Quote:
Originally Posted by JCD
Hi, you all out there, I have a Beachcomber 1977 B15 and love it, is there anyone out there who can tell me what to use to repair spider cracks on my Fiberglass trailer, the fiberglass is in very good shape but it has spider cracks on it and I want to fix it without having to paint it afterward if possible. Thanks
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You can get gel coat repair at marine supply stores.
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/everc...r-kit--1934454
You would squeege it into the cracks unfortunately that is not so easy as it also leaves some on the surface around the cracks and that excess has to be dealt with. It is not the same situation as filling in a chip where you can mask off the surrounding areas. You will need to have a good eye for color as you will be the person mixing up the color to match the surface of your trailer. That is the only way to make it happen as colors from 1977 are long since gone from the manufacturing charts and the UV rays will have changed the color of your trailer over that 44 year time span. A lesson I learned after much research at professional fiberglass suppliers as well as internet research on the subject of vintage gel coat colors.
You can also at Marine Supply stores find small jars of gel coat repair paste.
But the colors they come in are for current fiberglass formulas by boat building companies. However you might get lucky and find something that is pretty close in color to your trailer. Keywords to find it
"
Spectrum Patch Paste Gel Coat Repair Kits"
I wish I could say that you will be able to achieve an invisible repair of the cracks with repair materials but the truth is that this would be highly unlikely to happen. An exercise in frustration for owning an old trailer and learning to live with the attitude of "it is what it is". The cracks are doing no harm other than looking like hairline cracks. A showroom, like new, finish will require surface preparation and
paint