Gelcoat crack repair

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

My boat is 32 years old and has numerous cracks. On previous boats, I have repaired the cracks with all of the usual methods i.e. 'church key' to widen the crack and give more surface area for the epoxy, etc. etc. etc.This time, if I did that, it would be a lifetime project. A stranger told me a story a few years ago that they had a similar condition. All they did was the usual prep work.....de-wax, pressure wash and rinse, and solvent wash and wipe. then coated the deck with a barrier epoxy coating. They claimed that the barrier coat filled in all of the cracks without having to do anything. Then all they had to do was paint. And it held up for 5 years at the time, with no signs of the cracks.Has anyone else ever done this before? Tony B

 

[higgs]

If I was confident...

......the cracks were not structural, I would leave them unless I felt they were unsightly.

 

[Ross]

Tony, My 40 year old boat has as many cracks in its skin as I have.

above and below the waterline I applied 4 coats of epoxy barrier paint to the bottom and within a year or three I could see their lines through the bottom paint. I have one small area( about 4x5 inches where I used a dremel tool with a burr and traced the cracks in the gel coat and filled with fairing compound. Those have held perfectly. But the boat is 360 inches long and 108 inches wide and has not a single square foot that is free of cracks. It doesn't seem to hurt anything so I just call it character.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

I forgot to mention...

the reason I want to treat the cracks is because I want to paint the boat.Tony B

 

[Maine Sail]

Tony..

I actually tried what you are asking about except it was bellow the waterline. On my Catalina 30 I stripped the bottom and found crazing around a few of the seacocks. I was led to believe, at the time, that the barrier coat would just fill and cover the cracks. Well after three coats of 2000E they still showed back up within a few days..If it were me and I was going to the do the labor and prep work, on what is already a major project, I'd Dremel them and fair them. I use a Dremel with the "flex wand" so it's just like your writing over them with a pen. You'd be amazed how fast it will go. If you fill with Cabosil and epoxy it will sand out easily and won't bleed through the paint due to the off white cured color of the Cabosil/epoxy. I know it's an extra step, that is a pain in the ass, but I have seen crazing show through with 2000E and can;t comfortably recommend it for a "finish" product let alone one that would get covered with bottom paint. I had to strip my barrier off around the thru-hulls, Dremel and fair then re-barrier coat. If I'd known and done it right to begin with it would have saved me considerable time and expense...Then again if your just looking for a new shine and don't really care about the cosmetics go for it..

 

[tcbro]

Don Casey says.....

...."The easiest repair method is to sand the surface heavily and roll on two coats of epoxy primer followed by two coats of two part linear polyurethane."Don Casey Tip #15 Glecoat Crazing. You can find the Don Casey tip library on the BoatUS website.I think the key word here is "easiest".

 

[Ross]

I have read several of Don Casey's books and

compared his advise with my experience. I don't think that he has actually tried all the techniques that he writes about. His books are attractive and full of "how to" pictures but they fall short on producing the results that are often being sought.

 

[Zaphro]

I got fantastic results using...

Interlux primekote, I mixed it a little thin so it would flow a little better into the cracks, then covered it with Perfection two part epoxy. I've attached a link where you can see the before and after of the cockpit deck. It's been two years none of the cracks has reappeared.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Soooooo, there ain't no free lunch?

I respect the opinions of all of you guys. I was hoping there was a 'magic bullet' but down deep inside, I knew there wasn't, thats why I generated this post. My deck looks like all hell and the non-skid pattern is actually worn out. I probably wont paint till next year, but its good to know in advance what my procedure will be. Ross brings up a good point, one that I have always professed. Just because someone wrote about something and published it, doesn't necessarily make it so.I am an excellent woodworker and have read many books on woodworking and I know for fact, that the author could not have actually done what he described. Many "how to" books are written by people that more or less make a 'book report' of others work. Thanks again to all.Tony B

 

[Ross]

Some people make a living building or repairing

boats and sometimes they write a book. Others make a living writing books and sometimes they try their hand at building or repairing.

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Zaphro

Sounds like what I heard.Did you do anything to the cracks first, like scrape them?, widen them? sand them deep?Any particular reason you used Perfection Paint and not Interlux?Tony B

 

[Zaphro]

I just...

gave them a good scrubbing with 202 solvent. Perfection is the Interlux two part epoxy paint; primekote and perfection are specifically designed to be used together. I didn't open any of the cracks up or sand them, because otherwise, my non-skid was in pretty good shape and I was trying to avoid damaging it. Even the smaller hair line cracks on some of the smooth surfaces were filled with the primer coat, after a sanding and painting they disappeard too. Being the first time I've painted the topside of a boat I wasn't sure what to expect, but none of the cracks has returned. I credit either beginners luck or a great product. Got the advice to over thin the product a little from the folks at Dolphin Refinishing at Green Cove Springs Boat Yard who paint yachts for a living.

 

[Brian D]

That's interesting Ross...

I've read several of his books also and felt the same way. But I do not have the experience you have to challenge his writings. I too have lots of spider cracks and I a very confident that none of them leak. But I will use the Creepy Crack Cure stuff I have to fill them in. I'm not going to do any cosmetic work though.

 

[Ross]

BrianD, If you want a good volume on fiberglass work

look for a book on the subject by Alan Vaitsis. He had his own yard in Massachusets and made the transition from wooden boats to fiberglass. There are a few others but for me this is the gold standard.

 

[Maine Sail]

You mean ...

Quote Ross: "I have read several of Don Casey's books and compared his advise with my experience. I don't think that he has actually tried all the techniques that he writes about. His books are attractive and full of "how to" pictures but they fall short on producing the results that are often being sought."You mean like Don's insightful "junk" wisdom of bedding deck fittings!! Create a "gasket" sure... go right ahead if you want a leak!!Ross is right Don Casey sells books but has little clue as to how half of his "suggestions" bear out in the REAL world! Trust me TWO coats of epoxy primer and an LPU will NOT cover crazing!!!! My boat has three primer coats and three coats of LPU! I invite anyone to visit my boat so I can show you how crazing shows through a brand new 10K LPU job!!! F'ing slackers at the boat yard!!!!P.S. Tony,Perfection is Interlux's two part polyurethane. While not as tough as Awlcraft, Imron, Awlgrip or true LPU's it is MUCH harder an more durable than any one part paint and it's designed for roll and tip application. One note though, you can NOT buff it easily repair Perfection as it cures similarly to Awlgrip just not as tough..

 

[sailortonyb Allied Mis]

Zaphro may have gotten lucky.

There is no reason for me to doubt him so I will think of it as lucky, same as the guy that first relayed the story to me. If its a 'hit or miss' deal, statistically, I am always the 'miss' guy.I'll get the admiral to use a 'church key' and a Dremmel. She has all kinds of patience with that kind of stuff. If it will make the boat look better, she will be on it. When I was off sailing with my buddies on Memorial weekend, I came back to a sanded down to bare wood boat trim. She did the last of the teak. So, now I am varnishing it. I hate varnishing, but she really did the most difficult and tedious operation.She wants the deck painted and I keep coming up with some pretty original excuses to get out of it for a while. I certainly am not going to tell her about this post for at least 6 months.Ill be busy enough when my central heat and air unit arrives today. Then its on to building a butterfly hatch.I'm running out of back burners to put stuff on, but it is so nice to have some input from others on here. It gives me a chance to think it out. These little projects right now will keep me from sailing for about 2 weeks. Furtunately, down here in Houston area, sailing is all year 'roundTony BTony B

 

[Brian D]

Thanks, Ross...

nm

 

[tcbro]

Ross

That's why I said "the key word here is easiest" as opposed to "best".

 

[Ross]

TCBro, the problem with the "easiest" method is that it doesn't

work. In that case the easiest method is to do nothing. After the third coat of enamel paint on Bietzpadlin in 10 years the cracks in the gelcoat are well covered and I don't find them so obnoxious. Sanding Just knocks the edges down but filling the cracks doesn't happen. Bridging them is more of the case.

 

[Dan H]

Re-gelcoat the boat

Don't paint that boat, put new gelcaot on.email me if you want to kow how to do this.catalina0029 at yahoo.com