Arctic white looks yellow

[david cattaneo]

I thought I ordered the correct gel coat from spectrum. It says arctic white 94-03. My sea is a 2001 380. The repair looks much more yellow. Did I get the right stuff?

 

[Henry Boyd]

Unfortunately there are about six official shades of Arctic White. You need to contact Sea Ray with your HIN and get the SR part number/color code that spectrum can match.

 

[CaptRonn]

I thought I ordered the correct gel coat from spectrum. It says arctic white 94-03. My sea is a 2001 380. The repair looks much more yellow. Did I get the right stuff?

19 years will fade the gelcoat. What you are most likely seeing is the difference between the new and older faded gelcoat.

 

[Henry Boyd]

19 years will fade the gelcoat. What you are most likely seeing is the difference between the new and older faded gelcoat.

Unlikely. I had a quart of five year old Spectrum Arctic white that matched our 02 280 that went to the new owner last year. BTW, I used it just before the transfer to touch up the gelcoat. Still a perfect color match. So if he gets the right color from Spectrum based on the his color code, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Shop tip: gelcoat is temperature sensitive, i.e. won’t cure even with catalyst if very cold. So best way to store it for long periods is to keep it in the freezer. Same for 3M 5200.

 

[CaptRonn]

Unlikely. I had a quart of five year old Spectrum Arctic white that matched our 02 280 that went to the new owner last year. BTW, I used it just before the transfer to touch up the gelcoat. Still a perfect color match. So if he gets the right color from Spectrum based on the his color code, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Shop tip: gelcoat is temperature sensitive, i.e. won’t cure even with catalyst if very cold. So best way to store it for long periods is to keep it in the freezer. Same for 3M 5200.

I spent years matching touch up paints and colors on a variety of projects. Depending on the severity of how much sunlight the surface was exposed to will determine the amount of fade. Here in the south the sunlight is brutal and will do a lot more damage than a on a boat kept up north. Another factor is boats kept outside year round versus boats stored during the winter. Obviously a stored boat will have much less fade. An outside kept boat not kept clean and waxed often will result in fade more than an occasional use boat that spends most of it's life stored indoors.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I spent years matching touch up paints and colors on a variety of projects. Depending on the severity of how much sunlight the surface was exposed to will determine the amount of fade. Here in the south the sunlight is brutal and will do a lot more damage than a on a boat kept up north. Another factor is boats kept outside year round versus boats stored during the winter. Obviously a stored boat will have much less fade. An outside kept boat not kept clean and waxed often will result in fade more than an occasional use boat that spends most of it's life stored indoors.

All very true in general. But starting with the correct color will go a long way to mitigate that. As I said there are several shades of Arctic White, the only way other than chance, is to get a color match is to buy it based on the original color code from Sea Ray. This has been covered in detail in past posts on CSR. As an aside, our 280 has spent every day of its 18 year life outside. The gelcoat I mentioned was purchased 12 or so years into its life and at 17 years was still a perfect match.

 

[Carpediem44DB]

Shop tip: gelcoat is temperature sensitive, i.e. won’t cure even with catalyst if very cold. So best way to store it for long periods is to keep it in the freezer. Same for 3M 5200.[/QUOTE]
Good tip on keeping the gel coat in the freezer but also good tip: Double bag the can in zip lock bags if you are keeping it in your house hold freezer. Years ago I put some gel coat in the freezer shortly after I was married along side the top of our wedding cake that was to be enjoyed on our one year anniversary, Long story short, we did not enjoy our wedding cake and I'm pretty sure we did not recreate our wedding night either!
CD

 

[Henry Boyd]

Shop tip: gelcoat is temperature sensitive, i.e. won’t cure even with catalyst if very cold. So best way to store it for long periods is to keep it in the freezer. Same for 3M 5200.

Good tip on keeping the gel coat in the freezer but also good tip: Double bag the can in zip lock bags if you are keeping it in your house hold freezer. Years ago I put some gel coat in the freezer shortly after I was married along side the top of our wedding cake that was to be enjoyed on our one year anniversary, Long story short, we did not enjoy our wedding cake and I'm pretty sure we did not recreate our wedding night either!
CD[/QUOTE]

I probably should have mentioned the only way the gelcoat and 5200 gets into the freezer at my house is double ziplock bagged.

 

[david cattaneo]

Problem solved. My gel coat was purchased a year ago and I can’t remember the process I used in determining the correct color. I thought I went direct to spectrum. After conferring with sea ray who was amazingly prompt in getting back to me, the correct color is lily arctic white. The part number coincided with the part number in my parts manual. The repair should be easier the second time. Thanks for the help. Love clubsearay.com