Spider crack
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Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
Forum Discription: Perplexed/need help with a problem - ask here
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15302
Printed Date: 08 Jun 2025 at 1:01am
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Topic: Spider crack
Posted By: Mom Dunn
Subject: Spider crack
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2022 at 4:29pm
| I have a spider crack probably from a rock underneath the front window. What is the best way to deal with this? I can’t figure out how to upload a picture of it. Thanks in advance 😉. |
Replies:
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2022 at 5:38pm
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Is it still under warranty? If not there is a product sold at auto parts stores that will stop the crack in its tracks if you get to it before it gets large. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: Mom Dunn
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 6:31am
| It’s not under warranty, we bought in July2020. But thanks for the tip. Will go check the auto store. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 11:03am
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To clarify, this is in the gel coat below the window, correct? ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Mom Dunn
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 1:41pm
 this is a picture of it.
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Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 1:44pm
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You will need the advice of someone who has worked with fiberglass repairs to fill, sand, and re-paint with gel-coat. Then there is sanding and buffing to get it to blend in. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Mom Dunn
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 1:56pm
| Like a boat place? We have lots of those here. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 2:48pm
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That would likely be one of the best places. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: pedwards2932
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 5:31pm
| If Forrest River carries the gel coat that matches that would help. You have to grind the cracks out then fill with gel coat. It is difficult to spray gel coat because it is very thick. You also have to add a wax to the mix for it to dry. Gel coat is designed to be sprayed into a mold then the fiberglass is sprayed over top so the gel dries in an air free environment. A boat shop could do the repair but again it would help if you got matching gel coat for it. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 03 Jun 2022 at 10:18pm
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Correction: A catalyst is mixed with the gel coat. For that, a coating is sprayed over the top of the repair to seal it. Later, the coating is removed and the gel coat is sanded to make it level, then buffed until it matches the existing finish. I used to work for Uniflite (now defunct) that built cabin cruisers. That is how the flaws in the gel coat finish were repaired. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: pedwards2932
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 7:33am
| I worked on boats as well and did gel repair. We mixed a wax with the gel that would rise to the surface and that would seal it from air so it would dry. And yes you do have to add catalyst. You can also spray PVA over the top as well to seal it we just found the wax easier to use. At any rate it is not an easy repair for the novice. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 7:34am
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West Marine sells a gell coat repair kit that includes color matching materials. The resins in the repair kit need to be compatible with the surface being repaired so I'm not sure if that would work on an rpod or not but it might be worth looking into. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 8:21am
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If you can get the pre-colored gelcoat from Forest River, you'd save yourself a lot of headaches in trying to match the color. Wet gelcoat is dries darker, if I recall correctly from my sailboat repair days, so it's hard to anticipate the color shift from wet to dry. Fading of the original gelcoat also has to be taken into account, even with the factory mixed color. Boat yards and body shops that do fiberglass repair are likely your best bet if you want to get as close a match as possible. Once you've prepared the cracks for gelcoat application, as others have mentioned, spraying polyvinyl alcohol over the wet gelcoat seals it from the air to allow curing. It washes off with water. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2022 at 10:20pm
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I stand corrected on the wax. I had not observed that. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |