Gelcoat cracks

[HarlenW]

I have some fine cracks in my gelcoat on several areas of my boat. What is the best way to fix these? I see there are different products on the market. I also watched the Bennett video that shows how a pro fixes them. Luckily, I have the correct color for my boat.

Thanks!

 

[David M]

A friend with an older Chris just did his with a bedliner material. It actually looks pretty decent.

 

[poqman]

I had a lot of gel-coat cracks on my '88 Chris Craft Catalina 426. I used a grinding tool to remove the cracks down to the base of the crack, then used G-Flex by West System to fill the cracks. Finally sprayed a fresh coat of gelcoat to match the color. Came out great and the cracks have not returned.

 

[Brian]

I have an older chris ..85 with many gel coat stress cracks. I have thought many times to take care of them but people would always tell they will return. What kind of grinding tool did you use and how did you spray it on.

 

[poqman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Brian

I have an older chris ..85 with many gel coat stress cracks. I have thought many times to take care of them but people would always tell they will return. What kind of grinding tool did you use and how did you spray it on.

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I used a dremel with a 1/4" cylindrical stone grinding attachment. In many cases, the surface crack in the gelcoat originated below the surface in a fiberglass crack. I ground about half way into the fiberglass to get a good bond with the G-Flex. I also found some moisture in the glass, so I drilled through the glass if I felt there was a void and then used a shop vac to remove any moisture. I was glad I found the moisture because freezing would have made the cracks return.
I ordered the gelcoat from Spectrum and followed their instructions at http://www.spectrumcolor.com/technicalinfo.htm.