How to hide stress cracks in dark gelcoat?

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randybartlett

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21887
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On a dark blue boat, I've got stress cracks. The dealer tells me they can't be buffed out, so I am wondering how to minimize their appearance.

Some ideas I've had...

I want to avoid leaving wax in them. I think that would show up as a white line.

I don't want to grind out a crack and re-gelcoat. I don't have that patience and it is a sparkly hard to match color.

So is there some approach like a thin filler that you flow into there and then buff it out flat?

Thanks!
 
"sparkly hard to match color" could be a PAINTED Formula, or a MOULDED GELCOAT bassboat. Two TOTALLY different repair procedures...that's why!
 
It's a Triton bass boat - definitely molded gelcoat. There appears to be a gelcoat of clear color about 1/64" thick. The sparkly metal flake is in a layer beyond that. In most cases, the crack is the depth of the clear topcoat.
 
Honestly, I would leave it...those bassboat metalflake gelcoats are very difficult to match, and if it's just through the clear top layer, there's no damage to the fiberglass itself.
 
There's also an area where the topcoat is gone. It's dull and you can see where the topcoat used to be, because there are adjacent areas that are original (they have the top shiny clear layer).

I'm thinking that some fiberglass shop could re-coat some areas with clear resin, then sand/buff it out to restore the finish. Even the cracks seem like they could be opened up a little (to get to solid material), then clear stuff put on top and buffed out.

Do shops do this? Even if it doesn't look 100% original, it would look better than now. This is a cosmetic thing.
 
A good fiberglass shop should be able to match it, but be prepared to pay. The top coat is probably a clear gelcoat over metal flake gelcoat. Sounds like the clear gelcoat is cracking on you.
 
While I would not normally recommend something like Penetrol, in this case I might. A lot of people use Penetrol to brighten faded chalky gelcoat. I personally think its something that only works short term and probably leaves a residue that is eventually going to backfire on them. But....in this case it might just work.

Penetrol is a solvent like liquid that does not evaporate away quite as quickly as your more typical solvent spirits. You know how if you take some mineral spirits on a rag and wipe over a substance how it makes everything look "wet" for awhile. Penetrol does a similar sort of thing, but lasts for awhile. It might just soak into those cracks you can't reach any other way and hide them. Some folks have been using Pentrol for a couple years every so often and claim it is still working for them.

Like I said, I'm not normally for short cuts, but his one might be worth further investigation on your part.

The best action is to actually have the gel fixed and the area reinforced to stop the flexing so it does not crack again. The reinforcement is relatively cheap, but fixing gel is expensive.

bp
 
Well, I talked to a repair place. Of course, it costs a lot to repair by them, but we have an idea.

He said if I dremel open each crack (not going too deeply) and remove all hardware and trim pieces, then they will topcoat the cap with clear gelcoat via spraying for $500 (1/2 of that for material he said). It would then be up to me to sand/buff out the surface to get it smooth and shiny again.

It wouldn't be perfect, but you'd have to be looking for trouble to notice that it had stress cracks before.

Does this sound like it would work?
 
Just make sure you are dealing with someone who is reputable so that they don't say you did something wrong when it doesn't turn out to your likeing. Good Luck .
 
try that repair at your risk of it happening again, maybe in another place. Bass boats take a pounding and stress cracks are a way of life with fiberglass and gelcoats.
Buzz
 
Are you REALLY sure that with a good quality wax job they won't be reasonably invisible from a realistic distance, at an angle? Remember, you look at your boat on a trailer or leaning over the side from 2' away, and your sight line is perpendicular to the surface. Most people look at it from 50' away on the water or 10' away when they are standing on a dock and there are angles involved. They are not going to see that same amount of detail you do.

I have a 30+ year old boat and it is white with a lot of gel coat crazing. Waxing it changes the way light reflects off it and makes the cracks not noticeable from a decent distance. Up close from directly overhead you still see them. Considering what a new boat would cost or a repair (which I believe would be very temporary at best) would cost I can live with it.

By the way I don't believe wax caught in the cracks would necessarily show as white. Have you tried that? There would be a certain amount of dirt in the crack that would be tough to get out and I believe the cracks might continue to show as dark. Which for you, is good. Have you tried waxing a section? I don't think you would lose much trying some different waxes on a few test areas.
 
Randy, don't waste your time with the gel fix unless you reinforce the area to stop flexing first. 100% guarantee the cracks will come back if you don't.

I don't have any experience with clear gel coat.

bp
 
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