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Sep
Yes the only sure repair is to grindfairpaint. First get your boat to a well-ventilated area where it can be sheltered overnight.
I restored a Black Gold Bell Wildfire that had a lot of fine spider cracks in the clear polyester gel coat.
Repair spider cracks in gelcoat. Hairline spider cracks must be opened wider and filled with an epoxy filler to be permanently repaired. Learn how in this tutorial with Andrew Price. BoatUS Magazines Mark Corke shows you how to easily repair those pesky spider cracks that show up in your boats fiberglass gelcoat.
While this may seem lik. Building the Explorer Episode 29. How to fix spider cracks in Gelcoat we will repair the spider cracks and make an attempt at color matching.
In order to properly fix any spider cracks you will have to open the cracks to fill them up correctly. This can be done by using a Dremel. Once the crack is open and it has a good size you can sand and clean the area.
For cleaning you may use acetone or. Gelcoat cracks also known as spider cracks indicate that your boat has suffered from severe structural problems or impact damage. As such you need to address cracks in gelcoat on boat surfaces immediately to prevent them from spreading.
While it is possible to fix these cracks yourself your best option is to hire a contractor to fix the cracks. The instructions direct you to clean the cracks out with a fine needle and then to wash rinse and dry. Although slightly tedious the needle step is very important.
Do not attempt to widen the crack-the Fix will seep into very thin cracks. I restored a Black Gold Bell Wildfire that had a lot of fine spider cracks in the clear polyester gel coat. The appearance was considerably improved by wet sanding the entire hull down to 2000 grit then applying several thin coats of System Three Clear Coat epoxy which is a very low viscosity epoxy.
Repairing Minor Gelcoat Cracks. Use a rotary tool or scraping tool to open the crack into a V shape. You will need to go through the gelcoat to the fiberglass and open the full length of the crack.
Next use 80-grit sandpaper to scuff up the opening you created. Fold the sandpaper so you can get a corner of it into the opened crack. I did such a repair to a well worn Colvic Victor about a month ago.
With a fairly large spider crack on the topside about six feet aft from the bow. First washed the area on the hull. Treated the area with oxalic acid solution to remove the staining.
Lifhtly sanded 400g the area to. Brush a thin layer of gelcoat onto the sanded area feathering it out a bit onto the surrounding fiberglass surface. Step 9 Allow the gelcoat to sit for three hours then spray it.
We show the complete process of grinding cleaning sanding and completing repairs to cracked gel coat. Remember to like and subscribe as it really helps u. Step 4 As soon as the crack has been channeled out wipe it clean with a solvent like acetone and using a plastic putty knife flush-fill it with gelcoat matched to the color of the surrounding area if the channel isnt too deep.
Polyester filler if the channel is of medium depth. Or polyester resin and fiberglass strands if the channel is very deep and wide. Its a good idea by the way to mix up a couple of small batches of gelcoat.
The instructions direct you to clean the cracks out with a fine needle and then to wash rinse and dry. Although slightly tedious the needle step is very important. Do not attempt to widen the.
How do you get cracks out of gelcoat. A miniature grinding tool like a Dremel is ideal but the sharp point of a can opener will work too. If you dont open the crack you wont be able to force the gelcoat into the repair area or expose enough surface area for the repair.
So structural flexing could not be the cause. Must have been the sun. We also determined the gelcoat was applied a bit thick at the factory which did not help things.
Yes the only sure repair is to grindfairpaint. Or find a way to cover it up as spider cracks are more of a. Repairing Spider Cracks.
The good news about these cracks is that theyre largely cosmetic problems. This means you can apply a simple cosmetic fix. Move your boat to a safe workplace.
First get your boat to a well-ventilated area where it can be sheltered overnight. Clean the crack area with acetone. However you may still want to contact a pool crack repair specialist and address the problem before it becomes worse.
What causes gelcoat cracks. Spider cracks on gelcoat surfaces are usually the result of applying strong pressure in a portion of the gelcoat. Gelcoat is generally flexible but when the pressure is too heavy even gelcoats will start to crack.
These undue pressure can be caused by a variety of sources. For instance improper handling can exert pressure on the gelcoat. I agree 100 with what CFCAJUN said.
Especially about the grinderpad combo. It works much better than a random orbital buffer. It will make minor spider cracks disappear.
This is actually something you should do to your boat yearly anyway. If the spider cracks are still visible then you may wish to repair the gel coat. The other repair for spider cracks involves a little more work.
Start by wiping down the area with acetone and sanding the damaged gel-coat down to the fiberglass. Try not to remove any of the fiberglass resin or cloth. Next wipe down the area with acetone again.
Go to your marine supply store Or Home Depot and get some mat fiberglass and polyester resin white gelcoat a resin roller and lots of sandpaper from 200 to 1000 grit. Dont use epoxy because according to the manufacturer the boat is built with polyester resin and epoxy wont give you as good a repair. The process of fixing a hairline crack differs from that of a spider crack.
Heres how to fix a Gelcoat hairline crack. First drill two holes on the ends of the crack to prevent its front from extending further during the repairing process. Using a handheld electric rotary blade drill through the crack to create room for epoxy resins to be.