Can gel coat crack

[Rickieh]

Currently looking at a car that has damage I'm not familiar with.

https://ibb.co/MRj6DY5

This image shows the damage. Is this just a gel coat thing or is this body. I dont know if this is "needs paint" or "its screwed"

Thanks in advance.side note curb weight I've read is around 14-1500 for a basic vw sterling. Is this accurate?

 

[ratrog64]

Yes it does crack. A proper repair will need to be done there or the cracks will reappear after paint. The fiberglass has likely suffered some as well as the gelcoat.

I think your weight estimates are about 3 to 5 hundred pounds light. I think the uk guys have determined a finished car weights somewhere close to 2000lbs.

 

[letterman7]

Wow... I've never seen a canopy flex crack like that. But yes, that tends to be just surface, but it will need to be addressed as Roger said. The windshield will need to come out and the suface prepped very carefully - and that means "grooving" all the cracks down to the base fiberglass in order to prep it for a fix.


The "unofficial" total weight for a Sterling with a stock 1600 engine is 1850 pounds. That's a dry weight with no passengers.

 

[Rickieh]

What's the process for a repair?just a heavy sanding and reapplication?

 

[letterman7]

Search fiberglass and automotive body repair forums for the correct repair methods. I've not personally dealt with that many cracks, so I don't want to mislead with false info.