In this section we will provide guidelines for cosmetic composite repairs, including fiberglass crack repair, fiberglass gel coat repair. In this case, you must stiffen the affected area before you can successfully repair the crazing. You can start with 220grit sandpaper and, for a really slick surface, finish with at least 400 or 600grit. The gelcoat seals the fiberglass and can be left alone or painted over. Use an old credit card to smooth it down, then let dry.
Blend coloring agents to achieve a match to almost any color. Holes in the gel coat dont always have to be accidental. If the gel coat is thick in this corner as is often the case, the gel coat is more prone to cracking. Were you to view the damaged gel coat under a microscope youd see tiny cracks in the gel coat which would look like alligator skin. If the area has an old layer of topcoat which you wish to refresh there is no need to prime the area with a product such as g4 for example. Gel coat yellowing hi to all, i have been reading your problem with gel coat yellowing. Either deepen the scratch using a small blade or grinder, or leave it. Gel coat cracks motorhome matters motorhomes forum. Laminate the gel coat when the gel coat is dry to the.
Apr 10, 2007 if the gel coat cracks are on a bass boat, that is a common occurrence. My plan is to remove the many coats of antifouling paint below the waterline, then apply three coats of the west system epoxy and repaint it. You can successfully complete basic fiberglass boat repair by following these steps. Sitting in the hot sun in fla or az the dark colors can absorb a lot of heat it may get up to 140f and when the gel coat expands the fg restrains it and the thermal stress. Amazon business card corporate credit line shop with. You can only treat the yellowing when it is vissible at the surface. Structural damage is an actual break in the fiberglass such as a crack with a visible gap or a delamination in the layers of fiberglass.
A thin layer of gel coat isnt structurally strong enough to prevent itself cracking off. Gel coat repairs and star cracks skuk sea kayaking uk. Once the gelcoat has fully cured, sand the repair smooth wet sanding works particularly well with gelcoat. May 27, 2009 in this case the cracks need to be examined closely, even chipped away at, to see if they extend through the gelcoats 0.
Basic information gel coat is a polyester resin specially formulated with thixotropic ingredients for increased viscosity and nonsag properties. Extensive spider cracking common on older boats is due to aging of the gelcoat. Over time, the gelcoat can fade, oxidize and become pitted and dented. Finally, blisters can be an indication of thin gel coat layers during the spray process. If it is a case of gelcoat crazing what do you recomend to use as a. Most of the time they are just cracks in the finish and do not bother the structural integrity. Ive scrubbed the freeboard and gunwale my 1998 cruiser yachts 3850 with a scotch scrubber sponge like for pots and pans and 409 with bleach each spring, followed by applying a 3m rubbing compound with a buffer. You can place your order right here on our website or, if you have any questions, call 1. It requires absolutely no tools and once complete the repair is guaranteed to last by magicezy. If you have landed on this article and have no previous knowledge of. Before starting your gel coat project, read through the gel coat troubleshooting guide in our free online learning center, to learn what common problems to avoid. Tough to say if these cracks are limited to just the gel coat, or if they involve the laminate under.
Although gel nail cracks can be annoying, aestheticians will usually be willing to fix a chipped or cracked nail within a week of the manicure for free. Ensure proper working time, do not apply gel coat on a partially cured part. Gel coat is basically a relatively thick layer of resin with colorant added. Ask the experts solutions from the boatus tech team. In the manufacturing process it is the first layer of the hull, sprayed against the inner surface of mold. It is incredibly tough, with virtually no smell, and is remarkably versatile. Fish mille lacs from opener to ice up and get caught out in some rough stuff often.
Wrinkles to avoid this, make sure that you are reaching a preferred thickness of 0. There is no succinct short answer for gelcoat, it is an art that takes some. How to fix spider cracks, hairline cracks, and crazing in boat. They both require different levels of understanding, and different tools and supplies. Crazing is an incredibly common issue on modern fiberglass boats, and although it usually starts off as a matter of cosmetics, in severe cases these surface cracks can grow, deepen, and eventually threaten your boats structural integrity. And more importantly how do you repair gelcoat cracks. These blisters might also be an indication of improper wetting of the backup fibers, a bad bond between the gel coat and backup laminate which can be an indication of contamination. Are they gelcoat or stress cracks thanks mate, was convinced it was going to be something more sinister. If the underside is accessible, laying up heavy glass to a well ground surface is the surest path to a repair which will not recrack. For this reason, fiberglass repairs rely upon the adhesive quality of their resin for their. Gel coat is easy to use from application to sanding. Just grinding out the surface and laying up light cloth may do the trick.
Until i owned a ranger i would probably have agreed with the comment. You being a veteran, may be familiar with this hull. Nov 14, 2012 i did significant damage to my gel coat on a recent kayaking trip. I kicked up a fuss at autotrail factory as i had lots of other quality problems and someone from lamplas who make the bodies for autotrail came to my home and made a superb repair. Then i removed the clamps, and no more delamination, and it has been over a week since. Gel coat cracking on 2000 tritonanyone else having this problem. If only the gel coat is affected, you might just glue the cracks together. Im just about done tearing out all the old gel coat cracks with the entire boat here bow to stern just with these two chisels in the nice weather.
Gelcoat troubleshooting guide jamestown distributors. I did significant damage to my gel coat on a recent kayaking trip. You will, however, need to sand down the area, wipe down with acetone and reapply a new layer of topcoatgrp materials if required. Gelcoat is the protective coating that covers most fiberglass boats. You may cover the cracks with just one application, but make sure that the product is sunk completely into the cracks before you consider that you have finished. Repairing a brokencracked fiberglass hull rc groups. Navy blue a onepart, precolored sealant that repairs gelcoat stress cracks, scrapes and scratches. Crazing in gelcoat, also known as spider cracks or stress cracks, plagues countless boaters. As for painting above the waterline, the light blue interior and white exterior gel coat need refinishing. Fixing gel coat cracks in fiberglass for professionals only. I repaire a chip in my gelcoat and the following cracks using this kit. My concern is that this is a symptom of a bigger underlying problem, like more cracks forming a year from now.
Buy products related to gelcoat repair kit products and see what customers say. Gel coat repair fiberglass repairs fall into two classes. Where the gel coat layer is too thick, as we often see in areas of a molded boat where it can easily accumulate such as corners or radii, the shrinking gel coat may create its own stress, resulting in cracks. You can take a screw driver and widen them by gouging it, then filling it with gel coat or they make a gel paste good for this. Theres really no way to be sure, until you repair the crazing and see if the cracks come back. It has been getting progressively worse since i discovered it, and spreading to the re. If it is a precut hole, you may still need to trim it up with a dremel to remove any cracked or flaked gel coat. The repair technique recently rediscovered by l h g in the boston whaler literature sounds.
The explanation that im hearing from a lot of people is that since the government prohibited the use of lead in gel coat, gel tends to crack like crazy on boats these days. Repairing hairline cracks and how to do repair gelcoat magicezy. Below, you will find some of the most common gel coat problems that fabricators run in to, the reasons they might arise, as well as how to avoid them during your gel coat applications. It incorporates pigments for desired color and contains additives for controlling flowout, gel and cure times. May 29, 2012 hopefully the manufacturer applied a thick enough gel coat to allow for the removal of the sun damaged portion without the ghosting problem. Unless the scratch goes through to the glass matting it wont harm the boat. Crazing is an incredibly common issue on modern fiberglass boats, and although it usually starts off as a matter of cosmetics, in severe cases these surface cracks can grow, deepen, and eventually threaten your boats. Upon inspecting the underside, i noticed a crack in the gelcoat about 2 feet long on the bottom side of the hull under where a passenger seat would normally be located. Painting over cracked and chipped gel coat moderated. The one i have is no longer available but this is the equivalent. You could probably fill the chipped away areas with auto body filler of some kind, or a dry mix of epoxy and microballoons.
Magicezy hairline fix oyster white boat gelcoat crack repair. Gelcoat can also be rolled or applied by foam brush in patch areas, but spraying tends to yield best results with the least amount of followup sanding. For certain, they reflect the parts flexing to a greater degree than the material can take without cracking. A special release film and norun polyester gel makes a slick, nosand finish quick and easy. Gelcoat crack and crazing repair moderated discussion areas. By the way, localized crazing as opposed to all over the boat is almost always due to flexing of the underlying laminate. Finally, apply a coat of highquality marine polish and your repair is complete. Its smooth shiny finish is an indicator of the mold finish. Aug 16, 20 im just about done tearing out all the old gel coat cracks with the entire boat here bow to stern just with these two chisels in the nice weather. The gel coat is in pretty rough shape cracked, chipped and pitted. May, 2016 although gel nail cracks can be annoying, aestheticians will usually be willing to fix a chipped or cracked nail within a week of the manicure for free.
Anyone else having this problem i have a 2000 triton 186 that the gel coat has been getting hundreds of tiny white cracks on the right gunwale since 2008, when i first noticed it. How to repair gelcoat, fiberglass boat repair boating. These are the easiest cracks to fix as theyre not very deep. If the gelcoat has broken through, the damaged area needs to be sanded down and a new gelcoat layer applied. Jun 06, 2016 the gel coat cracks are simply cracks in the cosmetic layer thats put over the top to keep the rv looking shiny. Get to the bottom of the crack then fill it as long as fiberglass isnt damaged. Once the gel coat has reached a full cure, progressively sand the area to a polish.
Now, i have had a couple glass boats in the past that got gel coat stress cracks pretty much right out of the box. The gelcoat will bridge the cracks rather than filling them, and the crazing will soon return. Before you tackle repairing hairline cracks in gelcoat, youll need to prepare the area well by washing. Some were in very solid areas where there were no stress raisers or. How to repair gelcoat, fiberglass boat repair boating magazine. If the gel coat does not completely cover the coat in one stroke, you should allow the first coat to harden into a sticky lump before applying a second mix. If you have a structural crack that means the entire piece of fiberglass has cracked through. Just get the sandinggrinding tool that comes to a point and trace them. Gelcoat oxidation can sometimes be repaired, but if the damage is extensive the gelcoat must be removed. But i have a 10 year old ranger 618 that i run hard. If the gel coat is applied too thick it has a tendency to crack because of the difference in thermal expansion, resin will expand much more than the fiberglass substrate. Also used to provide a glossy top coat for 9 second chip fix repairs. Any mold imperfections would be reflected in the gel coat as well. If your boat is more than a few years old, youll probably be surprised at the number you find.
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