Repair gelcoat cracks boat

Products include 9 second chip fix, hairline fix and mega fusion. The gel coat doctor can make your damaged, scratched, or weather worn boat have that showroom shine again. There are many ways to repair cracks in fiberglasswhich ones the best. Gelcoat used to patch existing gelcoat, fiberglass repairs, and for new construction and projects. Camper nicholson 31 owner repairs cracks and crazing in the gelcoat on the hull. I was changing oil when i noticed what looks like a crack on the frame i think. I saw no signs of possible impact, but the length of the crack seemed a bit more than cosmetic to me. Gelcoat is under continual assault from impacts, structural flexing and ultraviolet damage from the sun. 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 boat s. Repair involves either widening each crack line in preparation for a new top layer or wet sanding down past the crevice to unweathered gelcoat. The topic of gelcoat is often a mystifying subject for boat owners. I repaire a chip in my gelcoat and the following cracks using this kit.

Magicezy hairline fix is a onepart, pretinted available in 10 colors sealant that allows you to complete the repair in seconds without having to grind out the. Turn the tube 180 degrees and rapidly wipe magicezy hairline fix along the crack with level. Stress cracks are cracks in the gel coat of a boat that let you know there is undue stress on a particular area or a problem under the gel coat. White gel coat, precolored gel coat, clear gel coat, neutral tintable gelcoats. In fiberglass boat repair the repair area may have hardness very similar to the original laminate and you can accidentally change the shape of the surrounding area. One step finish gel coat white discount boat parts and. This colored filler comes in 11 popular boat colors and. There is some areas of crazing, does that happen with paint and gelcoat. These cracks usually go through to the fiberglass and require that the gelcoat be removed down to the glass.

Ralph, since you got me interested in gelcoat repair one or two per year, i believe you would have some answers for me. For the more adventurous types, you may want to consider purchasing a diy do it yourself gelcoat repair kit. Fast gelcoat repair for fiberglass cracks see more like this. Gelcoat maintenance and repair tips crownline boats. To diagnose spider cracks, inspect your boat and look for the following. How to prepare your boat for painting a gelcoat if the gelcoat is in good condition with no major cracking or crazing, the job is relatively straightforwardclean and prepare the surface, apply an epoxy primer, sand the primer, remove the sanding residue and then apply the topcoat. Once the gelcoat has fully cured, sand the repair smooth wet sanding works particularly well with gelcoat. Use a dremel with a burr bit to open up the repair area, then vacuum the dust. Gelcoat blisters wouldnt be more than a cosmetic concern, if theyre treated and not ignored. Diy or not stress cracks, dock dings and other minor injuries arent difficult to repair yourself.

Sometimes a hard knock can cause delamination within the hull, in which case a more serious repair will need to be carried out first. It also repairs cracks in ceramic tiles and scratches on household appliances. All about fiberglass boat stress cracks fiberglass boat. Mix gelcoat according to manufacturer directions and add any coloring to match your boats gelcoat. Magicezy has a range of gelcoat repair products that repair and color damage in seconds. It is possible to fix a crack in gelcoat easily, as it can be sanded over. Repairing minor damage to the gelcoat surface of your boat. Over time and with use, the gelcoat on your boat can become dull, making your boat look old. You can start with 220grit sandpaper and, for a really slick surface, finish with at least 400 or 600grit. Restoring your gelcoat can help restore the shine of your boat and protect its surface. Magicezy hairline fix quickly and easily repairs gelcoat cracks on your boatwithout having to grind them out. I have a 79 11ft whaler and it is covered in cracks in the gel coat, but none seem to be wide enough to tell me there is a problem.

The other repair for spider cracks involves a little more work. Gelcoat does not cure properly when exposed to air. Does it look like a part of a weld that have cracked. Start by wiping down the area with acetone and sanding the damaged gelcoat down to the fiberglass. Carefully mask around the edges of the fiberglass boat repair area with twoinchwide 3m scotchblue multisurface painters tape no. Since these cracks often form from small impacts or minor flexing, they can appear just about anywhere on your boat. How to repair gelcoat, fiberglass boat repair boating magazine. Wax gelcoat is the best option to repair gelcoat because it will cure in the air without any additional components needed. 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. Although this usually starts off as a matter of cosmetics, in severe cases these surface cracks can grow, deepen, and eventually threaten your boat s structural integrity. Oct 12, 2011 however, there was a slight vibration at certain speeds, so we trailered the boat immediately and got it to the shop.

Just grinding out the surface and laying up light cloth may do the trick. How to repair spider cracks in fiberglass boatlife. Gelcoat that matches the color of your crownline can be purchased at your crownline dealer or at. Since 1968, west marine has grown to over 250 local stores, with knowledgeable associates happy to assist. I matched my teal striping on my boat to a tee when it was wet and mixing. I had a 1979 fish and the splashguardcowling was riveted in. If your damage is more serious than this, you will need to take steps to temporarily restore the correct while you make the fiberglass repairs. Tips with fiberglass and gelcoat repair methods by john.

Magicezy hairline fix is a onepart, pretinted available in 10 colors sealant that allows you to complete the repair in seconds without having to grind out the existing damage. Hairline spider cracks must be opened wider and filled with an epoxy filler to be permanently repaired. If you find small, hairline cracks in your boat, you can repair it yourself by using epoxy. A boat hitting a pilling very hard may have a chip. Using gelcoat or polyester resin from any hardware store or boat accessories outlet may get you frustrated and give you a poor boat hull repair, gelcoats may be to transparent even after tinting leaving you the only option to apply too many coats just to cover and polyester resin may be to thick or stale for fiberglass repair.

However, as it dried and hardened, it was a darker shade and i now have a dark spot on my boat that im going to have to recover to match. How to repair a flaking clear coat on a fiberglass boat. Follow the instructions on the epoxy for repairing the cracks. Repairing hairline cracks and how to do repair gelcoat. Give yourself a 16th of an inch of unmasked margin around the scratch, gouge or hole. Once the hull is completely dry, you can apply the gel coat with a spray applicator or a paintbrush, whichever works best for you. The highest quality iso npg marine finish gel coat to permanently repair or replace original, highglass finish. Youve cleaned, compounded and waxed, and it looks good for a while, but the chalkiness returnsmaybe the red accent stripe that used to look so good looks pink, or the dark blue bootstripe is now baby blue. If your gel coat already shows signs of aging, its time to repair it or to reapply a fresh layer to revitalize your boats look.

They say its near impossible to match color exact but. This makes fiberglass and gelcoat repair one of best ways to restore a boat or vehicle to its former glory. Gel coat hardened too quickly or with improper curing temperatures and conditions can also promote. From what i know from reading posts here, i would need a dremel tool to create a gorge on the gelcoat crack before applying the gelcoat putty. May 27, 2009 when the boat isnt leaking, theres no need to repair hairline cracks. Boat gelcoat stress cracks are a common problem within the marine world when it comes to fiberglass gelcoat boats, a. West marine sells gelcoat repair kitsap and many you tube videos on it. Aug 02, 2017 so, the gelcoat on your boat is looking chalky and faded. If the underside is accessible, laying up heavy glass to a well ground surface is the surest path to a repair which will not re crack. If you are looking to do some diy gelcoat repairs, this brief primer will help achieve adequate repair. Hairline fix is the easiest, most durable way to repair scratches, scrapes, stress cracks, spider fractures, and crazing in fiberglass and gelcoat surfaces. Plan on using a variety of sanding tools if you are dealing with a repair that bridges both a flat area and a detailed area such as a chine or gunwale. 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. I will leave the splashguard issue to more knowledgeable others.

To match the color exactly, specify boat model, name, color and year manufactured. Most boat owners know that doing fiberglass boat repairs is a nightmare. You should have about 10 to 15 minutes of working time after adding the catalyst before it starts to harden and is no longer fluid. The number of boats that develop serious blister problems is extremely small. How to prepare your boat for painting a gelcoat sail magazine.

Jun 10, 2017 hairline spider cracks must be opened wider and filled with an epoxy filler to be permanently repaired. Get the nonsagging gelcoat and itll stay put even on vertical surfaces. Widening is done because most topcoats new gelcoat, primer for paint, epoxy overlay, fairing compound wont wick into the extremely thin cracks, they only bridge them. This premium marine grade gel coat may be as gecloat for boats, gelcoat for pools or many other applications. Ab marine magicezy fiberglass and gelcoat repair products. Apply gelcoat use a small wood or plastic putty knife to spread the gelcoat smoothly over the gelcoat repair. Sometimes, theyre merely cosmetic, meaning they dont penetrate the gelcoat.

Ive been on the road for the last several weeks and unable to track our nonskid and gelcoat repair project. These hairline fractures also occur in boats of the mid 1970s vintage which often had thicker gelcoat layers than newer boats. Repairing hairline cracks and how to do repair gelcoat magicezy. But, in my absence, i had some photos taken to track the progress and now im back at the yard.

If the gel coat is thick in this corner as is often the case, the gel coat is more prone to cracking. Small cracks forming, especially at the surface of the fiberglass cracks spreading out from the center, much as you would see in a spider web once youre sure youre dealing with these types of cracks in the outer gel coat. The first job in any gelcoat repair is to check the damage closely, both inside and out. We wont go into great detail here, but suffice it to say that stress cracks occur because of voids under the surface of the gelcoat, and or a lack of strength in the underlying fiberglass or compounds used in the sub structure of the boat. Fiberglass epoxy is available at most boat supply stores. Mar 26, 2019 once the gelcoat has fully cured, sand the repair smooth wet sanding works particularly well with gelcoat. Evercoat gelkote one step finish gel coat repair white. Gelcoat paste will shrink more than liquid gelcoat because the filler to make paste and will eventually crack around the repair due to excess shrinking and may have pin holes that will show up after polishing, also getting your repair 100% flat without a wave or ripple is nearly impossible and in most cases your paste will not match even with.

I have to repair a large area of deck on our boat with. The fiberglass man finished prepping the 1977 silverton yesterday so that he can now begin the process of getting ready for new nonskid surfacing on deck. How to repair gelcoat, chips, scrapes and gouges yourself. Unless your boat lives her life dockside cuddled up to a couple of fenders, shes going to get a few scrapes and bruises. Its more a matter of when than if repairs will be required to cracked or flaking gelcoat on a well used fiberglass boat. Aside from the durable shiny luster gelcoat adds to any fiberglass boat, most owners know little more than wash and wax it frequently. Heres everything youll need to know to repair these cracks. Heres some info to help you decide when to call in a pro. We were surfing at the time we hit the submerged oject, so speeds were very low and visually, i hadnt even noticed the gel cracks. A fiberglass and gelcoat repair is mostly needed for mending the surfaces of boats. One quick and easy way to repair gelcoat stress cracks yourself is by using magicezy hairline fix a purpose built diy repair solution for stress cracks in gelcoat and fiberglass. I didnt see any gelcoat damage, but after my progressive agent carefully inspected the boat very impressed with progressive. This thicker gelcoat cannot stand any flexing without showing cracks. Below is the recommended repair process for cracks that go deeper than the gelcoat, but dont cause a large, gaping hole or change the overall shape of the surface.

Air temperature must be above 65f 18c to apply gelcoat. May 23, 20 check out a previous blog post about boat cleaning products, too. Sometimes, they go deeper and threaten an underlying laminate, which in many cases is cored. It starts hardening really fast, so be quick about it. After the cracks were prepared, i mixed the gelcoat with the catalyst and dye and applied it to the crack with a brush. Surface gelcoat scratches can be buffed with polishing compound, and deeper scratches can be filled. Shatter cracks usually go out much further than you originally suspect. Try not to remove any of the fiberglass resin or cloth. These premium quality isophthalic npg gel coats are.

Also, mask off any adjacent areas or items to protect them from inadvertently applied gelcoat or errant sanding. It can also be used for patching up chips, scratches, cracks and even holes in different kinds of vehicles. This damage is often caused by slight flexing of the hull. How to fix spider cracks in fiberglass it still runs. Clean the level with a tissue and trim away excess smears. The repair can require spraying to make the boat look like new. Our test boat has had a few spider cracks since a few months after she came out of the mold. Our satisfied clients and our years of experience in the restoration of gelcoat and fiberglass guarantee our work. How to prepare your boat for painting a gelcoat sail. Repair cracks and scrapes, gelcoat blisters, loose hardware, delaminated decks and panels, damaged keels and holes up to 1. The doctor is a fiberglass specialist who removes annoying spider cracks, restores and repairs dents, dings, and chips even in flake metal finishes, and has an artists eye for color matching.

Spider cracks are nonstructural damage to the gelcoat of a boat. But if you look closely there maybe fine cracks going out in all. You dont always have to have a 10 year old boat to be experiencing this problem. Finally, apply a coat of highquality marine polish and your repair is complete. How to repair gelcoat, fiberglass boat repair boating. Crazing in gelcoat, also known as spider cracks or stress cracks, plagues countless boaters and is an incredibly common issue on modern fiberglass boats. Crazing in gelcoat, also known as spider cracks or stress cracks, plagues countless boaters. Proper boat keeping is reflected in your boats overall appearance, and the gel coat is the most obvious indicator of your boats health. How would a potential buyer go about evaluating this issue. Use a fine grit sandpaper to smooth out the cracks and prep the surface of your boat.