Cracked Gel Coat Removal

[strtbobber]

I have a 14' firbreglass boat with very cracked gel coat. I'm not entirely sure what gel coat is all about (I'm a newbie) but is it possible that I can take the gel coat off and paint the hull instead of replacing all the gel coat? Are there any other options besides gel coat?

Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Ayuh,... There's No reason to remove the gelcoat,...
Just fill the bad spots, sand it Smooth, 'n paint it...

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Ayuh,... There's No reason to remove the gelcoat,...
Just fill the bad spots, sand it Smooth, 'n paint it...

as far as all the cracks, just prime, sand and paint?

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Is your Gel ( or whatever suface ) Crazing ? I mean.. does it look like the whole paint is cracking from Inflation ? busting and cracking like dried out Bread thing ?....

Need some pics ..

There is a product for Crazing gel..but your going to have to paint ( or Duratec ).. still to soon to say..

There might be some other members that could help you out...but without some pics I doubt the direction would be pinpointed...

YD.

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Is your Gel ( or whatever suface ) Crazing ? I mean.. does it look like the whole paint is cracking from Inflation ? busting and cracking like dried out Bread thing ?....

Need some pics ..

There is a product for Crazing gel..but your going to have to paint ( or Duratec ).. still to soon to say..

There might be some other members that could help you out...but without some pics I doubt the direction would be pinpointed...

YD.

yeah, I'll try to get pics up soon. It kinda looks like "spider" cracks almost all over the place. There are a few chips here and there, but I'll fix those. Just wondering about the other cracks.....they're not opened up....wondered if primer will bridge across those cracks.

Thanks Doc!!

 

[oops!]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

nope....the primer wont bridge the gap (if it does...it wont last long)

crazing is uasually caused by stress on the gellcoat. when it flexes the primer will re crack.

to remove the gellcoat...the fastest is with a grinder...but this will leave you with an un even surface

just grind out the crazing and re gellcoat that area

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

nope....the primer wont bridge the gap (if it does...it wont last long)

crazing is uasually caused by stress on the gellcoat. when it flexes the primer will re crack.

to remove the gellcoat...the fastest is with a grinder...but this will leave you with an un even surface

just grind out the crazing and re gellcoat that area

Does the gel coat absolutely have to be replaced?

 

[oops!]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

it is the barrier to your fiberglass. you can just paint a little area...but it will look like carp.

my friend......do not be afraid of gellcoat.
it is a wonder product......tough as nails....shines like gold and will far outlast any paint you can buy.

it is also an extremly easy product to work with.

you use a hardner (mekp)
fill the area....let harden....sand smooth...polish... and drink beer.

little more to it than that but not much......even if you paint...you have to do those steps.

right now....i am re-keeling a 19 foot boat......big honkin holes in the hull.....gellcoat whacked ....scraped....smashed...
i can do this entire repair faster and as good as painting with a tougher product than paint.

so dont be afraid of it.....its great stuff

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

it is the barrier to your fiberglass. you can just paint a little area...but it will look like carp.

my friend......do not be afraid of gellcoat.
it is a wonder product......tough as nails....shines like gold and will far outlast any paint you can buy.

it is also an extremly easy product to work with.

you use a hardner (mekp)
fill the area....let harden....sand smooth...polish... and drink beer.

little more to it than that but not much......even if you paint...you have to do those steps.

right now....i am re-keeling a 19 foot boat......big honkin holes in the hull.....gellcoat whacked ....scraped....smashed...
i can do this entire repair faster and as good as painting with a tougher product than paint.

so dont be afraid of it.....its great stuff

Thanks oops! My understanding is that gel coat is huge money. I don't need this boat to look like it's out of the show room. I just want it to look decent. Is paint enough of a barrier?

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Thanks oops! My understanding is that gel coat is huge money. I don't need this boat to look like it's out of the show room. I just want it to look decent. Is paint enough of a barrier?

Paint will not bridge cracks..

We really need those pics before any sound advise to Your specific problem can be resolved ( unless somebody hits a bullseye in the dark ).

YD.

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Paint will not bridge cracks..

We really need those pics before any sound advise to Your specific problem can be resolved ( unless somebody hits a bullseye in the dark ).

YD.

Understood Doc.......working on it...lol

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Here are a couple pics of the cracks I'm talking about.

 

[oops!]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

if it were me ...id re gellcoat the entire area.....

paint will not cover those cracks for long.....there is some blistering there (or it looks like it)

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

You really should grind the badly cracked gelcoat off to the first layer of glass. Then put a layer of mat over the repair and re-gel it.

The single cracks shown in the 2nd picture could be individually ground out with a dremel and filled with glass putty instead of grinding out that far of an area ( basically take a marker and circle the area of grinding..then marker the straight cracks extending out of the circle..then grind and dremel .

Those Starbursting shown in pic1 .... are an indication of pressure from the inside going outward ( like a screw or a tight bulkhead ). Might want to look inside for something causing these.

http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=73297&d=1290229273

YD.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

YD could they be a point of impact from the front? Just curious. I also have some cracked gell I need to repair. Mine is in the cabin area near dash.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

YD could they be a point of impact from the front? Just curious. I also have some cracked gell I need to repair. Mine is in the cabin area near dash.

They could be impact ..but us fiberglass guys should be treated like lawyers...dont skimp in the Information .. wouldnt matter at this point the damaged gel needs to be removed ( coatings will not bridge )..

After the gel is removed more inspection would be considered..

I doubt your cracks in your cabin are from impact .. but those starburst are somewhat from the inside...

OP needs to remove the damaged gel ( possible one layer of glass..its speculation on the glass at this point ) and post pics and go from there

YD.

 

[strtbobber]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

What if I was to remove all gel coat from the boat? Is paint enough of a barrier to protect the fibreglass for some time? For how long? (realistically)

If I was to strip it, how much gel coat would I need to do the whole hull? It's a 14' boat....

How expensive is gel coat?

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

Great information YD Thank you for explaining it so I could understand. As a person who has limited knowledge of the actual conditions in these types of repairs I think it might be better to treat it like a worse case scenario to ensure a proper repair is done and latter repercussions will not be had.

 

[toey77]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

3M sell a gel coat repair putty that can be sanded and buffed and also tinted I have similar spider web cracks on my hull I need to repair. will these fine style crack allow water to penetrate to the glass. I was going to repair with filler then paint but I think I will be taking the gel coat repair option

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Cracked Gel Coat Removal

What if I was to remove all gel coat from the boat? Is paint enough of a barrier to protect the fibreglass for some time? For how long? (realistically)

If I was to strip it, how much gel coat would I need to do the whole hull? It's a 14' boat....

How expensive is gel coat?

Ive never removed All the gell from a boat..and dont know why you would want to anyways..

Paint would be a bad idea on bare fiberglass..

You might need about 3 gallons of gel ( more or less depending on if you use a patch aid )

Prices per gallon Vary Greatly depending on your location and source of purchase.

I would NOT use just a gel patch paste for anything larger then about 1/4" round. It will fail at some point..

YD.