Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure – Product Review

Let’s face it, nobody likes a leaky crack. But despair not, there is a cure! Captain Tolley has you covered with his Creeping Crack Cure. It’s a bit of a bizarre name but is actually fairly Ronseal in its nomenclature – it creeps into cracks, curing any leaks that may have developed. And that’s the thing; old cars leak. That, as we’re sure you are painfully aware, is fact. It’s written in stone, never to be argued or challenged and as classic car enthusiasts we take it in our stride, fully familiar with leaky sunroofs, windscreen seals or myriad other fissures, fractures, cracks and crevices. We don’t have to suffer in silence, however. With Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure you can fight back, making your pride and joy much more water tight.

Get your Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure here.

The Product

Developed for use on boats by an actual ship’s captain – Peter ‘Tolley’ Jordan – Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure is formulated to find and fix small, hard to reach hairline cracks, penetrating the fissure and following the path of the water to seal the leak at its source. Launched in 1986 it has been used successfully in the shipping world ever since and has gone on to be embraced by many other industries and enthusiasts, including us classic car lot.

Technically speaking Captain Tolley’s is a low viscosity copolymer adhesive with exceptional penetrating properties. As thin as water it draws into hairline cracks and gaps using capillary action where it subsequently cures providing a water-tight seal. Being, as it was, developed for use at sea where there is unsurprisingly a lot of water it’s safe to assume that it’s more than good enough for us landlubbers and our rather less damp cars.

The Test

We’ve used Captain Tolley’s in the past to fix a leaky sunroof on our Volvo 940. That was a couple of years ago now and the cabin has been bone dry ever since (unless you count the time the rear screen washer hose split but we don’t want to talk about that) so we know the product works, which is why we used it again recently to fill any potential gaps when we removed out rear wiper mechanism and plugged the hole in the glass with a rubber bung (because racecar). Using the Creeping Crack Cure sparingly we applied it to the outer edge of the bung confident that any small gaps would be successfully filled, wiping away the excess as indicated on the bottle.

The Result

The product wasn’t rapidly absorbed so we knew there wasn’t a large area between the bung and the glass (we ensured a tight fit to begin with) and after a couple of passes, leaving 30 minutes in between, we left it to cure for 24 hours. Upon returning the next day we thoroughly doused the area in water with the boot up to check if any moisture was making its way through and we’re happy to report that the rear glass and rubber bung are 100% water tight. Our land yacht was fit for the high seas! Or at least the M25 on a particularly rainy day.

The Verdict – 5 out of 5

In the two instances that we’ve had to use Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure it has completely solved the problem at hand. This can’t be used for filling large gaps, however, this is strictly for hairline cracks up to 1mm wide but suffice to say it is absolutely perfect for that particular application and the sealant will penetrate cracks regardless of the materials involved meaning it can be used in conjunction with other sealants, making it incredibly versatile. A great little product to have in the garage to put an end to leaking classics.