gel coat

[Harry]

hi ,can anybody give me some advice on how to repair cracked gelcoat,because the rear of my 232 has got quite bad.I had thought that the cracks could be ground down slightly and gel coat over , but perhaps someone knows how it should be done )

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

Don't do it that way - the cracks will always reappear. Same if you just chase out the cracks and fill.

Grind off the gel coat completely for a good area around the cracking - right down to the fibreglass. Feather it up to the surface level. Cut fine glass tissue to shape and lay it in, stippling with resin and rolling out the air bubbles with a wire roller. You are looking to finish slightly below the level of the surrounding gel coat surface.

Mix up some 2 part body filler and add in a little catalized resin. As it goes off, just before it is hard, shape the surface with a Surform. When it is dry rough it in with 80 grit. Lay a guide coat of black rattle can paint and sand it with 120 and see where you need a little more filler (this time without resin added). Fill and re-sand going up to 240 grit. Job done - won't crack again.

[Harry]

Sounds like the best way to go about as there are quite large bits lifting around the edges,thanks very much for the info,I will give it a go when I`ve finished my course of chemo
Do`nt feel quite up to it yet but will not be long
many thanks again
Harry

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

Harry - I found this document very helpful indeed,

http://westfield-world.com/Fibreglass.pdf

I'd be happy to give you a hand but I see you're in Kent. Give me a shout if you're not sure about anything.

Geoff

[Paul Narramore]

Get hold of a copy of HOW TO RESTORE FIBREGLASS BODYWORK by Miles Wilkins (ISBN 0-85045-556-1) which outlines in detail what Geoff has said.

[Geoff Ryall-Harvey]

I bought that book - as Paul says it is excellent. It confirms that the scraping out of cracks and filling with little ribbons of filler is a waste of time. There really is no easy way.

On the plus side, it is possible to repair just about any damage to a fibreglass panel at little cost and with very few special tools.