I am on my third year of doing crack repairs.
My first order of note is to tell you drilling a hole at the end of a crack is a waste of time.
What I have found is a crack can extend up to a 1/2" beyond the visible crack on the surface. So drilling at the end of a visible crack is doing nothing short of maybe hiding the true extents of the crack. The picture shows the tape at the top of the visible crack and you can see how much further the crack actually went.
I use a Foredom tool with a rounded tapered carbide bit.
In this Amazon link it is the tool second in bottom right.
The Foredom tool is pricey, I got mine for $40 at a garage sale. It has more HP then a dremel tool so you can run it at slower speeds. This limits the heat and stops the fuzzy melted stuff. This lets you cut more accurately and chase the cracks.
I find while cutting the bit is going to lean towards one side so you need to put pressure to keep the bit centered. You also need to cut through the plastic to just above the foam. It is too easy to make too shallow a cut and not get enough structure. You also need the wider surface you get with a larger cutter so there is more surface area for the glue to create a bond. This will make for a better fix.
One of my fixes cracked again. This was in the area outside the complex shape where the deck transistions from the seat area to the storage area. I was afraid to cut as deep in the long crack which was about 6" long. I have run it much deeper this time.
Hope this helps people in their repairs.
My first order of note is to tell you drilling a hole at the end of a crack is a waste of time.
What I have found is a crack can extend up to a 1/2" beyond the visible crack on the surface. So drilling at the end of a visible crack is doing nothing short of maybe hiding the true extents of the crack. The picture shows the tape at the top of the visible crack and you can see how much further the crack actually went.
I use a Foredom tool with a rounded tapered carbide bit.
In this Amazon link it is the tool second in bottom right.
The Foredom tool is pricey, I got mine for $40 at a garage sale. It has more HP then a dremel tool so you can run it at slower speeds. This limits the heat and stops the fuzzy melted stuff. This lets you cut more accurately and chase the cracks.
I find while cutting the bit is going to lean towards one side so you need to put pressure to keep the bit centered. You also need to cut through the plastic to just above the foam. It is too easy to make too shallow a cut and not get enough structure. You also need the wider surface you get with a larger cutter so there is more surface area for the glue to create a bond. This will make for a better fix.
One of my fixes cracked again. This was in the area outside the complex shape where the deck transistions from the seat area to the storage area. I was afraid to cut as deep in the long crack which was about 6" long. I have run it much deeper this time.
Hope this helps people in their repairs.
