cs534
Oregon
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While waxing the roof of my motorhome I noticed 4 small cracks that look similar to a rock chip on a windshield. They are on the top of the roof in the front corner. Nothing could have hit there or damaged the area so I'm wondering how to tell if the cracks are in the gelcoat or the fiberglass. Is there a way to seal the cracks so they dont get larger or leak?
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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Those will be cracks in the gelcoat unless you've smacked something really hard to fracture the laminate behind it also (doubtful...you would have noticed). I wouldn't worry. It is common for gelocat to get cracks like that in high stress areas. It could have happend during manufacture.
95 Chinook Premier
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BIKERK9
Santa Cruz, CA
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Not to be a Chicken Little, but gravity causes things to fall from the
sky that cause roof chips. Besides toilet waste from passenger planes,
there is hail, icicles, tree nuts, pine cones, tree branches, bird fall-out,
falling rocks from cliffs, wind carried debris, falling bird shot and bb's
to name a few.
DoggyDaddy
2008 Damon Outlaw 37', WH-24, 8.1 GMC
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ron.dittmer
I Will Be Dancing With The Stars On 1/23
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My old gel coat motor home Here developed such cracks as you mentioned here and there throughout the shell. Most formed within the first couple years, but others formed later over the coarse of time. All cracks were in the top coat, none allowing water to enter, so I simply ignored them. Once I tried to seal a wide one with caulk, but it looked worse than leaving it alone. So I rubbed the caulk off and let it be. 24 years later, I sold the RV with those stress cracks. No harm at all.
I advise to ignore them.
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cs534
Oregon
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Thanks for your info. However, I did find a "gelcoat scratch patch" repair product on a internet marine supply co that I think I will try.
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magictarheel
North Carolina
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Just repaired my gelcoat. Lots of information on net. What I did was take old type mechanical type hand drill with 1/16 drill bit. Drilled small hole at end of cracks being careful not to go through gelcoat. Then lightly cut grove along cracks being careful not to go through gelcoat. Purchased repair kit for boats and followed directions. The test will be time. Mark
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ron.dittmer
I Will Be Dancing With The Stars On 1/23
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All repairs address cosmetics alone. There is no structural concern.
I would be concerned any patch work will fade differently than the original gel coat, making it stand out worse than if left alone. It would be a different story if preparing for a full body paint job.
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dceggert
SE Michigan
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Yes, gelcoat cracks are cosmetic only, however, water getting under the gelcoat will, over time, begin seperating the gelcoat from the core matt. It is not a water intrusion issue into the cabin but it can tend to propogate rapidly if you are in a climate that freezes and thaws in the winter time.
The method used in the industry that tackles this regularly (marine) is to use a sander or other method of removing the gelcoat in the localized area taking care not to touch or damage the structural mat underneath. The area needs to be feathered out at a ratio of about 20:1 into the surrounding good gelcoat. When the crack is feathered and the core mat is exposed, then the area is cleaned, filled back in with thickened epoxy, sanded smooth, and painted. The paint used can be marine type epoxy based paint, or as suggested in Don Casey's book "This Old Boat", outdoor enamel house paint can be used as an alternate.
I spent roughly 30 to 40 hours repairing 'anomolies' in the gelcoat of my sailboat hull this year using this method except the paint used was bottom kote to keep the grungies off for the season.
Dan
regards,
Dan
1992 Coachmen Leprechaun 265RF
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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We never had a problem with gelcoat shedding on my parents old 72 Chinook from cracks over 30 years. I have no issues on mine. I have repaired gelcoat on cars and it is a somewhat tedious job. A die grinder works well. I suppose a Dremel would work.
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