gel coat repairs on hull

 I know its been mentioned before but cant seem to find the info. 

i need to repair a few scratches and chips in the gel coat mainly at the front where it runs up on the rollers. prob is i dont want to have to repaint the hull. is there a way to do it . i just want it smooth not to worried about hiding anything as they are only smallish and nothing structual.

any help will be appreciated

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Jackfrost80's picture

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I did something similar a few

Mon, 2017-10-02 18:38

I did something similar a few weeks ago and I was told Gelcoat is a nightmare to work with for repairs so I fixed up a small chip with flowcoat and I have to look extremely hard to find it again.

Measure out your flowcoat and use pigment (I used the tan one to match my off shite hull) to match the hull colour first and then add the catalyst and some talc to thicken it to a paste and apply it with a spatula. Let it cure and then sand to a smooth finish using wet 1500 wet and dry and then finish up with wet 2000 wet and dry and polish it up.

May not be the best way of doing it but worked for me.

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Faulkner Family's picture

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 cheers. where is the best

Mon, 2017-10-02 18:49

 cheers. where is the best place to get the flowcoat and pigment from. my hull is a very light brown almost cream

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Jackfrost80's picture

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I got both from Whitworths

Mon, 2017-10-02 18:58

I got both from Whitworths mate

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 cheers

Mon, 2017-10-02 19:09

 cheers

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you are better off not using talc

Mon, 2017-10-02 19:19

 as the molecular structure of it can absorb water. Better off using micro spheres that are a close cell, according to a shipwright mate of mine anyway

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Jackfrost80's picture

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That makes sense and thanks

Tue, 2017-10-03 08:26

That makes sense and thanks for the heads up as I'm about to repair a gouge from a barnacle under the water line. My repair was above the waterline so I guess that's why talc was reccomended.

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Faulkner Family's picture

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 is there anywhere down

Mon, 2017-10-02 19:26

 is there anywhere down mandurah i would be able to get the stuff

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 I would just use gel coat

Mon, 2017-10-02 20:02

 I would just use gel coat and put a bit on cardboard and add a few drops of catalyst then apply and use masking tape to hold it up while it cures. Then rub back then wax and polish. 

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Take a look at surges post

Mon, 2017-10-02 20:14

 He is in rocko and can do the fibre glassing  and gel coating my ski is booked in for some repairs as I hit the reef and he looked it over and said no problem to fix 

Faulkner Family's picture

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 thanks. i am hoping to keep

Mon, 2017-10-02 20:17

 thanks. i am hoping to keep costs down by d i y . if all else fails 

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Marineboy's picture

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Ezyliving

Mon, 2017-10-02 20:26

 ezyliving is on the money, hard to explain on here but mix up small batches of gel coat and apply it to chips and scratches with a small brush or similar then put tape over it and smooth it over, needs minimal sanding if any if you do it right. 

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Jackfrost80's picture

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Is the tape enough to starve

Tue, 2017-10-03 08:29

Is the tape enough to starve the gelcoat repair of air?

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Tape

Tue, 2017-10-03 08:46

 thats how all the shipwrights repair chips and scratches, talk to the old boys at Hawke in Ossie park they know fibreglass pretty well. 

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Jackfrost80's picture

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I'll give it a crack on my

Tue, 2017-10-03 09:19

I'll give it a crack on my barnacle gouge. The flowcoat I used to repaint the area where I changed my transducer definitely does attract a little more dirt a bit more due to the wax even after a sand and polish. Probably need to get some acetone etc on it to remove anything left over.

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dont forget to

Tue, 2017-10-03 19:18

 neutralise the acetone fairly quicky as it softens fibreglass and will keep breaking it down unless flushed...apparently(shipwright mates advice)

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 The tape is to just flatten

Wed, 2017-10-04 02:18

 The tape is to just flatten off the gel coat as what tends to happen is when rubbing it back you rub the existing gel coat back as well and you generally rub the existing gel coat back to the fibreglass first before rubbing the repair smooth. Always good to etch out the chip or gouge then you will see how thick you gelcoat is. Try and use a sanding block as this wil let you rub just the repair. If you use your thumb or finger to try and rub the repair back you generally don't get a smooth finish and you find that you will rub through around the repair first. Also try and rub it back in a circular motion. Also the excess gelcoat that spreads once you put the tape on will also protect the existing gelcoat as you're rubbing it back. You will see a distinct line as it won't stick to the existing gelcoat but you this as a guide. So when it gets smaller and smaller you will know when to stop rubbing it back as there will be no distinct edge and the gelcoat repair will be flush and smooth but maybe a slight colour difference. If you can see a line that means there's some new gelcoat sitting on top of the existing gelcoat. Hope all that makes sense

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.

Tue, 2017-10-03 20:06

.

little johnny's picture

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There bang on

Tue, 2017-10-03 08:33

I use clear packing tape. I mix small amounts of gel coat few drops on tape put in place ( smooth out) as said min sanding using clear you can visually see you have covered chip.

Faulkner Family's picture

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 cheers guys. will go with

Tue, 2017-10-03 16:17

 cheers guys. will go with the gel coat and do as suggested. 

where would i get the gel coat in mandurah, any ideas

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Jackfrost80's picture

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I'm going to pick some up to

Wed, 2017-10-04 08:18

I'm going to pick some up to do a small repair myself and will be heading down to Dunsborough on 12th Oct. If you get stuck finding anything locally let me know and I'll be happy to grab what you need as well and get you to meet me at Settler's Roadhouse on the way down.

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Faulkner Family's picture

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 cheers for that . that would

Wed, 2017-10-04 15:58

 cheers for that . that would be good. will let you know if i dont get any. looked around a couple of places but they dont have any. there is another member on here has offered as well. good to know there are people out there willing to help others. 

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sunshine's picture

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"Man of glass" tutorial

Wed, 2017-10-04 08:58

 Available for view on Hook Line And Sinker website ......for fixing large and small holes and gouges 

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http://www.hooklinesinker.tv/

Fri, 2017-10-06 18:19

http://www.hooklinesinker.tv/video/man-of-glass-tutorial/

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Faulkner Family's picture

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 thanks for that. will check

Fri, 2017-10-06 18:27

 thanks for that. will check it out

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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together