Gelcoat Rock Chips/Nicks

[Tanner03]

I brought this up awhile ago on the SRO site but I cant remember what the outcome was.

Would you try to sand, buff and poilish or Fill in with new material and then sand, buff and polish?

They are more of an eye sore since the hull is black and are not deep by any means just chips from trailering the boat.

Is this something a newbie could do or does it need to be taken in to the shop.

Thanks!

 

[Tanner03]

I just noticed i put this in the wrong section...

 

[PMvdb395DA]

Hello Tanner,

The mods will move your post...

I found a do it yourself document from spectrum.

For white gel coat:

http://www.spectrumcolor.com/workingdocs/doityourself.doc

For colored gel coat:

http://www.spectrumcolor.com/workingdocs/repair.doc

Hope this helps you!

Peter

 

[sbw1]

You just need to build up the gel coat over the chips like doing touch up on a car. Once it is well built up, wet sand it with very fine paper and a block. Follow up with fine rubbing compound wheeled on over an area well beyond the the repair. Then wax. White is very easy to do. Blue, red and yellow are much tougher depending on the fad factor.

 

[Tanner03]

Thanks for the replys!

sbw1

Would you say sanding is not an option without first filling in. But it makes sense just afraid the black may not match up.

I like to try and do as much as i can myself but this little problem could get worse if I screw it up. Just trying to learn all I can before getting into it. Heck I have 4 Months to get it figured out!

 

[sbw1]

If you sand without filling you end up with dimples that reflect light differently. You run the risk of making it worse than it was. Look at it this way. If you are unhappy with your result, a pro can make it go away. Make sure you overfill the hole without going overboard and go slow on the sanding. Use a good light so you can see when the sanding has you where you need to be. The fine rubbing compound makes the patch go away. Again, don't overdo that and finish with a good wax.