Thoughts on minor "spider cracks"?

[Wm. Gill]

This 42 year old new to me C&C is mechanically, and structurally sound, and is seaworthy, but is also a "project boat" in that lots of minor, some cosmetic some functional tweaks need to be made. The black paint is worn off much of the pedestal which needs painting. Some instrumentation needs to be added, or replaced, but there are lots of "spider cracks" on some of the fiberglass and plastic surfaces. Close examination shows these cracks are no more than an eye sore. I am thinking of cleaning and filling them with 3M 4200. Even if the whites don't match I think a white filled crack will look better than a black unfilled one. Any thoughts?

 

[dlochner]

This might work for the short run, but it will make any long term fixes more difficult. My advice is to learn to live with the cracks, most old boats have them. Or repair them properly, open them up, fill with gelcoat, sand, polish, buff. Work on small areas that are the most annoying to you.

 

[Wm. Gill]

This might work for the short run, but it will make any long term fixes more difficult. My advice is to learn to live with the cracks, most old boats have them. Or repair them properly, open them up, fill with gelcoat, sand, polish, buff. Work on small areas that are the most annoying to you.

After your post I found "Gel Coat Scratch Patch." Same theory, better material, at least for some surfaces. Some of the worst pieces are not gelcoat, but flexible heavy duty plastic of some sort. I will have to be more discriminating applying different fillers to different surfaces.
Thanks.

 

[rgranger]

Pictures might help with better product recommendations.

 

[PeteTheri]

This 42 year old new to me C&C is mechanically, and structurally sound, and is seaworthy, but is also a "project boat" in that lots of minor, some cosmetic some functional tweaks need to be made. The black paint is worn off much of the pedestal which needs painting. Some instrumentation needs to be added, or replaced, but there are lots of "spider cracks" on some of the fiberglass and plastic surfaces. Close examination shows these cracks are no more than an eye sore. I am thinking of cleaning and filling them with 3M 4200. Even if the whites don't match I think a white filled crack will look better than a black unfilled one. Any thoughts?

There’s a guy on YouTube (boat works today) who has dozens of “ how to”videos including the repair of spider cracks in your gel coat. I have found him quite helpful with a number of things.

 

[dlochner]

There’s a guy on YouTube (boat works today) who has dozens of “ how to”videos including the repair of spider cracks in your gel coat. I have found him quite helpful with a number of things.

Andy Miller is skilled fiberglass repair guy. You can find his website at Boatworkstoday.com and on YouTube.

 

[rgranger]

Andy Miller is skilled fiberglass repair guy. You can find his website at Boatworkstoday.com and on YouTube.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Andy Miller reminds me of Nigel Caulder. These guys could make nuclear physics so easy.

 

[Stu Jackson]

There's also Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure. CAPTAIN TOLLEY'S 2 oz. Crack Cure Sealant | West Marine

Absent photos, just another one for the tool kit.

Good luck.