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Small cracks form in the outer surface of the fiberglass spreading out from a central point like a spiderweb. Although fiberglass can be considered as a sturdy type of material cracks cannot be avoided due to the constant stress a boat can encounter on sea.
In order for the epoxy repair material to attach to the fiberglass and material underneath it you need to drill out the damaged material.
Repair cracks in fiberglass boats. Ad Gordys Marine offers top of the line service storage for your boat in Fox Lake IL. Need a place to store your boat. Call Gordys Marine in Fox Lake Il.
How to Fix a Crack or Hole in a Fibreglass Boat - The NEW Fibreglass Boat Restoration Project - YouTube. Once youre sure youre dealing with these types of cracks in the outer gel coat of the fiberglass your fix can be limited to the fiberglass exterior. Heres the best way to go about it.
The good news about these cracks is that theyre largely cosmetic problems. This means you can apply a simple cosmetic fix. Move your boat to a safe workplace.
First get your boat to a well. Repairing structural cracks involves several steps. First remove all wax and grease from the work area by wiping down the area with acetone and a clean rag.
Next use a sander and coarse grit sandpaper to expose grind away the crack. How to repair deep cracks in fiberglass boats with the new WEST SYSTEM Fiberglass Boat Repair Kit. Step 4 As soon as the crack has been channeled out wipe it clean with a solvent like acetone and using a plastic putty knife flush-fill it with gelcoat matched to the color of the surrounding area if the channel isnt too deep.
Polyester filler if the channel is of medium depth. Or polyester resin and fiberglass strands if the channel is very deep and wide. Its a good idea by the way to mix up a.
Stress cracks can be successfully stopped however. The crack must be ground out thoroughly. It needs to be ground deep enough to reach good fiberglass fiberglass that is not whited out or shattered or separated and it needs to be ground out wide enough to reach the good fiberglass.
Cracks may also form at a bulkhead or other hard spots behind the fiberglass when the boat flexes creating pressure. To repair this type of cracking remove the gelcoat from the area and inspect the fiberglass for deeper cracks. Simply wipe the area with a wet cloth so the cracks or fractured fiberglass will appear as white lines in the laminate.
Continue until the fractured laminate is removed then do a traditional fiberglass repair. Drill out the damaged fiberglass. In order for the epoxy repair material to attach to the fiberglass and material underneath it you need to drill out the damaged material.
Use a 1 4 inch 064 cm drill bit and make a series of holes along the crack. Cracks No Results To Display. Related Links Enter the Forums Fiberglass Boat RepairMaintenance 3M Adhesion Advice Anchor Antennas Applying Battery Bilge Black Bondo Book Bottom Brush Bubbles Building Buy Carpeting Casting Deck Center Console Chipped Cleaner Cleaning Clear Coat Cloth.
Since the cracksare all the way through the first step is to grind the broken fiberglassback into solid unbroken material. Go at it with an electric grinder or very coarse sandpaper. Aim for a 12-to-1 taper on the fiberglass so for the thickness of your hull this is 2 to 3 inches past the repair.
Apply a thin layer of fiberglass repair over your crack or hole and allow drying for at least 12 hours. Best results are achieved after 24 hours have passed. When using glue on any surface make sure to wait until the material gets tacky before actually sticking everything together otherwise all efforts made during gluing process would go down the drain.
Spider cracks are a form of fiberglass damage that occurs from minor flexing or impacts. They can occur in any form of fiberglass including cars boats and swimming pools. Small cracks form in the outer surface of the fiberglass spreading out from a central point like a spiderweb.
Depending on how deep the crack is you could gt away with just a gel coat repair worst case scenario you might need to grind the gel around the crack about 4 all the way around and apply a layer off glass to stiffen the structure because you will have a weak spot where the crack is and then sand it down then gel coat over it this is depending if it has cracked the glassfibre aswell. When youre doing repairs on an existing fiberglass boat you may not be using any core material either. This is especially true if youre just repairing a crack or hole in a non-load-bearing area.
In this case youll just be applying cloth over the crack and. Fiberglass is rather easy to repair. Fill the crack with a fair amount of fiberglass epoxy resin using a plastic applicator.
Make sure the crack is completely filled. Let the epoxy dry for a day. Can you fix a hole in a fiberglass boat.
In order to patch the hole you are required to purchase a quart-size polyester fiberglass repair kit. Discovering fiberglass cracks on a boat is every boat owners nightmare. Although fiberglass can be considered as a sturdy type of material cracks cannot be avoided due to the constant stress a boat can encounter on sea.
How to fix gel-coat cracks. Fiberglass boat repair videos. This repair should be very manageable.
Since the cracks are all the way through the first step is to grind the broken fiberglass back into solid unbroken material. Go at it with an electric grinder or very coarse sandpaper. Aim for a 12-to-1 taper on the fiberglass so for the thickness of your hull this is 2 to 3 inches past the repair.
Spider cracks are non-structural damage to the gel-coat of a boat. 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 gel-coat layers than newer boats.
Ad Gordys Marine offers top of the line service storage for your boat in Fox Lake IL. Need a place to store your boat. Call Gordys Marine in Fox Lake Il.