I was wondering what the best way would be to fix a fiberglass shark fin that broke during shipping. It's the right side pectoral fin that boke in half horizontally. I've never worked with shark replicas before - I've built resin figure models for years - and I'm not quite sure how to do it. Also, if anyone knows how to fit in real shark jaws into the mouth that would be great also.
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Repairing a fin is no big deal. Simply grind the top a bottom edges of the break So they look live a V when the fin is put back in place. Screw a piece of metal to the bottom of the fin. I like to use a section cut out of a car hood with good unscratched paint on it. I wipe a coat of paste wax on the tin before screwing it to the fin. So the glass will not stick to the tin. Now I chop some fiberglass mat with scissors and mix it into resin to make a stiff mix. Then add the hardener. I next work the material onto the fin filling in the V that had been cut, and allow it to dry. I then remove the tin from the bottom, and repair the bottom in the same way. when all is set. I grind with a 36 grit auto body grinder. then apply a coat of Polyester filler, and sand with 80 grit paper, then 180 grit to remove heavy scratches. Then I prime and sand the primer with 320 grit. To install the Jaws. I soak them up to make them pliable. them fit them to the form. And clamp them in place. to dry. I then sculpt around the jaws with Polyester filler. sand and use a clear primer sealer.