My dad built an old town royalex canoe about forty years ago from a kit. It's eighteen feet and kind of a forest green. I am glad to see you taking such care to fix one of these older canoes. I didn't think the cracks were fixable and it is good to know that they are. Good job
G-Flex, widening of the gap and a little heat (not too much) will fix those cracks. Some will paint the gflex repairs and others are ok with the canoe once again being cold crack free and unpainted, however I also believe that aesthetics are just as important. Thank you for watching and I wish you the best of luck with your repairs to your dads hard work!
About to undertake the process of bringing an older Old Towne back to life. Still haven't found an example of one being worked on, in as rough of condition as the one I am picking up today. Has some sections of compromise with delamination. Seems that the G-Flex is the recommended go to. Yours turned out great 👍
Best of luck with your project. G-Flex is an amazing product. Ensure that the hull cracks are cleaned and beveled to accept the g-flex. The most important thing to get a solid result is to use either a torch or heat gun to lightly oxidize the area that the g-flex will be applied to. This will create a much stronger bond. Avoid heating too much…..just enough heat to oxidize the surface area. Have a great day!
Well I am sure it won’t be much different than any other canoe that bangs off river rocks. The canoe can always be refinished. The idea of this project was to aesthetically make the visual of the canoe pleasing and then use it like a canoe should be used. I am not worried about scratches and all that. More concerned with wrapping a canoe or puncturing the hull. Scratches and such are just expected.
I see a rust oleum primer topcoat product on the internet that says “marine for fiberglass, wood and metal.” Is that what you used. More specifics please. I have a 2006 Perception kayak made of ABS plastic. After countless trips down Florida rivers that have limestone basins, I had so many scratches, I suspect it was impacting my “glide” performance. By the way, a good number of rivers and creeks in Florida have limestone. Limestone with acidic tannin waters create a rock texture more like a billion chips of flint. It’s very sharp, not smooth ever. Anyway I resurfaced just the lower half using 2 coats of rust oleum Formica top refinish paint. Restored to about 80% of original look. Two years later, looks great. New scratch’s but zero indication of delaminating.
Yes, I used Rustoleum Marine Topside Coatings white primer with the Rustoleum Marine Coatings topside paint. Very happy with the product as I have used it on Wood Canvas canoe, Royalex canoes and cedar strip canoes. I have had no delamination of paint on any of the canoe types I have mentioned. I suspect that the Mad River Eclipse will need touch ups in a few years due to the flex of a Royalex hull but it sure is easy enough to sand and place another coat of paint on the hull. Glad you had luck with your canoe as well using the Rustoleum Formica paint product. We all can learn about different product options available to all of us and I appreciate you sharing this particular products success. I will look into it. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Appreciate it!
Thank you! I haven’t had an opportunity to use it yet but I hope to at some point in the Fall. Lots of family things going on with the loss of my father. Canoeing may not be possible for quite some time. Thanks for watching and I am pleased to hear that you found the video helpful! Have a great day!
I'm in the middle of this process myself. Just got a MR Explorer last fall with 3 cold cracks. I also used a dremel with aggressive sanding bit. I had to get the 90 degree attachment to get into some of the inside spots. I still have to do the epoxy (waiting for it to warm up a little) and debating painting it or not. Thanks for the video
Great canoe choice. The MR explorer is a great canoe to suit several different conditions. I hope to find one myself someday. Best of luck with your project. I found a great sense of satisfaction painting the canoe. It truly made me feel like the project was complete. I’ll be Interested in what you make for a final decision!
The dremel is a great tool to use for this application. Since you have a dremel you already know how aggressive the tool can be especially with soft material. Slow and steady is the trick but the results are well worth it. Good luck with your repairs! Thanks for watching and I am happy to know that you found the video helpful. Have a great day!
Ok good point,a dremel can be aggressive, I’ll go easy. I think I may have sanded a bit much also. I have the Royalex primer paint and hopefully it fills in the little sanding marks.
@adamsons2890 I typically use the Rustoleum Marine Topside primer and finish coat. The downside of the color of the primer coat is that it is white and scratches will happen overtime showing the white through the topcoat. All in all a few touchups make it look all better again. The Rustoleum primer and topcoat will hide those sanding marks without issue. Not sure what paint you be using but I am simply only stating my preference.
The paint holds up real nice. Considering this project and the Terrible shape the canoe was in prior to restoration paint was the only option. Keep in mind that the canoe will still scratch and damage the paint however touch ups should only be required. With proper preparation the paint sticks real nice.
So, 1 year later, did that crack fix hold? I'm concerned since it might not have supported the two sides across the crack that it would just open up again, and I have a few of these in camp that might be worth doing this to on a restoration if I get around to it. Thanks!
Rock solid. I have only used the canoe on mostly flat water but the canoe has been heavily loaded on those trips. I have all the confidence in the world with G-flex and what it brings to the table. Not sure about running Class IV rapids but it will take a beating and hold up.
@@mainetripper Hey, thanks for following up on this, it's great info. We've got a bunch of Penobscots and have to keep them in unheated conditions and for a while I was thinking that folks using our camp after we did were just wrecking our canoes, but figured out that the cold was doing it (in precisely the same place as on your canoe, too). They have enormous bandaids of Bondo and I think fiberglass on them and while that works I suspect it's causing significant drag (and weight!)! I like your way much better! And we're not running rapids, purely flatwater boundary waters travel, so if you're happy with it on flatwater that's cool.
@jesseellis7298 The g-flex applied after slightly widening the joint allows for sanding the hull fair. Sometimes canoes take a wicked beating and we can only do our best to get more years out of them. Check out my other video of the Mad River Voyager and you will see how badly that canoe looked and then the final result. Things can be done…..the canoes will obviously never be new again but we can give them some elbow grease and live to keep em goin’
This is fantastic Dave! I am impressed that crack like that can be fixed, I had no idea!! I have an Old town Pathfinder that you have just inspired me to paint. It is a red canoe, old and faded. I'd like to restore it in its original color. Should I use a primer coat? I assume so for better adhesion, but maybe not. What do you think? Great video man!
Thanks for the comment Justin! Definitely apply a primer coat. Rustoleum Marine Topside Coatings is incredible paint and I have had great success using the product. The primer is a little pricey at around $50/quart but worth it. The paint comes in at around half the cost of the primer. Giving new life to canoes is rewarding. Thanks again man!
Re: Primer/Painting video @ 11:40 Earlier, you stated you were expecting delivery of the topcoat item. Does this Rust-Oleum product require ordering or, am I able to purchase at home improvement stores? Thank you!
Home Depot and most hardware stores now carry the Rustoleum topside products. If any of those stores do not have what you are looking for then Amazon is usually a good bet. I ordered from Amazon as a time saver I am sure. Good luck with your project and I appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Have a great day!
The cold cracks typically are not a one sided thing and will appear on both the interior and exterior of the canoe. If the repair was solely cosmetic on the exterior than an exterior repair is only required using G-flex. When the crack penetrates the entire hull beveling is required on both sides to make a proper repair and to ensure proper bonding and strength of the g-flex to hull joint repair. Hope this helps.
Thank you for a great video! I'm in the process of restoring my 34 year old Mad River Kevlar Explorer. I replaced all wood (had to use fir here in Montana, no ash), but was able to save the bow and stern deck pieces with a little help from West System. I have spider cracks on the hull, any thoughts on how to move forward? Thank you
You are very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Fir is a decent option to use for your gunwale replacement. Decent rot resistance. Glad to hear you could salvage some original parts with the use of West Systems. Good stuff for sure! In regard to the spider cracking on your Kevlar canoe I would have to believe that the spider cracking is mostly on the gel coat. I have not personally worked on a Kevlar canoe but I am sure there is plenty of advice out there. I personally would probably assess whether the spider cracking is more severe and has potentially affected the other. Look for soft spots. If there are no soft spots than the spider cracking will most likely be aesthetic and not structural. Possibly grinding out the cracks and reapplying a color match gel coat could be a decent solution, however I would engage with others that have done these repairs in the past as I have no experience with Kevlar. I am always looking for a Kevlar restoration project but have come up empty. Best of luck and thank you for watching and commenting! Very much appreciated!
@@mainetripper Thank you for your reply. This craft saw paddled some Maine waters when I was still on the East Coast. The people at West System said I needed to sand all the gel coat off or the cracks would reappear when I epoxied it. Going to try a sample on the bottom. I wish Mad River was still Mad River and I could get some feed back from them. So if there's anyone out there that can pass on some knowledge it would be greatly appreciated.
Well I have a few frost cracks in a royalite canoe. I have the 650 liquid gflex but I think I'll spring for tge thickened 650 stuff. It looks like your v groves go through the royalex so the epoxy can meet in the middle. I really think the liquid gflex will give me problems. If applied right after mixing it might flow right into the opening and deal with air pockets they way. Opinions please.
Went with the regular 650 and yes it kept me busy. Then again I already had it. Used the dremel, I would practise a lot more before I try that again. I figured a good way to bevel is to use a paint scraper with sand paper glued to each side of the blade.. since I wasnt sure how much gflex I would nedd I bought too much. Well enough to install kevlar skid plates. Next on the menu. Now to find some Fusion in a colour that doesnt stand out too much. UV exposure of the inner royalex is an issue and uv may be an issue with the gflex so touch painting will be a thing. Had the canoe out yesterday. River is low so the paddle took a beating in some places. Ya well that paddle is going to get a lick of fiberglass and resin.
@micstica that’s great that the canoe is back on the water. Most epoxy’s need cover up protection from UV so touch ups is not a bad idea. All the best moving forward with your canoe and paddle tinkering. Have a great day!
With your $100 canoe repair project, I would have drilled a 1/8"-3/16" hole at the end of both cracks to relieve the stress thus preventing the crack from spreading in the future. I'm not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination, but wouldn't sanding an area on each side of the Gflex internally and externally and then running a strip of Kevlar seam tape from the origin of the crack and down to and slightly past the drilled hole add substantial support to the gap filling procedure you did? Right now all you have supporting the origin of the tear is your wood outwale and inwale and a blow to the middle of that 15" crack could have the repair fail. Adding a resin impregnated layer of Kevlar cloth or seam tape(forget using the felt they use for grunch pads) The procedure is called "contact- bagging" a resin repair. Your use of the packing tape to masking the outer areas of the repairs and using Saran Wrap and masking tape to finish the job can make a very sanitary repair.
The packing tape was only used during the application of the Gflex. After the Gflex was cured the packing tape was easily removed which allowed a nice flush repair. 1/8” holes were drilled at the termination point of each crack followed by the crack opened slightly by beveling with a dremel tool. The bevel was obviously created to receive the Gflex and the packing tape kept the product flush which minimized sanding. The hull continues to be strong as ever and has been used multiple times. Quite pleased with the process. I have restored and removed enough patches from canoes knowing that I would rather not put a patch on a canoe. I am very confident in the use of the Gflex product and its effectiveness without the patches.
The canoe cost me $100. The paint $26. If I can get one season out of banging of rocks with this finish then I guess I have more than covered my costs. There have been many reports of successful paint coverings with the Rustoleum brand. This is what I have used as well. Time will tell however this canoe was heading to the dump so at a minimum it will look nice for the few times it will be used. I also have my handbuilt Wabnaki and my restored Chestnut that I also use. I may possibly give an update on how the finish has survived.
@@mainetripper How is the paint and the crack repair holding up? Also, when you did the crack repair, did you use any fiberglass cloth over the top of the crack fill with resin? (In other words, did you do a second layer of repair using epoxy and FG cloth for strength?) If not, how has the resin held up to use?
@sconnyite2104 paint and repairs are holding up great. The Gflex product is a miracle epoxy in my opinion. I trust it enough that I do not use fiberglass patches. I dremel the groove and then pack that groove. I had storage issues this year and had to leave the canoe out all winter. The canoe is still as shiny and crack free since restoration. The couple times I used the canoe there were some minor scratches but the great thing about the Rustoleum topside paint is that it is durable and affordable. A few touch ups is all that is necessary.
My dad built an old town royalex canoe about forty years ago from a kit. It's eighteen feet and kind of a forest green. I am glad to see you taking such care to fix one of these older canoes. I didn't think the cracks were fixable and it is good to know that they are. Good job
G-Flex, widening of the gap and a little heat (not too much) will fix those cracks. Some will paint the gflex repairs and others are ok with the canoe once again being cold crack free and unpainted, however I also believe that aesthetics are just as important. Thank you for watching and I wish you the best of luck with your repairs to your dads hard work!
Great Job on the repair and refinishing.
Thank you Joe! It’s rewarding to see this old canoes come back to life! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Very much appreciated.
About to undertake the process of bringing an older Old Towne back to life. Still haven't found an example of one being worked on, in as rough of condition as the one I am picking up today. Has some sections of compromise with delamination. Seems that the G-Flex is the recommended go to.
Yours turned out great 👍
Best of luck with your project. G-Flex is an amazing product. Ensure that the hull cracks are cleaned and beveled to accept the g-flex. The most important thing to get a solid result is to use either a torch or heat gun to lightly oxidize the area that the g-flex will be applied to. This will create a much stronger bond. Avoid heating too much…..just enough heat to oxidize the surface area. Have a great day!
@@mainetripper Appreciate the info. It will be a task.
I'd like to see how the paint stays after 10 days on the river
Well I am sure it won’t be much different than any other canoe that bangs off river rocks. The canoe can always be refinished. The idea of this project was to aesthetically make the visual of the canoe pleasing and then use it like a canoe should be used. I am not worried about scratches and all that. More concerned with wrapping a canoe or puncturing the hull. Scratches and such are just expected.
Thanks for your vidéo. Beautiful job.
The Wood job is amazing.
I see a rust oleum primer topcoat product on the internet that says “marine for fiberglass, wood and metal.” Is that what you used. More specifics please. I have a 2006 Perception kayak made of ABS plastic. After countless trips down Florida rivers that have limestone basins, I had so many scratches, I suspect it was impacting my “glide” performance. By the way, a good number of rivers and creeks in Florida have limestone. Limestone with acidic tannin waters create a rock texture more like a billion chips of flint. It’s very sharp, not smooth ever. Anyway I resurfaced just the lower half using 2 coats of rust oleum Formica top refinish paint. Restored to about 80% of original look. Two years later, looks great. New scratch’s but zero indication of delaminating.
Yes, I used Rustoleum Marine Topside Coatings white primer with the Rustoleum Marine Coatings topside paint. Very happy with the product as I have used it on Wood Canvas canoe, Royalex canoes and cedar strip canoes. I have had no delamination of paint on any of the canoe types I have mentioned. I suspect that the Mad River Eclipse will need touch ups in a few years due to the flex of a Royalex hull but it sure is easy enough to sand and place another coat of paint on the hull. Glad you had luck with your canoe as well using the Rustoleum Formica paint product. We all can learn about different product options available to all of us and I appreciate you sharing this particular products success. I will look into it. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Appreciate it!
Real nice job and very helpful. I hope you enjoy it
Thank you! I haven’t had an opportunity to use it yet but I hope to at some point in the Fall. Lots of family things going on with the loss of my father. Canoeing may not be possible for quite some time. Thanks for watching and I am pleased to hear that you found the video helpful! Have a great day!
@@mainetripper my condolences for your loss. I know the feeling. Hang in there and be well.
I'm in the middle of this process myself. Just got a MR Explorer last fall with 3 cold cracks. I also used a dremel with aggressive sanding bit. I had to get the 90 degree attachment to get into some of the inside spots. I still have to do the epoxy (waiting for it to warm up a little) and debating painting it or not. Thanks for the video
Great canoe choice. The MR explorer is a great canoe to suit several different conditions. I hope to find one myself someday. Best of luck with your project. I found a great sense of satisfaction painting the canoe. It truly made me feel like the project was complete. I’ll be
Interested in what you make for a
final decision!
What a great method. I was going to cut out some gouges with a cut knife. I have a dremel,and I’ll use that instead…awesome thanks 🛶
The dremel is a great tool to use for this application. Since you have a dremel you already know how aggressive the tool can be especially with soft material. Slow and steady is the trick but the results are well worth it. Good luck with your repairs! Thanks for watching and I am happy to know that you found the video helpful. Have a great day!
Ok good point,a dremel can be aggressive, I’ll go easy. I think I may have sanded a bit much also. I have the Royalex primer paint and hopefully it fills in the little sanding marks.
@adamsons2890 I typically use the Rustoleum Marine Topside primer and finish coat. The downside of the color of the primer coat is that it is white and scratches will happen overtime showing the white through the topcoat. All in all a few touchups make it look all better again. The Rustoleum primer and topcoat will hide those sanding marks without issue. Not sure what paint you be using but I am simply only stating my preference.
@MaineTripper, Question: How is the paint holding up to wear and tear?
The paint holds up real nice. Considering this project and the Terrible shape the canoe was in prior to restoration paint was the only option. Keep in mind that the canoe will still scratch and damage the paint however touch ups should only be required. With proper preparation the paint sticks real nice.
So, 1 year later, did that crack fix hold? I'm concerned since it might not have supported the two sides across the crack that it would just open up again, and I have a few of these in camp that might be worth doing this to on a restoration if I get around to it. Thanks!
Rock solid. I have only used the canoe on mostly flat water but the canoe has been heavily loaded on those trips. I have all the confidence in the world with G-flex and what it brings to the table. Not sure about running Class IV rapids but it will take a beating and hold up.
@@mainetripper Hey, thanks for following up on this, it's great info. We've got a bunch of Penobscots and have to keep them in unheated conditions and for a while I was thinking that folks using our camp after we did were just wrecking our canoes, but figured out that the cold was doing it (in precisely the same place as on your canoe, too). They have enormous bandaids of Bondo and I think fiberglass on them and while that works I suspect it's causing significant drag (and weight!)! I like your way much better! And we're not running rapids, purely flatwater boundary waters travel, so if you're happy with it on flatwater that's cool.
@jesseellis7298 The g-flex applied after slightly widening the joint allows for sanding the hull fair. Sometimes canoes take a wicked beating and we can only do our best to get more years out of them. Check out my other video of the Mad River Voyager and you will see how badly that canoe looked and then the final result. Things can be done…..the canoes will obviously never be new again but we can give them some elbow grease and live to keep em goin’
This is fantastic Dave! I am impressed that crack like that can be fixed, I had no idea!! I have an Old town Pathfinder that you have just inspired me to paint. It is a red canoe, old and faded. I'd like to restore it in its original color. Should I use a primer coat? I assume so for better adhesion, but maybe not. What do you think? Great video man!
Thanks for the comment Justin! Definitely apply a primer coat. Rustoleum Marine Topside Coatings is incredible paint and I have had great success using the product. The primer is a little pricey at around $50/quart but worth it. The paint comes in at around half the cost of the primer. Giving new life to canoes is rewarding. Thanks again man!
If you plan to add skid plates would you do that prior to applying primer and paint? Thanks!
I would install the skid plates before primer and paint.
Re: Primer/Painting video @ 11:40
Earlier, you stated you were expecting delivery of the topcoat item. Does this Rust-Oleum product require ordering or, am I able to purchase at home improvement stores?
Thank you!
Home Depot and most hardware stores now carry the Rustoleum topside products. If any of those stores do not have what you are looking for then Amazon is usually a good bet. I ordered from Amazon as a time saver I am sure. Good luck with your project and I appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Have a great day!
Why did you go through both sides? Cant fix just the outer?
The cold cracks typically are not a one sided thing and will appear on both the interior and exterior of the canoe. If the repair was solely cosmetic on the exterior than an exterior repair is only required using G-flex. When the crack penetrates the entire hull beveling is required on both sides to make a proper repair and to ensure proper bonding and strength of the g-flex to hull joint repair. Hope this helps.
Thank you for a great video! I'm in the process of restoring my 34 year old Mad River Kevlar Explorer. I replaced all wood (had to use fir here in Montana, no ash), but was able to save the bow and stern deck pieces with a little help from West System. I have spider cracks on the hull, any thoughts on how to move forward? Thank you
You are very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Fir is a decent option to use for your gunwale replacement. Decent rot resistance. Glad to hear you could salvage some original parts with the use of West Systems. Good stuff for sure! In regard to the spider cracking on your Kevlar canoe I would have to believe that the spider cracking is mostly on the gel coat. I have not personally worked on a Kevlar canoe but I am sure there is plenty of advice out there. I personally would probably assess whether the spider cracking is more severe and has potentially affected the other. Look for soft spots. If there are no soft spots than the spider cracking will most likely be aesthetic and not structural. Possibly grinding out the cracks and reapplying a color match gel coat could be a decent solution, however I would engage with others that have done these repairs in the past as I have no experience with Kevlar. I am always looking for a Kevlar restoration project but have come up empty. Best of luck and thank you for watching and commenting! Very much appreciated!
@@mainetripper Thank you for your reply. This craft saw paddled some Maine waters when I was still on the East Coast. The people at West System said I needed to sand all the gel coat off or the cracks would reappear when I epoxied it. Going to try a sample on the bottom. I wish Mad River was still Mad River and I could get some feed back from them. So if there's anyone out there that can pass on some knowledge it would be greatly appreciated.
Well I have a few frost cracks in a royalite canoe. I have the 650 liquid gflex but I think I'll spring for tge thickened 650 stuff. It looks like your v groves go through the royalex so the epoxy can meet in the middle. I really think the liquid gflex will give me problems. If applied right after mixing it might flow right into the opening and deal with air pockets they way. Opinions please.
The thickened g/flex epoxy does not run or sag which works out really well for these types of repairs.
Went with the regular 650 and yes it kept me busy. Then again I already had it. Used the dremel, I would practise a lot more before I try that again. I figured a good way to bevel is to use a paint scraper with sand paper glued to each side of the blade.. since I wasnt sure how much gflex I would nedd I bought too much. Well enough to install kevlar skid plates. Next on the menu. Now to find some Fusion in a colour that doesnt stand out too much. UV exposure of the inner royalex is an issue and uv may be an issue with the gflex so touch painting will be a thing. Had the canoe out yesterday. River is low so the paddle took a beating in some places. Ya well that paddle is going to get a lick of fiberglass and resin.
@micstica that’s great that
the canoe is back on the water. Most epoxy’s need cover up protection from UV so touch ups is not a bad idea. All the best moving forward with your canoe and paddle tinkering. Have a great day!
I have used a can opener ("churchkey style") to scrape a V-shaped opening in cold cracks. Sort of works, but your dremel bit looks more effective.
The dremel bit worked fantastic. I kept the tool on a lower speed so that it wasn’t too aggressive. Highly recommend the 194 bit by Dremel
With your $100 canoe repair project, I would have drilled a 1/8"-3/16" hole at the end of both cracks to relieve the stress thus preventing the crack from spreading in the future. I'm not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination, but wouldn't sanding an area on each side of the Gflex internally and externally and then running a strip of Kevlar seam tape from the origin of the crack and down to and slightly past the drilled hole add substantial support to the gap filling procedure you did? Right now all you have supporting the origin of the tear is your wood outwale and inwale and a blow to the middle of that 15" crack could have the repair fail. Adding a resin impregnated layer of Kevlar cloth or seam tape(forget using the felt they use for grunch pads) The procedure is called "contact- bagging" a resin repair. Your use of the packing tape to masking the outer areas of the repairs and using Saran Wrap and masking tape to finish the job can make a very sanitary repair.
The packing tape was only used during the application of the Gflex. After the Gflex was cured the packing tape was easily removed which allowed a nice flush repair. 1/8” holes were drilled at the termination point of each crack followed by the crack opened slightly by beveling with a dremel tool. The bevel was obviously created to receive the Gflex and the packing tape kept the product flush which minimized sanding. The hull continues to be strong as ever and has been used multiple times. Quite pleased with the process. I have restored and removed enough patches from canoes knowing that I would rather not put a patch on a canoe. I am very confident in the use of the Gflex product and its effectiveness without the patches.
In my experience you should never paint royalex, the paint does not flex as well as the ABS and you might end up with a poor finish within a season.
The canoe cost me $100. The paint $26. If I can get one season out of banging of rocks with this finish then I guess I have more than covered my costs. There have been many reports of successful paint coverings with the Rustoleum brand. This is what I have used as well. Time will tell however this canoe was heading to the dump so at a minimum it will look nice for the few times it will be used. I also have my handbuilt Wabnaki and my restored Chestnut that I also use. I may possibly give an update on how the finish has survived.
@@mainetripper How is the paint and the crack repair holding up? Also, when you did the crack repair, did you use any fiberglass cloth over the top of the crack fill with resin? (In other words, did you do a second layer of repair using epoxy and FG cloth for strength?) If not, how has the resin held up to use?
@sconnyite2104 paint and repairs are holding up great. The Gflex product is a miracle epoxy in my opinion. I trust it enough that I do not use fiberglass patches. I dremel the groove and then pack that groove. I had storage issues this year and had to leave the canoe out all winter. The canoe is still as shiny and crack free since restoration. The couple times I used the canoe there were some minor scratches but the great thing about the Rustoleum topside paint is that it is durable and affordable. A few touch ups is all that is necessary.