Gelcoat repair....in process

[firecadet613]

I received my patch paste repair kit from spectrum color today so I figured I'd give it a go tonite. I masked off the chips/scratches in my gelcoat with masking tap, cleaned it up with acetone, and applied the gel coat mixed with the hardener. Here's a few pictures to show how it looks. I've yet to do this to my boat before, does this look right? Tomorrow I plan on wet sanding, removing the tape, and then using my scratch remover/rubbing and polishing compound and then waxing.

 

[Asureyez]

Perhaps a little more ...

Wet sanding by hand will take a life time to get that build up off and faired.

You first pass might should be with a small rotory sander with a small disk ... 2 inch if you got it. but dropping several grits of sanding in multiple passes will make short work of these dings. You may need a second fill on some spots.

Did you get a kit from Sea Ray?

 

[firecadet613]

Purchased it from Spectrum Color, and am almost done completely with a few of the spots. I'm starting out wetsanding w/ 600, then 800, 1000, 1500, and then a polishing compound/wax with my orbital buffer and then finally the 3m scotchguard wax I normally use on the boat. So far it looks amazing..I'll post pics when its all done.

 

[boatmailster]

I received my patch paste repair kit from spectrum color today so I figured I'd give it a go tonite. I masked off the chips/scratches in my gelcoat with masking tap, cleaned it up with acetone, and applied the gel coat mixed with the hardener. Here's a few pictures to show how it looks. I've yet to do this to my boat before, does this look right? Tomorrow I plan on wet sanding, removing the tape, and then using my scratch remover/rubbing and polishing compound and then waxing.

use some 220 grit sand paper wrapped around wooden block to sand it faster
next time you may try to put lighter coat of paste and finish it smoother.
using razor blade to smooth fresh gel helps a lot
another trick is to heat freshly mixed paste (it is going to be almost a liquid) before applying - that gives nice flatness and files all pin holes

 

[firecadet613]

Great idea with the razor blade to finish it nice and smooth to limit the amount sanding you have to do after it cures. I have one problem though, and this is the same thing I experienced with the gel coat repairs I did on my jetski a few years back, you can see a small line between the patch paste and the factory gel, almost an outline of the repaired area. You have to look extremely close and be looking for it to see it, but I can tell its there. What is the cause of this?

 

[boatmailster]

Great idea with the razor blade to finish it nice and smooth to limit the amount sanding you have to do after it cures. I have one problem though, and this is the same thing I experienced with the gel coat repairs I did on my jetski a few years back, you can see a small line between the patch paste and the factory gel, almost an outline of the repaired area. You have to look extremely close and be looking for it to see it, but I can tell its there. What is the cause of this?

that is why you have sand area before you apply patch - it will blend better
because you are using patch not a custom made color - there are a big chance that color will not be perfect match- boat change color due sun exposure, salt or fresh water, how often you wax boat, etc

 

[firecadet613]

Well that sucks.....what do I do now? I don't think the color is a different shade, but you can see where the repair is, almost a line around it. Would sanding before hand have prevented that?

 

[dc380]

Let the repair sit for 24 hours.

Then with only your hand use 600 or 800 grit sandpaper and sand a slightly bigger area then was repaired. Use your other hand to feel for any imperfections.
When it's perfectly smooth to the touch, buff out the area with a polishing compound. I like 3M Finessit II.

When your done, you will have blended in the repair. :thumbsup:

 

[cr0ck1]

Let the repair sit for 24 hours.

Then with only your hand use 600 or 800 grit sandpaper and sand a slightly bigger area then was repaired. Use your other hand to feel for any imperfections.
When it's perfectly smooth to the touch, buff out the area with a polishing compound. I like 3M Finessit II.

When your done, you will have blended in the repair. :thumbsup:

Yea allways a compount buff will blend the repair and the high edge between the repain and the old stuff.. Good Advice!

 

[firecadet613]

DC I did just that, except the finesse it II

 

[boatmailster]

Well that sucks.....what do I do now? I don't think the color is a different shade, but you can see where the repair is, almost a line around it. Would sanding before hand have prevented that?

sanding before applying patch remove old oxidized layer of older gel coat and blending old, original color to "new"weathered one, plus helps new patch to adhere to original gel coat.
you do not have sand to much, just sand out all "shiny" surface about one inch around area of repair, and that help to remove all dirt "sitting" inside rough edges of gel coat damage.
on color hull s you may not want to sand to much, but color patches never match color anyway.

 

[firecadet613]

How do I fix it? Chip out my repair, sand the area around it and then repair again?

 

[dc380]

Before you re-repair it, is the line you see, the masking tape line?
Can an you feel it?

Is the line you see the scratch line?

Did you use a polishing compound, with a buffer?

Re-doing it is just a matter of dremeling or routing out the new gel-coat, and re-appling.

Route out
Sand
mask
apply gel-coat
wait to dry
unmask
sand
wet sand
polish (buffer)
wax

 

[boatmailster]

How do I fix it? Chip out my repair, sand the area around it and then repair again?

yes
dry sand with 220 area a little more than your visible lines are, wipe of clean, mask area and put extra coat of new patch
if you fill comfortable you may not use masking tape, just try razor blade trick

PS: use alcohol to clean not acetone!
acetone will melt fresh gel coat

 

[boatmailster]

Before you re-repair it, is the line you see, the masking tape line?
Can an you feel it?

Is the line you see the scratch line?

Did you use a polishing compound, with a buffer?

Re-doing it is just a matter of dremeling or routing out the new gel-coat, and re-appling.

Route out
Sand
mask
apply gel-coat
wait to dry
unmask
sand
wet sand
polish (buffer)
wax

I prefer
Sand
Clean
mask
apply gel-coat
wait to cure
rough sanding till you start sanding tape
unmask
sand
wet sand
polish (buffer)
wax

 

[firecadet613]

Can't feel it...the line I see is the scratch/repair chip area line. I haven't used my polish with my buffer, I'll do that first.

 

[RobF300]

when you fill in chips and voids with the paste repair you have a tendency to get that line where you can see where the repair meets the boat, almost like there is no gelcoat in that spot.

The cure for this is to grind the repair out before filling it, or to spray it. Thats why most pros dont repairs those things with the little patch kits, they are good for limited repairs.

 

[dc380]

If it's smooth to the touch, and glossy, (same shine as the rest of the area) and you can still see a line then the shade of the Gelcoat is off.

I've done a dozen Sea Ray's including my own boat with the paste kits, and a scratch will disappear if the Gelcoat is a match.

Are you in the Northeast by chance?

 

[boatmailster]

If it's smooth to the touch, and glossy, (same shine as the rest of the area) and you can still see a line then the shade of the Gelcoat is off.

I've done a dozen Sea Ray's including my own boat with the paste kits, and a scratch will disappear if the Gelcoat is a match.

Are you in the Northeast by chance?

or there were some dirt left in damaged area and now shows darker hairline outline around fill.
if you want to fix that: use razor blade and scrape some gel-coat inside "hairline" (deep enough for new paste to be tick and not transparent after sanding), prep surface as recommended and "re-repair"

 

[gyrospiro]

When I used the spectrum patch kit, the patch was darker I called spectrum they said I put to hardener which heated up the spot. I ground out the patch reapplied with less hardener it matched perfectly.