gel coat repair ( again )

[johnmuir]

Have spiders web type cracking on hull. These are hairline cracks oner a circular area 3 " diam. Would in be better to buff whole area and fill or open up cracks with Dremel. Some of the cracks run into each other at centre of circular area and therefore are close together. Looking for reasonable and watertight repair.
Thanks John

 

[rlw]

I'd go for opening the cracks with a dremel, filling the & than buffing.
Sand down the gelcoat to determine the real colour underneath. ( I learned the hard way)

Depending on the area this pretty labour intensive.

Good luck

Rob

 

[Guest]

I've just repaired something very similar on my newly purchased boat.
See if you can determine the cause of damage(previous owner dropped battery in my case). Knowing what happened can sometimes be useful in deciding remedial action.
My damage area was about 3" dia. with a slight swelling. I took an angle grinder fitted with a flap pad wheel(from B & Q) to it. I tapered out the area in a sort of saucer shape, and applied resin and ever increasing circles of chopped mat interspersed with pieces of woven ribbon(2 mat to 1 ribbon) all dabbed in with an old paint brush to get the air out. I used an old hacksaw blade(back edge) to ensure that the final layer was within the hull line. took about 20 minutes.
Following day I filled up to just above hull level with gel coat filler. When dry, I blended in the repair with an orbital sander and finished with a drop of gel coat.
You can get add pigment to match colour.
I then repaired and strengthened the damage zone on the inside of the hull(where the battery smacked it)

Take your time and have a go, best of luck. Rod