Gel Coat cracks

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Flyin Hawaiian

Recruit
Joined
Aug 31, 2009
Messages
1
I recently purchased a 25 foot '79 hawaiian day cruiser that is in great conditition other than the fact that the gel coat on the topside of the deck is cracked up a bit. Will any paint product settle in to the cracks and smooth out, or am I doomed to pay for a new gel coat? If so what's a ball park figure to have this done? The gel coat on the bottom half of the boat is in great shape and probably wouldn't need the treatment so i would probably just have the top deck done. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
 
T

thrillhouse700

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
778
Re: Gel Coat cracks

Here is what I have been told on this forum, cracks are usually a sign of things flexing due to worn or rotten supports somewhere on the boat. I had those cracks everywhere, turns out the stringer, deck and transom were rotted and causing the cap to sag which in turn caused the cracks. Right now I am doing a full restore on the boat.
 
bigredinohio

bigredinohio

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
604
Re: Gel Coat cracks

Flyin Hawaiian said:
I recently purchased a 25 foot '79 hawaiian day cruiser that is in great conditition other than the fact that the gel coat on the topside of the deck is cracked up a bit. Will any paint product settle in to the cracks and smooth out, or am I doomed to pay for a new gel coat? If so what's a ball park figure to have this done? The gel coat on the bottom half of the boat is in great shape and probably wouldn't need the treatment so i would probably just have the top deck done. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
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How bad are the cracks and how much of the top side is effected? Do you have any pictures so we can see what you are dealing with?
 
lowkee

lowkee

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
1,890
Re: Gel Coat cracks

I have found the cracks form shortly after drinking the last beer. :eek: Only way I found to fix them was to go buy more beer and start drinking again. Sure enough, after a few more beers, I can't see a single gelcoat crack!

<hic!> <burp>
 
allpoints360

allpoints360

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
342
Re: Gel Coat cracks

If you paint over them, they will come back eventually.

The right fix is to grind, fill and sand. Sorry.

Good luck!
 
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