Cure for Crazing?

[Fiftybucks]

we have been looking at a particular make and model of beneteau not all, models, just the 361s and every single one has crazing on the deck, sometimes all over the deck. not structurual, nor moisture.

is there a cure or treatment... like pressure wash and then some Milky epoxy White slurry that could be squeeged on? then wipe down? make it look nice?

 

[dlochner]

we have been looking at a particular make and model of beneteau not all, models, just the 361s and every single one has crazing on the deck, sometimes all over the deck. not structurual, nor moisture.

is there a cure or treatment... like pressure wash and then some Milky epoxy White slurry that could be squeeged on? then wipe down? make it look nice?

The short answer is no. You might take a look at this video on the Boat Works Today, YouTube channel.

Epoxy would be a poor choice as it degrades with UV exposure. It works in the BWT video because the epoxy will be painted or gel coated to protect it from the sun.

 

[Gunni]

I've been using some Australian stuff - MagicEzy (9 second chip fix) for the last few years to repair chips, it works really well (follow the instructions scrupulously). They also make a spider crack repair material, but I don't know if it is as good because quite frankly, I don't give a damn about crazing

http://magicezy.com/

 

[agprice22]

The problem with quick fixes for spider cracks is that there is contamination in the cracks. If the checking id close enough, removing all the gelcote in the area is best. If the cracks are minimal, you can either grind them, fill and fair them and paint, or you can follow Andy at BWT... you cannot go wrong

 

[RussC]

I've used both types of the majicezy products on a couple different boats. the spider crack stuff does work great also. it draws itself into the cracks well and is very tough when cured. as Gunni said, follow directions scrupulously .

.02

 

[Fiftybucks]

I have appreciated the responses so far, and investigated products such as MajicEzy, and Interlux Perfect.
I have to say that the treatments are tedious and expensive. I am providing some photo examples of the entire deck surface along with affected areas around portlights, toe rails, hatches etc.. perhaps 100 sq ft of affected areas.

 

[dlochner]

I have to say that the treatments are tedious and expensive.

Yes, that is the nature of the repair. My Sabre has numerous gelcoat cracks that I have mostly learned to live with. There are a few that are particularly annoying, so I may try to repair them with flexible epoxy and gelcoat, but they are not high on the priority list.

Most of the cracks you showed are around tight radii. That is a particularly problematic area for gelcoat for a number of reasons. First, when the glass is laid up, it is difficult to get the glass fully into the tight areas, that often leads to voids behind the gelcoat that are not well supported so cracks form. This is an issue with convex corners. Concave corners have their own set of issues, notably there may be a layer or two of glass that does not wrap around the corner, this allows the flat surfaces, the deck and seats to flex a bit which causes the brittle gelcoat to crack. Finally, when when the deck is released from the mold the stress causing some twisting and that causes the gelcoat to crack. These cracks should be fixed by the boat builder, but if it was weak enough to crack when taking it out of the mold, the cracks may reappear.

The quality of the gelcoat and its application also affect crazing. Sabre produced a bunch of 362 that developed extensive crazing. Once they realized they had a problem, they changed gelcoat formulations and the problem for the most part went away. While I am not very familiar with Beneteaus, I would not be surprised to find out they had a similar situation. Gelcoat is very brittle and if it is applied to thick, it will crack.

I think you will be hard pressed to find an older boat without some hairline cracks.