Does gelcoat require pigment?

[eavega]

Hello all

I am fixing some dings in my old '76 tri-hull. I've filled the worst offenders with 3M Marine Filler putty, and was told that it still needed gelcoat over top of the filler for UV protection. There is no way I am going to be able to match the faded, yellow color of the boat, so I opted for a can of neutral gelcoat. Now, will it still have the UV protection qualities without any pigment?

Thanks

Eric

 

[SBTOM]

Re: Does gelcoat require pigment?

Its always going to get a little oxidized and yellow over time, but adding pigment won't necessarily make it more UV stable. If you wanted to get close to matching the old faded gel coat, you should think about adding a little yellow tint. You'd be surprised how easy it is to color match it is when you don't have to worry about the color changing as it dries.