Re: [Paddlewise] Spider cracks in my new Romany

Matt Broze wrote:

> I've never tried this. It might work but if they are cracks it might be a
> pain with the pencil lead leaking out over time.
> Okay, I just tried it on a piece of hatch cut-out I had bent outward to put
> stress cracks in the gelcoat. So much for speculation, it is harder to clean
> off the pencil "lead" I rubbed on from the good gelcoat than it is from the
> cracks. It did show up the real cracks while I was doing it though. Perhaps
> powdered charcoal or ashes would avoid marking up the gelcoat with pencil
> "lead" and still show up real cracks.

If you're really serious about checking out fine cracks vs surface marks, there
is a system known as "dye penetrant" that is used in many industries.  I used
to use it when I was a weld inspector.  You spray on a very thin dye (sort of like
WD-40 in consistency but a bright red color), wipe off the excess, then spray
on a white coating and wait.  If there is a crack, the dye will seep out and stain
the white coating.

You can probably get the stuff through aircraft supply shops or welding shops.
This is kinda academic, since the cost is probably way more than you'd be willing
to pay.

Mike

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