Gelcoat Touch Up
 

I have some deep scratches in the gel coat that need to be filled/feathered. What is the best way to blend the color back in? The hull is white and i have a very close imrom color. Does anyone recomend blending imrom back into the gelcoat?

There is a company that makes gel coat touch up gell. I bought some for my PQ. You just give them the make and year of the boat and they have a match. (for most) If you can wait till monday I will let you know the manufacturer. (I forget and the bottle is at my office). It was about a 1 Oz. Jar with hardner. A small scratch would not be hard to fix.

They sell gell coat repair kits at boat US. They are actually pretty good. You can also ussually as has been said get a close match to your boats gell from the manufacturer. White is hard to match but you should be able to get it close. Even if it is not a perfect match when you put it on then give it a little time it will blend out ok as it sees light.

Jon

The scratches are in a wide spread area with some minor, some deep. I really need to feather fill the entire area. It looks as if the boat was tied to a dock with no fenders for a long period of time. To use something as that may take me quite a long time to do. I have "blended" imron into gelcoat before but was really not too impressed with the results. However, I am interested in that manufacturer for minor repairs. Does anyone have any solutions for a fairly large area ?

Ray;

When you get that information , I would be interested in it as well. Please post or P.M. the companys' info.

Thanks

To do a large area it is really quite easy. Sand it down smoote with 180 grit sand paper, feather it out on the sides with 400 grit. Then re-gellcoat it. Wet sand it out and buff. In a pinch I have even rolled out the Gell with a roller as is it SO thick. WIth the roller the finished product is just as good as when sprayed, it can just take a little more sanding. I use a foam pad roller when I use a roller. Otherwise I get out the gun and then it sucks because you have to clean it out when done.

Jon

Upon blending do you bother to thin the gel coat out? Seems as if the way you said would leave evidence of "new work".

If you have a real good match initially you will see the blend HOWEVER after time that actually fades away. Just do not make it like a square of something. You want to have a fairly odd shape so that it is not so obvious. When I did touch ups on my boat I did not thin the stuff out. A couple coats with a roller and wet sand and buff it out and there is NO WAY you can see the repair. I had a really good match so I was lucky. Some times you have to play with the tints to get it perfect.

Jon

Color match, in my opinion, is one of the most important aspects of the repair, as, you can sand, fair, and buff to a perfect finish, but if the color is off, the repair will stand out like a sore thumb no matter how smooth you get it.:(

MAKE SURE the area is prepped properly. If it's just a few scratches, my favorite method is a dremel tool with a sharp little grinding bit, to "V" out the scratches.

I would usually then mix the Gel Cote with hardner (just enough---you want thick consistency---this is why those gel cote "paste" repair kits work well), and would put it in one of those WEST System "syringes", to apply into the "V"-ed out grooves.

Unless the repair area is HUGE, I like audiofn's method of gel-cote application---rolling or brushing as opposed to spraying. Even on a slightly larger area, I personally like to brush it on---thick as hell---as thick as I can without sagging. This way, when you sand to fair it in, you won't break through to the fiberglass underneath and have to start all over.

Good Luck. :D

OK, we will give this a try. Thanks all for the feed backs.