Gelcoat Repair & Gouges

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by landonshaw

Cotemar,
Does the procedure that you have listed work for fixing stress cracks that are 4 to 5 inches long?
I have stress cracks in the gel coat around my stanchions, nothing deeper. I have also had a plate put on the deck and have tied that to another plate under the deck to spread the stress over a larger area.
I intend to open up the cracks with a dremel tool and then follow your instructions.

If you make a small V groove in each crack my procedure will work. Then get a small epoxy syringe and put a bead of Gel-coat in the crack and then tape over it and smooth it out with a squeegee. You will be able to see how the patch looks through the tape.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

If you make a small V groove in each crack my procedure will work. Then get a small epoxy syringe and put a bead of Gel-coat in the crack and then tape over it and smooth it out with a squeegee. You will be able to see how the patch looks through the tape.

I'd say about 90% of the "cosmetic" "just in the gelcoat" cracks I grind out actually go well into the glass. Particularly in a case like this, where the cracks are radiating from installed hardware. To make such a crack go away forever, you have to grind and glass it. 1" Roloc grinder, some CSM, and some poly. Glass high, grind fair, brush prime with gel, prep for blends, and shoot away. Anything else is a band-aid. The OP needs professional help, most likely.

[landonshaw]

As you grind the v into the crack, are you generally able to see how deep it goes as you grind? How deep can you grind and only fill with the unwaxed gel coat. I will try one to see how it goes.

[JPA Cate]

landonshaw:

I see you are located where not all the goodies are easily available to you. Yes, follow the crack, but if it goes so deep you get a bit scared, it might be time to rethink this, and go back to minaret. If it's only cosmetic, that's one thing; if it's structural, the repair needs to be done more in depth.

Ann

[minaret]

Originally Posted by landonshaw

As you grind the v into the crack, are you generally able to see how deep it goes as you grind? How deep can you grind and only fill with the unwaxed gel coat. I will try one to see how it goes.

Sure you can. Vacuum as you grind, and occasionally wipe with acetone. When you solvent wipe the laminate will become almost transparent while wet, this makes it much easier to see cracks and chase them out. It's hard to do right if you are trying to grind a V with a Dremel instead of dishing it out with a grinder. It helps to be able to see good laminate on the edges of the grind. You posted pics on another thread of some work you had done, right? Those cracks were huge, I assure you they aren't cosmetic.

[landonshaw]

Yes those were the cracks I was referring to. I have had plates placed on the top off the deck and below. The cracks were suppose to be fixed. They told me that they ground under the plates but did not continue beyond the plates. I was going to have the surface re gelled, they said that that was when thy would continue the repair.

This did not make sense to me. Had a guy out doing some minor repair on the bow where the anchor hit and marked the boat. His comment was that now with the stanchions back on, it will make the repair harder to do. He didn't understand why they just didn't continue unless the cracks under the new plates were never done as they claim.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by landonshaw

Yes those were the cracks I was referring to. I have had plates placed on the top off the deck and below. The cracks were suppose to be fixed. They told me that they ground under the plates but did not continue beyond the plates. I was going to have the surface re gelled, they said that that was when thy would continue the repair.

This did not make sense to me. Had a guy out doing some minor repair on the bow where the anchor hit and marked the boat. His comment was that now with the stanchions back on, it will make the repair harder to do. He didn't understand why they just didn't continue unless the cracks under the new plates were never done as they claim.

Pull a stanchion or two and check to see if they did repairs or not. I seriously doubt it. Then get your money back and go find a reputable outfit.