Another option for thought - I am just finishing up a repair on a fiberglass kayak that suffered some impact damage before I bought it. Rather than try to match gel coat color or try to re-apply gel coat, I just faired the repair carefully with epoxy filler, and will soon sand the whole hull with wet and dry, and paint it with some two part polyurethane marine paint. Interlux Perfection is pretty widely available at larger marine stores, and comes in a good range of colors including some off whites perfect for glass kayak hulls.

If it was my kayak, I would remove the crazed gel coat completely, fair with epoxy filler, and paint the whole hull. As long as you remove any gel coat that is failing or likely to fail (yeah, I know, easier in theory than practice), the repair should look perfect and stay that way. If you go this route, make sure you aggressively clean the hull before sanding it because there will still be traces of mold release on the surface. I have used acetone in the past with good results, but given the stories I have read on this site about the quality of acetone, I will be doing further homework on this before cleaning my hull. I imagine that Interlux has some suggestions on this score somewhere.

Good luck,

Allan Edie

: I know this has been talked about before, but I suck at searches,
: so maybe I can get away with just asking.....?

: In a serious lapse of judgement I bought a Valley Nordkapp LV a
: year or two ago. Home made boats are ever so much better!
: Anyway, one of the problems I'm having with it is a patch of
: spider cracks in the gel coat that need to be fixed. I haven't
: paddled the boat in months, so it's plenty dry. I have read
: about repairing gel coat, but here's an alternative idea I'm
: liking better right now: rough up the affected area with
: 80-grit, and apply a patch of 3.2 satin weave cloth over it,
: then get on with my life. Advantages: fast repair, color match
: perfect, invisible from ten feet away. Possible down side: epoxy
: doesn't stick worth a flip.

: What do y'all think?

: Oh, and I just got through ordering a set of hatch covers for it.
: Ka-ching, $200! Holy crap, that's two-thirds of an entire kayak
: if you make it yourself, and the hatches will last longer too!
: Sigh, I guess the new VCP ones will just have to live in the
: house with me, and get a bath in 303 before tucking them into
: bed each night. Sheesh.

: Oh bartender, another round please.....