<< Now if someone can come up with a permanent way (short of removing the deck
and laminating another layer of cloth to the inside) of fixing Happy Campers
many gelcoat cracks, I will truly be a Happy Camper.
Larry >>
Larry:
I had those spider gelcoat (GC) cracks on cockpit coaming. I found that you
can buy small can white liquid iso/npg gc (don't get paste) at marine stores.
I also got a lil container of buff white gc to darken gc to match area. Just
a tiny touch of buff to white gc makes it match on my pwrboat. Clean area
thoroughly with acetone (ac). Takes a lotta ac to clean them lil grooves (I
used 1/2 gallon!) so use a lotta clean rags and acetone. Sand lightly with
150 grit sandpaper. Thin out gc with ac till mix is like water, mix
thoroughly with hardener ( I mixed with a mixer and hand drill) and brush one
thin coat with a cheap light blonde/brown fiber brush (2" for 79 cents @ Home
Depot). Wait about 4 hrs. and paint again. Repeat until crack is no longer
visible. If crak is still visible you did not clean it well... When I did it
I did not need to finish off with sandpaper as it filled crack well enough
and really shiny so it is not visible. Please note this will require
infinite patience when cracks are vertical as it requires painting with gc
repeatedly for a day or two. It works best when cracks are horizontal.
I had cracks on floor gc on powrboat from wife insisting on sitting my heavy
weigh cousins on plastic resin chairs instead of seats provided. I followed
above instructions and it sealed the spider cracks beautifully. You have to
thin out the gc to consistency of water and apply several (4 - 6) coats with
patience.
Well I hope that clears all my e-mailings from last week...
Best
Solar Fry
member Florida Potter Club on the internet
West Wight Potter 19 # 1028, "Elusive Margin"
Pompano Beach, FL
Hillsboro Inlet Weather: Temp 84 F
mostly Cloudy, rain, wind E 13 - 18 MPH, Seas 2 - 6'
e-mail -> solarfry@aol.com