Deck gel coat spider cracks...

[Steelborn]

Hello, in the middle of the deck I have couple square feet with spider cracks on the original gel coat, they are very fine cracks barely noticeable under touch but obviously visible.
any input highly appreciated.

thank you

[FUJIMO]

Hello, in the middle of the deck I have couple square feet with spider cracks on the original gel coat, they are very fine cracks barely noticeable under touch but obviously visible.
any input highly appreciated.

thank you

...What kind of input you look'n for? What to do with them? Answer: Nothing, just live with them. They're not worth fixing.

[tunnels]

Hello, in the middle of the deck I have couple square feet with spider cracks on the original gel coat, they are very fine cracks barely noticeable under touch but obviously visible.
any input highly appreciated.

thank you

ok when you say they are fine meaning visibly? do they have any king of a pattern to them ? spider cracks and spider webbing are usually caused by stress ! If its in the middle of a panel its had something hit it possibly . depending on the shape of the cracks can define if it was hit from inside of outside .Spider webbing is that shape as well cluster in the middle with long fine cracks radiating out and away from !! . Spider cracks coming from a corner is stress and the fact that the corner is weak and is bending !spider cracks are also Easily cause if the gel coat is thicker than it should be as it like a egg shell , even someone walking on a thin bendy unsupported deck can make it crack . Its sometimes quite rare to find the crack actually down into the glass behind the cracked gel coat unless its was a decent sort of a hit from outside pushing the panel inwards then the glass will be damaged far greater but inside !the opposite is possible if hit from the inside pushing outwards .

AS for the seriousness all cracks are telling a story just need to know how to read it !! and once the gel coat is cracked then it allows moisture to get in to the laminate behind !

[Steelborn]

Maybe these are not spider cracks...
deck is solid and it's no flexing, it seem they are fine cracks coused by the heat from the sun, ain't gone come out by buffing, I might try using fine grit on orbital to see if I can sand it down, if this doesn't work I'm not sure should I go with gel coat repair on that spot, painting whole top side of the boat with imron or awlgrip would just be a sin in my opinion since gel coat is perfect everywhere else...

its original gel coat that is perfect all around the boat beside on this spot and it's very visible and it does bother me

[FUJIMO]

...Which is why its not worth messing around with. This has been my gelcoat experience with the few hundred boats finishes I've dealt with. Don't go sanding on it, or try to "polish" it out/off with anything abrasive, because it is a total waste of time & will not work at all. Leave it. Live with it.

[tunnels]

Maybe these are not spider cracks...
deck is solid and it's no flexing, it seem they are fine cracks coused by the heat from the sun, ain't gone come out by buffing, I might try using fine grit on orbital to see if I can sand it down, if this doesn't work I'm not sure should I go with gel coat repair on that spot, painting whole top side of the boat with imron or awlgrip would just be a sin in my opinion since gel coat is perfect everywhere else...

its original gel coat that is perfect all around the boat beside on this spot and it's very visible and it does bother me

The sun is a distinct possibility !!
Ok another scenario is called Mud cracking !! and there's random cracking with no particular pattern any where . The older the boat the more likely its mud cracking as the quality of the gel coats was not as good as what's used now , Other contributing factors could be catalyst levels and catalyst type when it was originally sprayed ,
Usually the main causes are gel coat that's been applied to thick ! Thicker than it should be !!!thicker than what is required !so there could be no single answer to the causes but a collection of things that could have happened !
The colour usually has a lot to do with this as well!, white doesn't draw much heat but the darker the colour the hotter it gets
So even if the boat is stored outside with a cover over it the sun heats the cover and then there's moisture as well out of the air so it gets steamy hot .
Sanding wont get rid of the cracks till you sand all the way down to the glass ! then its a prime , under coat and top coat spray job then n painting over the top But they could show up again later .

[FUJIMO]

Here's exactly what I would do, with your gelcoat spider cracking... https://youtu.be/Fz1K9UCpLRo

[team supra]

Now that was funny

[tunnels]

Hello, in the middle of the deck I have couple square feet with spider cracks on the original gel coat, they are very fine cracks barely noticeable under touch but obviously visible.
any input highly appreciated.

thank you

Ok so spider man has been ! first you have to find out WHY they happened !What the causes could be ?? and when you understand the causes then you need to find out how to stop them happening again !! if its a soft place then has it got core under the deck and if so has it delaminated ? why is it soft ? cracks are possibly thick gel coat ! or a sort spot, a weak spot, has had something heavy dropped on it like a dive bottle , some one has jumped on it, who knows!!simply grinding out to repair unless the soft spot is fixed it will just happen again and keep on happening until its braced or stiffened !

[W2F a V-King]

Maybe these are not spider cracks...
deck is solid and it's no flexing, it seem they are fine cracks coused by the heat from the sun, ain't gone come out by buffing, I might try using fine grit on orbital to see if I can sand it down, if this doesn't work I'm not sure should I go with gel coat repair on that spot, painting whole top side of the boat with imron or awlgrip would just be a sin in my opinion since gel coat is perfect everywhere else...

its original gel coat that is perfect all around the boat beside on this spot and it's very visible and it does bother me

Could you take a pic and post it.............otherwise like FUGIMO suggested......................fugettaboutit.

There has to be a reason why it's only in one spot. And until you or someone who can look at it and tell what or why it happened. Sure sounds like a stress area or an impact happened. Even IF you wanted to paint over it....you'd still need to repair it, or the webbing will reappear in whatever you paint over it with.

jmho = .0002

James

[tunnels]

STRESS, but from where and how that's the BIG question ! like I already said its possible had something heavy dropped on it ! a photo is not easy to take so would need to be hi-lighted ! lots of thinners on a rag and a little dark coloured paint mixed and gently wipe over does the trick usually ! the thinners dilutes the paint and it gets into the fine cracks ! only need a couple of spots of paint that's all
Its also highly unlikely that its damaged the glass below the gel coat ! Best way is to sand the gel coat off and fill and repaint ! The thickness of the gel coat can be a really big part of the problem!! The thinner it is the less likely of getting spider cracks . Gel coat is like egg shell and has no strength what so ever , some gel coats have a percentage of flexibility but as they get older become more brittle !