How to fix spider cracks in gelcoat?

[jjuriga]

I have just got done wet sanding my hull and have noticed a lot of little knicks and chips. Spider cracks are probably the most annoying... how can those be fixed? I want to get some professionals opinions from the board here. Any ideas?

[smokeonthewater]

Sand it down and re-gelcoat....

[spareparts]

pictures would help

[jjuriga]

Originally Posted by spareparts

pictures would help

I will do that tomorrow and post them

[jjuriga]

Originally Posted by smokeonthewater

Sand it down and re-gelcoat....

Yes sir, with the knicks and dings... but the spider cracks, was hoping there was a filler or something.

[Troutkiller2006]

spider cracks in gel coat are a b!tch bro. and our boats tend to get a lot of them, just all over.

to fix properly, you have to grind them out all the way down to the glass. cut them out following the crack along its length and going past about a half an inch on each end. then repair the gel coat wich never really comes out right cause it never matches. oh yea, every crack, every single one. if you dont do it that way the cracks will come back. ive heard of easy fixes but never seen one that works. its a heck of a lot of work and on these boats i say leve them or grind all that crappy gel coat off, fair it out and PAINT it. that or just learn not to look at them and leave that crap alone.

and i say PAINT cause gel coat sucks. if your building boats in molds then gel coat is the easiest and most cost effective way to go. but thats the only advantage it has over a good quality paint. paint looks better, is stronger, more durable, and is much easier to repair, and it fades much less. people dont realize how fast gel coat fades. even on a new boat less than a year old. it wont look faded. it will seem shiny. but repair a chip or scratch with factory fresh gel coat and you will see just how much it has faded compared to what it looked like factory new. and you cant color match gel coat.

probably some how to vids on you tube. how to videos for anything on there these days

[SkunkBoat]

grind them out, fair it with epoxy filler or polyresin filler then sand, prime and paint the whole boat...or just admire the "character" of your well aged V20.