CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

[hockeymanvt]

We have a 30 yr old C&C sailboat in fine condition but with small hairline cracks in a few places in the gelcoat. Rather than grind these out and re coat I am wondering if the application of Superglue would safely fill the cracks and stabilize them. TIA.

 

[86RajunCajun]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

I would use epoxy, not super glue. You should still prep the area with a ligh wet sanding with a higher grit paper and then apply the epoxy and then buff/wax the area to return the shine.

Good luck
RC

 

[Shife]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

I would use epoxy, not super glue. You should still prep the area with a ligh wet sanding with a higher grit paper and then apply the epoxy and then buff/wax the area to return the shine.

Good luck
RC

Uncovered epoxy will turn into a nasty discolored mess no matter how you sand, buff, or wax it.



Suck it up and do a proper gelcoat repair. Make sure these are just basic stress cracks from old age/too thick application of original gelcoat/etc... before starting. It could be a warning sign of more nefarious things such as wet core. The old C+C's were a good boat, but like most sailboats of that ilk water will get in the core one way or another.

 

[hockeymanvt]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

Good points all. The marine surveyor indicates that they are not likely to be serious enough yet to allow moisture in the core. Grinding out the material and refilling seems to be making a major defect from a minor one. Am I missing something?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

Crack repairs can be a hassle and time consuming because to make the repair last there is a good deal of work involved.

Simple fixes like coating it with epoxy or trying to super glue the cracks don't address the real issue that caused them in the first place, so they tend to be short term at best.

If these are cracks from repeated flexing, then you need to find the reason for the flex and stop it. Is it poor support, bad laminate, poor design, etc and then fix that issue.

Was it a one time impact...then you need to see if the laminate has been damaged and fix it if is, otherwise this will be a weak area and crack when it flexes.

If the cracks are just from the gel coat being too thick, then even if you just fix the crack the gel coat is still too thick and very susceptible to cracking...again.

You have two options.....if they aren't critical like he said, then you can just leave them alone. Or go the whole route and fix them right.

Failure to fix the underlying problem will result in the cracks coming back, possibly before you even launch the boat.

 

[86RajunCajun]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

Uncovered epoxy will turn into a nasty discolored mess no matter how you sand, buff, or wax it.



Suck it up and do a proper gelcoat repair. Make sure these are just basic stress cracks from old age/too thick application of original gelcoat/etc... before starting. It could be a warning sign of more nefarious things such as wet core. The old C+C's were a good boat, but like most sailboats of that ilk water will get in the core one way or another.

Funny you say that because i have made repairs with epoxy and just waxed and polished the area afterwards and mine hasnt turned into anything nasty, discolored or a mess in over 2 years now.

Maybe in your experience it did, but my repair was sealed and i havnt had any trouble out of it at all.

 

[Shife]

Re: CA glue as filler for hairline gelcoat

Funny you say that because i have made repairs with epoxy and just waxed and polished the area afterwards and mine hasnt turned into anything nasty, discolored or a mess in over 2 years now.

Maybe in your experience it did, but my repair was sealed and i havnt had any trouble out of it at all.

Epoxy discolors when exposed to UV. It typically turns dark amber/brown and the surface can craze after extreme exposure. There are special formulations for doing clear epoxy coverings that are UV resistant but that isn't something you would typically fill a crack with.