Any advice on this gel coat repair

[streetglider]

I have been working on repairing some gel coat issues on an older Sea Ray. I purchased the Spectrum paste kit (Artic Whiet) and I am happy with the color match. I researched how to make the repairs ( for hours) and think I may have misunderstood part of it. So, I am left with this. (See Pic) It appears I sanded through the gel coat on this edge. I am hoping I don't have to grind on the area to add gel coat as I have already made a 1/2 hole in the gel coat into a larger repair. Can I just add a thin layer of the paste and sand very lightly this time? I hate when I try to do something new and end up making more work but I want to learn how to do this so I am going to try again. Thanks.

 

[lawndoctor]

I would get liquid gel coat from Spectrum and spray it on with a Preval. That will take more time and expense, but I think the result will be better than trying to do a thin layer of patch paste. I had the same issue on my dash and the sprayed-on liquid turned out perfectly.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Outside edges require finesse as they are easy to sand through. If you want to apply the gelcoat directly over top of that, you'll need to feather it into the surrounding (good) gelcoat to obtain a smooth/level finish. You'll need to sand the surrounding gelcoat, first. However, it really is not much work to sand away a little bit of that fiberglass so you don't have to feather as far. You'll still need to feather some, though.

 

[streetglider]

Thanks for the replies. Finesse is something I need more of. I thought I might need to give the new gel coat something to adhere to.

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

I would get liquid gel coat from Spectrum and spray it on with a Preval. That will take more time and expense, but I think the result will be better than trying to do a thin layer of patch paste. I had the same issue on my dash and the sprayed-on liquid turned out perfectly.

What is liquid gel coat from spectrum. I’ve scoured their website and google and only see paste. I have a small repair I’d like to try to spray versus patch kit.

 

[KevinC]

What is liquid gel coat from spectrum./QUOTE]

It is their regular stock/nonstock color matched gelcoat. Pick it up in from them in quarts. It comes with the catalyst and wax if needed. If you are spraying then spray several thin coats to build up. On the final build up over spray with a PVA mold release. Gelcoat will not fully cure in air - it needs to be sealed.

-Kevin

 

[streetglider]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their help with this. Captain Rusty Higgins even called me to offer some really good advice. I used the Preval and sprayed the gel coat on. It actually looks really good when compared to what I started with.