Gell coat crazzing

[holorinhal]

Hey all.Iam still waiting on my engine to be compleated,and in the process of tweaking diffrent things in the boat,pulling carpet and jell coating the bilge,I keep looking at these crazzing spots,or gell splits,or whatever the hell you call them and it is just driving me nuts not to fix them.
Originally I had intended to just build the motor and run it the way it is for this comming season,then repaint next year.After all it has new interior and the gell dont look bad untill You get up close,but the more i think about it it is killing Me to be on the river with abrand new motor and a half assed paint job.
Any way My question is this.Have any of You done repairs with these gell splits/crazzing?How difficult is it to repair,and is there enough time to repair these spots and get the thing painted ,before the river season starts.
I dont want to dive into it and be stuck sitting on the beach for half the season.Any help with how to tips would greatly be appreaciated..Hal

[BrendellaJet]

It will be spendy and time consuming. use the boat for the summer and get the new motor bugs worked out. You can work on the glass as you go.

[Sundance]

Holor, Don't exactly know what your gel coat looks like, but I can recomend some stuff my engine builder recomended to me. It's called Klasse wax. Through my own ignorance my gel coat took a dive. We put this on and it brought it way back. It's easy to use, I've even done all of my cars with it. You can do a Google search to find it. I found it on AutoGek.com. It's made in Germany. Hope that helps.
Sundance :chi:
"Remember to keep Your Tail Up".

[holorinhal]

Sundance,my gell is not really fadded,it is cracked ,mostly om the deck,as in this pic.http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/2774kona_012-med.jpg
i would be intrested to know where to get the product you are refering to thogh.Sounds like a good thing.

[holorinhal]

This is the deck that the upper pic is of.It is hard to tell the cracking in this pic as well as in real life untill You get close.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/2774kona_006.jpg

[BrendellaJet]

Hal, how much of the deck is doing that? Are you positive it is gel? My boat was doing that when I got it, but it was painted, pulled the paint off and all looked good.

[holorinhal]

Brendellajet.
The entire front deck and some areas on the blue,are cracking.Iam not sure if it is actually gell coat or paint.How do I tell the differance?
I do know that it was regelled or painted at some time by its previous owners,becouse where it is chipped I can see a metalic flake gell underneath.
I am pretty positive that the cracks do not go into the glass and are only within the gell/paint.what ever it is it is very hard..Hal

[beerjet]

holor with that new engine you'll be be goin too fast for anyone to see anything. dont let it go and worry about it later

[holorinhal]

Thanks Beerjet,I am getting excited about the motor.
I am presently trying to clean up some rigging and interior details.The previous owner was a hack and had some things jerry gigged.Its just when i am doing those things that I start pondering the paint.

[455Rocket]

Brendellajet.
The entire front deck and some areas on the blue,are cracking.Iam not sure if it is actually gell coat or paint.How do I tell the differance?
I do know that it was regelled or painted at some time by its previous owners,becouse where it is chipped I can see a metalic flake gell underneath.
I am pretty positive that the cracks do not go into the glass and are only within the gell/paint.what ever it is it is very hard..Hal
With cracks like that it looks like you have paint... Gel costs thousands more than regular paint, so you don't see it very often unless it's orginal, like the metal flake you're seeing. Once you start w/ paint it's inevitable you'll have to deal w/ problems such as yours
I've seen boats painted three different times flaking three different colors of paint... make sure you invest in a quality paint job!
-my $.02

[holorinhal]

If it is paint ,Do You think that it has to be sanded down all the way to the glass,or can the boat be sanded and the cracks filled with somthing like glazzing putty,primed and then repainted? What is the best type of paint that will be hard enough,yet still stay some what flexible?...Hal