairs they neglected to provide for water drainage so there's a pool in each chair now. Whoops.

I'll update here once I get started on the chairs. They're not first in line of the half dozen projects me and the kids always have going.

[Paper Chaser]

I think I'd consider a high-build automotive primer, wet sand to get the finish smooth, followed by the paint of your choice.

[lutorm]

I'm not surprised. Fiberglass chairs for a roof top deck are a bad idea. They are going to just be continuously destroyed by UV every year. Even after you spend money to fix it the problem, it will return. Should have chosen something like aluminum.

If they have a good layer of gelcoat they will hold up just fine. Go to any marina for lots of examples.

Yeah, UV protection is the issue. I'm (notionally) building a fiberglass airplane, and you must at least have a good primer or it'll get destroyed in short order. (Gelcoat is fine for boats but is too heavy for airplanes...)