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Based on 25 Years of Experience in Fiberglas Manufacturing, Fiberglas Repairs, Mould Making and Prototype, I will share with you some of the knowledge I acquired during those years.

I will try to cover some of the most common problems we all ran into with some of our beautiful fiberglass possession.

Concerning Fiberglass crack problem, It is very important that you find the source of the crack - That you find the cause for the cracking.

Often exterior gelcoat crazing or cracking is the result of undue flex. You may need to strengthen the area where the crack occurred. This can be done by adding a few more layers of laminate on the underside of the deck, or by adding a stringer under the area. If you don't fix the disease, the symptoms will keep reoccurring.

The beauty of core construction is in its weight to strength ratio.

Another feature of physics is that anything made curved is stiffer than the same thing made flat.

Technical note: Delimitation or separation? Demlamination is when a fiberglass rib, for instance, becomes unglued from the insides of a hull or deck. Separation is when a fiberglass skin over a core i.e. foam, balsa, wood, is no longer glued to the core. They are very different and repaired completely different.

Problems with cored fiberglass fatigue is:

1. The fiberglass skin breaking,
2. The core material breaking,
3. The core material turning to dust.
4. When one of these occurs, the other two quickly follow. I'll describe the core fatigue repair later.

LAMINATE CRACK REPAIR. First, assess the damage. Is the area softer, weaker than the surrounding UN-cored laminate. If not, (if the cracks are of minor importance), I recommend picking up some clear scratch repair kit from your local boating supply store. This material comes in a small toothpaste tube and usually comes with a small plastic stick applicator. It is designed to fill in cracks and small divots in the gel coat. I would apply acetone to the cracked area with a small brush then use a hair dryer on low to remove any acetone from inside the crack. The reason: You are trying to remove any dirt and water from the area. The hair dryer is used to evaporate the acetone. Acetone is highly flammable so : DON'T HURRY WITH THE HAIR DRYER!!!! Don't use compressed air to blow the acetone out of the crack because its air usually contains water and oil which is what you are trying to remove. Once you believe the crack is dry, make sure the fiberglass returns to room temp before applying the urethane. Follow the directions from the manufacturer. All you are trying to accomplish is to seal the crack and keep water out. If the cracked area is softer, you've got structural damage. For aesthetic reason, or if the cracks are of major importance, I recommend a completely (different procedure,)

(Click Here to Continue With Gelcoat Repairs ,)

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