Gelcoat cracks & glastron restoration

Hi

Bought a glastron sierra 199 last spring,engined turned out to be cracked.The boat didnt see any water this summer because of a repower.Im almost finished with the engine,just some slight tuning left.The complete interior is being redone.

Heres a couple of pic of the boat when I bought it


The boat is 20 years old,its suffers from stupid owners syndrome,lack of maintenance that is.I have fixed and removed a whole lot of bad wiring,cheap repairs,stupid stickers etc.The transom,stringers and floor seems pretty solid(knock on wood).
The boat has quite a bit of gelcoat cracks that I would like to fix.

1.The gelcoat under the windshield was painted black(because of reflection?),seems that the heat caused the gelcoat to crack like a spiderweb.See picture

2.Cracks at some parts were you can tie a rope to.This is because the boat has been moored at the wrong places(again stupid owners syndrome).See picture

3.On the left side on the boat just above the waterline there is a area that is aprox 4 f long and 1 high that has spiderweb cracks.It looks like it have been pounding against the pier because of improper mooring.Its not misformed or anything,just spiderweb cracks in the gelcoat.





I seldom take any shortcuts,I hate to do something over because I cheaped out the first time.But im a student which leaves me with limited time/money.I have done some minor fiberglass work,but never used gelcoat/topcoat.

1.I was thinking about sanding some of the gelcoat down,leave it rough,paint a couple of layers of topcoat with a brush,and then sand and polish the surface.

2.I was thinking about grinding the cracks open like a V,and fill them with gelcoat,and then sand and polish it up.

3.Im not sure what to do,its a critical area since its close to water.The cracks are very close to each other,so I dont think grinding out the cracks will work.Also the fiberglass could be compromised and might need reinforcement.I could grind the whole gelcoat to the fiberglass,but how would I get the surface back and even?

Any suggestions,what will work and what not.Otherwise the boat will need a good polish and wax and shes good to go!

Re: Gelcoat cracks & glastron restoration

Welcome to iBoats!

If you have time but not much money you can fix your spider cracking by doing the following. Start by wiping down the area with acetone and sanding the damaged gel-coat down to the fiberglass. Try not to remove any of the fiberglass resin or cloth! Next wipe down the area with acetone again! Color match gel-coat with your hull color. (This will probably take several tries due to fading etc.) Catalyze the gel-coat and brush onto the exposed fiberglass area. Lay it on thick, but not so thick that it sags.
Wait for several hours and then lightly spray PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol) The PVA serves as an air barrier, allowing the gel-coat to fully cure.
Allow the gel-coat to cure for a day or two, then wash the PVA off with soapy water. Sand the area with 1000 grit paper on a DA sander, working up through 1500 grit to 2000 grit. The 2000 grit should produce a near-mirror shine! Wipe the area down with acetone. Buff the area and apply a quality wax to protect the finish.

She'll look like a new one.

I'm just sayin...

Re: Gelcoat cracks & glastron restoration

Hello MCL..

Those little eyes are for your bimini clips..the cracks you see ( along with those at the snaps) are more then likely from not beveling the holes for the fasteners. Very common with alot of boat builders that do not to this step.

Your right about grinding out and filling the cracks..

Try to find a few " preval " sprayers for application ..

YD.

Re: Gelcoat cracks & glastron restoration

Thanks for the replys,Ive read alot of posts by you guys and you seem to know what you are doing.

I have no cracks in the gelcoat on the starboard side,only on the port side.I dont think the crack is caused by the bimini fasteners.Sorry for my bad english as im in Finland,but I have cracks on both cleats on the port side where you are supposed to tie the " balloons" that goes between your boat and pier.I think some ahole moored the boat wrong as they are not supposed to withstand this.I have no cracks at any other bimini fasteners or mooring points.

Sorry what is prevail?Also whats the difference by using a topcoat(dries by itself) and a gelcoat that needs to be "sealed"(polyvinylalcohol)

Also.The large damaged area is half white/half grey,since I need to sand it down to the fiberglass.How do I separate the white gelcoat from the grey?As they layer will be several mm thick.

Thanks again,she will be a good one once shes finished.