What is the best filler to use once I get it down to the fiberglass? a couple of the cracks are +-2' long.

The spots I will be attempting to fix are going to be painted Imron...

On another note; When fixing little spots (chips) that will have to be gel matched, can I use the same stuff to fill those?

Add a little Aerosil (fumed silica) to some gel coat to turn it into a putty. Use that to fill for best results.

1708 fiberglass. 2' is pretty long and if you dont do it correctly it will just come back and even still may depending on how you do the repair. Im sure glass Dave will chime in and also agree.

these cracks are on the dash, from every screw around the compass, and across the other side in random locations. The dash is black, and VERY chalky; prob never waxed... is heat/ dryness of the fiberglass what caused this? Or did the previous owner have a kegger on the dash?

I would like to fix it right, is the 1708 the way to go?

How wide/ deep should I grind each way from the crack?

In my experience I have painted 2 cars but no fiberglass or Imron, 400 grit final sand before imron?

Then after; what should I use for wetsand; 1000 then buff w/ 3m super duty?

Thanks in advance for any advice as this is a budget resto...

Will the fiberglass resin finish out good or should I use a easier sanding filler over the top?

Or should I use an epoxy (stronger?) to fill the ground out areas, maybe get away with removing a little less material?

Starting this project tommorow...

ttt

Actually Gelcoat is the way I would go, but an easy sanding filler should be fine for a dash, remember you cant gelcoat epoxy though.

I would just use polyester resin and a 1708. If its small area from screw holes you can use chop strand. The gelcoat is your finish. It has 0 strength and if there is a crack and you gelcoat over it, the gel will crack once it dries. Remember lots and lots of boats were built 20+ years ago with polyester and still running fine today. See pic to left.....Its also the cheapest and easy to work with. Fast wetout.

bob, thanks for the reply, Had a dusty day, black gel is a B... I ground out all of the cracks today, looks like an antfarm...

I took it down to the material laid in the glass, it looks like a solid sheet of something w/ random holes?

I could see the crack as I was grinding, and got to the bottom of it. Fill time.

I am going to repaint the stripes on the sides of the boat, and would like to paint the dash as well, once the structural repairs are done w/ the glass, what besides gel can I use to smooth out the top finish?

Also, I am not set up to spray gel...

Thanks again!