Gel coat stress cracks

Sitting in the hot sun in fla or az the dark colors can absorb a lot of heat it may get up to 140f and when the gel coat expands the fg restrains it and the thermal stress. Spider cracks in gelcoat moderated discussion areas. Spider cracks in hull boat talk chaparral boats owners club. Hairline cracks stand out once black colored dirt gets in them once they return to approximately the gel coat colour they usually blend in well. Bump a dock too hard and they will show up, and very common around the corners of the transom at the splash well. Repairing minor damage to the gelcoat surface of your boat west. If the gel coat is thick in this corner as is often the case, the gel coat is more prone to cracking. Of course, if you do have stressgelcoat problems, the primer will only hide the problem till the first sail. When i was looking at boats, all of the cracks were around the tower legs and near the swim platform brackets. Gel coat cracking on 2000 tritonanyone else having this problem. I have an older fiberglass body made around 1993 and i am starting to get stress cracks in some. If structural damage is suspected, you should get your boat.

Why do i get stress cracks or crazing in my gelcoat. Cracks in the laminate would suggest its been backed into something or been hit by something. Magic fix for hairline cracks in gelcoat practical sailor. On recent inspection a series of concentric rings of very fine cracking in the gelcoat on the hullside have appeared. It is nevertheless important to establish the origins of any crazing in the gel coat to try to prevent it happening. Mar 12, 2015 this is were the base fiberglass material under the gel coat has fractured, when a really bad stress crack occurs the gel coat will start to flake away exposing the pink material under the gel coat layer.

I got stress cracks on my skeeter at the back passenger corner two feet up the side and across the back. In most cases this is true, however it is important to seal them correctly otherwise water may penetrate into. This thicker gel coat cannot stand any flexing without showing cracks. These colors are matched to our composite kayak colors only. Hairline fix seal and color stress cracks and gelcoat. The gel coat cracks are simply cracks in the cosmetic layer thats put over the top to keep the rv looking shiny. Repairing hairline cracks and how to do repair gelcoat. These are cosmetic repairs, but they can add significant value and enjoyment to your boat. Csr has removed the gelcoat in the area of the hullkeel and found no cracking in the fiberglass. Gelcoat oxidation can sometimes be repaired, but if the damage is. This is were the base fiberglass material under the gel coat has fractured, when a really bad stress crack occurs the gel coat will start to flake away exposing the pink material under the gel coat layer. The best repair is to remove paint down to the gel coat, if theres no cracks at that point use a good sealer and your done, if theres cracks in the gel coat it must be removed down to the glass and resprayed. Gel coat cracking on 2000 tritonanyone else having this. But for the cracks you can take a screw driver and widen them by gouging it, then filling it with gel coat or they make a gel paste good for this.

May 05, 2015 cracks occur when there are pockets of gelcoat that accumulate and end up being too thick. Are they gel coat or stress cracks in the meantime, coud anyone answer me some basic newbie questions. Crazing in gelcoat, also known as spider cracks or stress cracks, plagues countless boaters. Ive owned a lot of boats and they all had gel coat cracks. Sometimes, however, spider cracks offer a path for water to get into contact with. Most people that use there boat eventually will develop some type of stress cracks in there gel coat. This is a great help, especially using gelcoat between laminating layers.

How to repair spider cracks in fiberglass boatlife. Dec 02, 2014 most stress cracking is purely cosmetic, moisture is unlikely to penetrate to the laminate in the topsides and deck, and can easily be detected with a moisture meter. Stress cracks in fiberglass bass boats, canoes, kayaks. All of these boats had some type of gel coat cracking going on. Once the gel coat has reached a full cure, progressively sand the area to a polish. Small cracks form in the outer surface of the fiberglass, spreading out from a central point like a spiderweb. Gelcoat repair kit fills in scratches and surface cracks on composite canoes or kayaks. In this case the cracks need to be examined closely, even chipped away at, to see if they extend through the gelcoats 0. These are the easiest cracks to fix as theyre not very deep.

I had some stress cracks filed on my transom last spring. Spider web crackscaravan repairs, servicing and maintenance. They can occur in any form of fiberglass, including cars, boats and swimming pools. Spider cracks in hull boat talk chaparral boats owners. The best repair is to remove paint down to the gelcoat, if theres no cracks at that point use a good sealer and your done, if theres cracks in the gelcoat it. It penetrates deeply into the pores of even the finest of cracks for ultra tough adhesion and durability.

Once youre sure youre dealing with these types of cracks in the outer gel coat of the fiberglass, your fix can be limited to. Take care that they are completely mixed together, otherwise the hardener and gel coat will not set properly, and you will be left with a sticky mess for weeks. Stress cracks, spider cracks, and hairline cracks in the decks of older boats are, of course, not rare. Gel coat hardened too quickly or with improper curing temperatures and conditions can also promote stress cracks in the gel coat itself. They reported that the gel coat was very tick in the high radius area of the sump and that may have made the gel coat there more susceptible to cracking. The type of cracks the op is seeing are not structural and are likely due to gel coat that was applied too thick. You being a veteran, may be familiar with this hull. Sometimes, the process is contaminated with tiny drops of oil, etc. All about fiberglass boat stress cracks fiberglass boat. Mar 01, 2014 soh i had a issue with my 2006 wakesetter with stress cracks and took it to my fiberglass guy and he fixed all of them and said it was was from the holes not being chamferd as others have said and that they had put the gel coat to thick which will cause cracking.

He went over my entire boat and fixed several cracks and put new decals on and it was nowhere near 12k that sounds very high to me. The gelcoat is applied to the inside of the mold before the fiberglass resin and cloth are layered on. Aug 05, 2008 vertical fissures sounds like stress cracking rather than simple crazing. Repairing hundreds of fiberglass cracks to get ready for. Just get the sandinggrinding tool that comes to a point and trace. Ive seen new donzis with cracks and lots of others. Anyone else having this problem i have a 2000 triton 186 that the gel coat has been getting hundreds of tiny white cracks on the right gunwale since 2008, when i first noticed it.

If, however, the spider cracks appeared at an attachment point or in a high stress area, theres a good chance theyll simply return after you fix them. Magicezy hairline fix is a onepart, precoloured sealant that repairs gelcoat stress cracks, scrapes and scratches. Extend each coat farther than the previous one, with the last coat out to the tape line. If you have a structural crack that means the entire piece of fiberglass has cracked through. With some boats you could begin seeing signs of stress within the first few years. If the cracks are relatively minor and gel coat not too thick, awlgrip high hide primer may just do the trick. Quite often however, its near impossible to prevent these unsightly cracks due to the fact gelcoat is so brittle and rigid. The lower 14 of the transom was rotted, allowing the outer skin to flex. Crazing is an incredibly common issue on modern fiberglass boats, and although it usually starts off as a matter of cosmetics, in severe cases these surface cracks can grow, deepen. Labor is the expensive part when hey start to grind down the cracks, fill them, sanding, the. A fiberglass layup that is too wet, or has too much resin will crack also.

Stress cracks in fiberglass bass boats, canoes, kayaks and. Now that the cracks are ready, mix your gelcoat repair kit and the hardener together. Gel coat cracking malibu boats general discussion area. These cracks are generally cosmetic, and indicate flexing of the hull. Tough to say if these cracks are limited to just the gel coat, or if they involve the laminate under. The very basic reason for stress cracks in a gelcoat finish is the hull or surface that the gelcoat is bonded to flexed or moved an amount beyond the point that the gelcoat can flex, so it just cracks, because the gelcoat has no structural bearing attributes.

One quick and easy way to repair gelcoat stress cracks yourself is by using magicezy hairline fix a purpose built diy repair solution for stress cracks in gelcoat and fiberglass. If the gelcoat has broken through, the damaged area needs to be sanded down and a new gelcoat layer applied. My questions would surround if they are truly stress cracks or go through the gel coat and into the laminate. Small cracks forming, especially at the surface of the fiberglass. Hull showing cracks skeeter boats indepth outdoors.

How to repair spider cracks on your fiberglass boat. I am not sure if this was bruhaha but just readheard it some place. I thought you might want an update on the j120 keel cracking. Cracks spreading out from the center, much as you would see in a spider web. Although gel nail cracks can be annoying, aestheticians will usually be willing to fix a chipped or cracked nail within a week of the manicure for free. There is not much of this but i would like to know what it is and the best way to deal with it. I have a 2001 tr21 that is starting to do the small stress cracks just in front and behind both consoles.

These hairline fractures also occur in boats of the mid 1970s vintage which often had thicker gel coat layers than newer boats. Spider cracks are nonstructural damage to the gel coat of a boat. Csr has removed the gel coat in the area of the hullkeel and found no cracking in the fiberglass. Ive fixed all my rotten wood issues so im ready to fix the cracks. Sometimes, theyre merely cosmetic, meaning they dont penetrate the gelcoat. Repairing hundreds of fiberglass cracks to get ready for spraying awlgrip. My point is most stress cracks are from poor repair work or the paint it self that is cracked and lifted.

Theyre not affecting the integrity of the boat, so dont stress out pun intended if you have a few. The boat is a 2005, i had had the cracks for a while but did not mention it to the dealer until last summer. If the gel coat is applied too thick it has a tendency to crack because of the difference in thermal expansion, resin will expand much more than the fiberglass substrate. Stress by thermal expansion or when bulkheads and liners were installed can cause minor flexing.

The gelcoat seals the fiberglass and can be left alone or painted over. This damage is often caused by slight flexing of the hull. These hairline fractures also occur in boats of the mid 1970s vintage which often had thicker gelcoat layers than newer boats. Repairing hairline cracks and how to do repair gelcoat magicezy. The good news is that, unlike crazing which happens randomly all over the boat, stress cracking can be fixed by indentifying and fixing the source of the stress,a nd then repairing the gel coat. When you stress or impact the surface of the boat stress cracks will show up, either in the weakest locations or the locations that are. Boatus magazines mark corke takes you through the steps necessary to repair gelcoat on your own boat. Also used to provide a glossy topcoat for 9 second chip fix repairs. Repairing hundreds of fiberglass cracks to get ready for spraying awlgrip paint. Gelcoat can also be rolled or applied by foam brush in patch areas, but spraying tends to yield best results with the least amount of followup sanding.

Spider cracks are small, hairlike cracks that appear on the gelcoat of boats. You dont always have to have a 10 year old boat to be experiencing this problem. That helps take away the stress of the unknown for newbies like me. Before you begin your fiberglass repair you will need to purchase catalyst methyl ethyl ketone peroxide from an. Most stress cracking is purely cosmetic, moisture is unlikely to penetrate to the laminate in the topsides and deck, and can easily be detected with a moisture meter. Oct 11, 2017 repairing hundreds of fiberglass cracks to get ready for spraying awlgrip paint. If you run on super calm water and dont subject the boat to any flex or stress, you might not get cracks. Thats as long as they are stress cracks, fine hairline like spider web, not something you can see into. This diy is not difficult and could save you a lot of money by doing it yourself and still. Gelcoat doesnt flex at the same rate as the underlying fiberglass layer fiberglass is more flexible, so stress cracks appeared all over.

May, 2016 theres not much you can do about that other than be careful, but if you know you have a big event coming off, be extra careful with your nails to avoid cracks. Stress cracks around outdrive on 23 footer boat design net. All about fiberglass boat stress cracks fiberglass boat repair. Cracks occur when there are pockets of gelcoat that accumulate and end up being too thick. For certain, they reflect the parts flexing to a greater degree than the material can take without cracking. A body guy came out and looked at them and said they were stress fractures in the gel coat.

They reported that the gelcoat was very tick in the high radius area of the sump and that may have made the gelcoat there more susceptible to cracking. The primary reason why stress cracks appear in gel coat is because gel coat is brittle and the laminate to which it is bonded is less so. Stress cracks, finishes and surface defects buyers guide. Spider cracks are small, hairlike cracks that appear on the gel coat of boats. May 27, 2009 i dont know about the cowling since i have a minifish little sister of the sunfish. Nov 05, 2012 i read some place that some new hulls are being machinedbakedlaser built and so stress cracks appear in the gel coat sometimes because they are so perfectly made. If the cracks on your boat were caused by impacts, such as around rub rails or where a heavy object was dropped, move on to step 1. Is this considered a stress crack or just gel coat damage. Can anyone advise me on how i would go about repairing this kind of damage or a. Sometimes, they go deeper and threaten an underlying laminate, which in many cases is cored. The next time youre cleaning and waxing your boat, take the time to look for small cracks, scratches and chips in its gel coat. He made an appointment with the factory, they took the boat back grind down a few feet of the back and sides and rebuilt the area.

Learn how to treat wearinduced spider cracks that appear along the hull of your dinghy. Stress cracks, spider cracks, and hairline cracks in the decks of older. The fact that yours are extensive and below the water line should get the attention of both the dealer and the builder. When these voids are present, or when the fiberglass is. Hairline cracks, stress cracks or spider cracks star cracks that occur in gelcoat surfaces on fiberglass boats or other water craft are often seen as a cosmetic issue. If not managed, these small cosmetic annoyances can. Always got stress cracks in the cabin roof or bow area from people always loading and unloading their heavy coolers and. Stress cracks stress cracks on hull bottoms gel coat voids a common question should stress cracks be repaired. A common problem within the marine world when it comes to fiberglass gelcoat boats is stress cracks, a.

There is some areas of crazing, does that happen with paint and gelcoat. Most stress cracks occur in the gelcoat layer of fiberglass surfaces and can be repaired by yourself. Evidently nonstructural, but according to the surveyor, probably caused by some weight locally compressing part of the outside of the hull, generating an area of expanding rings of stress cracks, about 23 across, presumably when the deformation pressure released. The dots are air pockets in the fiberglass that were covered by the gelcoat. He said some mfgrs dont approve of the extra cost but, fleetwood did. Jun 25, 2018 there are many ways to repair cracks in fiberglasswhich ones the best. Over time, the gelcoat can fade, oxidize and become pitted and dented. How to fix spider cracks in fiberglass it still runs. Fiberglass hulls flex and shift a bit under load one of the reasons, in addition to hull design difference, they ride better than tin hulls and if the outer gel coat is too rigid or stiff it can crack when the underlying.

Hairline fix seal and color stress cracks and gelcoat crazing. He said it is an easy fix and the way to prevent them is to use automotive paint has more flex. As the substrate flexes as it is designed to do, the gel just cant deflect the same amount and will develop these small cracks. A dremil with the right bit can be held like a pen. In some places the hull has what can only be descriped as pitting. Unless you can stop the flexing, youre wasting your time fixing the cracks. Are they gelcoat or stress cracks thanks mate, was convinced it was going to be something more sinister. Magicezy hairline fix is a revolutionary precolored fiberglass and gelcoat repair product that fixes and colors fine stress cracks spider cracks, and hairline fractures fast in one application. Gelcoat is the protective coating that covers most fiberglass boats. Stress cracks, finishes and surface defects buyers.