Crazing..

[Guest]

Hi, I have a few areas of crazing on the deck, not knowing a great deal about GRP can anyone point me in the direction of a self fix...thanks.

[Regulo]

There's no self fix that doesn't involve grinding it down and re-gelling, unfortunately. There's usually underlying damage that has caused it, and quick fixes will not last. I know, I've been there!

[dnks34]

I have used this product In the past and had good results:

https://www.force4.co.uk/item/MagicEzy/Hairline-Fix-Gelcoat-Repair-Sealant/CO1

 

[ExSurveyor]

I have the same issue in a couple of areas, the only question is which white as there are three shades available.

[ChrisB]

Crazing on deck areas is often caused by excessive flexing of the deck. If this is the case and breakdown of balsa/foam core or maybe delamination is the root of the problem this will need fixing first to effect a permanent solution.

Many older boats have deck fittings that have sat there since launch and sealants have improved greatly over the years. The problem is these fittings can leak for years and not show as a problem because the cores and ply stringers just soak up the water. In really cold winters the problem is compounded due to the water freezing and causing delamination. 

It is a problem not confined to older boats. The use of "self-tappers" into encapsulated ply backing pads has become commonplace on inland boats instead of bolting through. It keeps prices down but is shoddy engineering practice that in time will loosen. I have seen fittings put on in this way with just a squirt of silicon down the pilot hole and on the screw thread.

[ChrisB]

It is always good to walk round a boat that you are looking at and see if you can feel any area of "soft deck". For some reason it is an area often missed on survey, probably because with the boat chocked or hanging in slings they are too busy looking at the below waterline area. Superstructures are a bit of a forgotten area compared with hulls! But they sure can give you a lot of grief.

[trambo]

I was speaking about this to Jason at Horning Marina  last Friday. We suffer on Silver Cloud with this problem at the stern and he says as Regulo does that the problem requires grinding and re-gelling, so quite expensive. The product mentioned by dunks 34 may hide the problem but does not cure it. So long term, it's probably best to take the hit and get it over with.

Fred