Gelcoat Repair

[hostage]

I have a Maxum 1900 SC (2000) boat and I am looking at repairing some gelcoat. I found out that I can get a batch of green gelcoat from Spectrum that matches my boat original gelcoat for $89 in a 1qrt size. I also found some kits on both Westmarine, which we have local and on iboats. The kids range from $30's-$50's. Anyone know how the kits are? I am just wanting to patch some nicks on my coat.

Seacare Gelcoat Repair Kit - Evercoat 108000 - iboats
WEST MARINE Gelcoat Repair Kit at West Marine

With these kits I could mix and match to my ivory or green of my boat.

-Hostage

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

I can't comment on those particular kits, but I tried to repair some chips on my boat and the repair looks worse than the chips did The problem is mixing the color to match the boats - the stuff dries so quickly ( I'm talking 2 minutes!) that there is no time to experiment with the color. And that gelcoat from Spectrum won't match the boat because it will have faded over the years.
If the nicks are just cosmetic, I'd leave them as is

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

Nonsense
Used Spectrum quite a few times (navy blue) and there isn't any problem with it. It all depends how much time you want to put into the repair to make it look good. (wet sanding/polishing).

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

Nonsense
.

?? I expressed my opinion based on personal experience. Your's may differ. It is not "nonsense".

 

[hostage]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

The color is Loden Green and I do see it is also for sale on iboats for $83/quart. Though that is a LOT more than what I need. One spot I want to repair cuts through the green and shows white.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

A man pulls his van into the marina at times. He will have 3 or 4 boats on maintenance racks in a row. Different builders and different colors. When he leaves you cannot find anything from chips to stress cracks to a major ding. Granted, he does it for a living but his repairs look just like the rest of the hull.

I can't comment on those particular kits, but I tried to repair some chips on my boat and the repair looks worse than the chips did The problem is mixing the color to match the boats - the stuff dries so quickly ( I'm talking 2 minutes!) that there is no time to experiment with the color. And that gelcoat from Spectrum won't match the boat because it will have faded over the years.
If the nicks are just cosmetic, I'd leave them as is

 

[hostage]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

Any idea how much to get this professionally done? It is a few small gouges. less than a inch tall by an 1/4-1/16 inch wide. I have a few of them

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

A man pulls his van into the marina at times. He will have 3 or 4 boats on maintenance racks in a row. Different builders and different colors. When he leaves you cannot find anything from chips to stress cracks to a major ding. Granted, he does it for a living but his repairs look just like the rest of the hull.

I agree with you 100%. A professional can make an invisible repair. The point I was trying to make is that the average guy making his first gelcoat repair, is probably going to make a mess of it - I know I did

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

The problem is mixing the color to match the boats - the stuff dries so quickly ( I'm talking 2 minutes!) that there is no time to experiment with the color. And that gelcoat from Spectrum won't match the boat because it will have faded over the years.

With my boat, the white had slightly browned over the years and you're right: the white couldn't be matched with more white. Awlgrip made an eggshell white with a slight brownish tint to it that ended up matching perfectly. My point being, look through their entire color pallet and go from there.

See the difference between stark white and egg shell white? It's the difference between a new white boat and a 25 year old white boat.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

I got a color matched kit with a few oz of gelcoat paste and hardener for around $30 and it worked fine for me. I think it was a spectrum kit.

 

[Rentaltux]

Re: Gelcoat Repair

I got a color matched kit with a few oz of gelcoat paste and hardener for around $30 and it worked fine for me. I think it was a spectrum kit.

I did the same thing. I had a red and a white kit matched to my 6 year old boat and the repairs are invisible now. It was actually quite easy. A little wet sanding and polish is all it took. There are youtube videos that show it step by step. Its not rocket science for smaller repairs. Large repairs might be a different story. I had a larger repair that I had professionally done. It was an area on my keel that was about a foot long. He repaired that along with a few other minor ones and polished the complete boat for $400. I felt that was a great price.

R