Gelcoat repair.

I would like to know if anyone has tried a one step gel coat product, like FIBERGLASS EVERCOAT ONE STEP GEL COAT, before to repair gel coat. I have a couple of scratches not to the glass and 2 gashes about 2 and1/2 inches x 1/2 inch in size where you can see the glass but no glassepair is need.Oh yea my boat is all white so color won't be a problem. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Try marinetex.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

I'm not sure why people always recommend Marine Tex for every type of repair, it's good for some things, but not the best for repairing small dings and chips in visible areas. You can get a gel coat repair kit with pigments and instructions so you can at least try to color match the repair. Plus while you can buff the epoxy and get it to shine, it has poor UV resistance, so it won't last long. Epoxy is also much more difficult to sand, so unless your careful, you can get an uneven surface, the gel coat around the epoxy sands down faster than the epoxy and sometimes you will sand through it before the epoxy is to the correct level.

PS. White is not white, Almost every boat builder has their own color of white. You may get lucky and what you buy will come close, but with a few pigments and a little trial and error, you will be able to get it closer.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Thanks for the reply's. Will MarineTex work on the scratches that don't got to the glass? I read that the Gel coat doesn't adhere well to MarineTex.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Yes, it will work on any scratch, chip, divit, hole, gouge etc. But gel coat and polyester resin won't stick to it all that well. If you plan on using gel coat to cover it, just use gel coat for the entire repair. If this is on the bottom, or in an area where a color match isn't important, or I if you don't care if it matches, then Marine tex will work great.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

I added a link to 2 pics of the damage. Thanks ondarvr.

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb104/rmfrazer/?action=view&current=7-8-07011b.jpg

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb104/rmfrazer/?action=view&current=7-8-07010b.jpg

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Buy the correct color patch kit from Spectrum. Feather the repair area lightly with 180 and then 400 at the edges both for adhesion and for a clean edge after you finish the repair. The first repair will be much more difficult, but basically you just need to fill the area to be very slightly higher than the adjacent gelcoat so that it can faired smooth and polished. Clear packaging tape can work well over the top of the repair as it cures to help you establish that ideal level. Finish with progressively finer grits avoiding scratching the undamaged adjacent gelcoat as possible. Leave the repair a little "high" at every step so that you reach level with the finest grits. I would go 180-400-800-1500. 1500 should be able to be polished out by hand, but the key is to completely remove the scratches from the previous grit at every step. A fine black powder made from crushed charcoal can be used to fill the scratches and provide a visual aid to insure that you are accomplishing this after each grit.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Thanks for the tips. I am going with gel coat. One more thing any idea how large of an area will a 2 ounce kit cover.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

That should be enough for these scratches.

Re: Gelcoat repair.

Thanks I'll post results later.