How to Repair Gel Coat Video

Chad,
This is great educational DIY, thanks for posting it.

Alex.
 
Very educational videos. But how to perform if the surface has a structure?

Bobo in Sweden
 
Great video. I am getting ready to touch up some minor scratches as soon as it warms up. This is very helpful.:smt038
 
SR gel coats seem to be more off-white rather than pure white like other manufacturers, even when new. Any way to tint the gelcoat mix just right for the SR color?
 
Jack380AC said:
SR gel coats seem to be more off-white rather than pure white like other manufacturers, even when new. Any way to tint the gelcoat mix just right for the SR color?
Click to expand...


Especially if you have a blue hull. I guess though one can purchase tinted stuff from SR.
 
This company makes life really easy.

Factory matched gelcoat repair kits.

Email Sea Ray with you Hull number and they will tell you the "color" of it. then go to this website, enter in your boat, year, and then pick your "color". Mine was a perfect match.

http://www.spectrumcolor.com/
 
I got my gel coat from my sea ray dealer. Perfect match and super easy repair. Just watch the video.
 
Hi, I have a small scrape about 3/4 of an inch long, not very deep, on the keel below the water line, is the repair process different below the waterline, in regards to products used? Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
i have a 1988 sundancer340 its got some miner scrapes and bruises, im no fiberglass pro just want her looking good and want the job done right.
this would be my first glass repair, but the way i see things "its not rocket science".
 
I got a repair kit from my Searay dealer. The color is not even close....and it peeled right off. I followed the video and the instructions on the gel coat bottle. It was a bit cold that day (low 50's). Maybe it was too cold, but the color should have matched.

Is there any way to tint the gel coat?
 
Did you clean the gelcoat and sand it before applying? At 50 F you would have to add some heat to it or it can peel off if not fully cured.
 
Color matching sure is difficult. I have been doing gel coat repairs this week and that has been the most dissatisfying part. I have not done much above the waterline yet because I want to get good at it first. Also, it seems I can't really get anything perfectly flat, even with a sanding block. I can still feel the bump. Is it possible the new stuff is harder so it doesn't sand as easily as the surrounding gel coat? Maybe in all those videos online they are not showing the imperfections. Has anyone seen how-to videos on non-flat surfaces? A hull side is one thing, and about the only flat surface on a boat. But what about corners, curves, and the bow stem?

So glad I read this thread today for the tip about Spectrum. I'm going to call them with my HIN tomorrow. :)

Tritone
 
Brian 59 said:
Hi, I have a small scrape about 3/4 of an inch long, not very deep, on the keel below the water line, is the repair process different below the waterline, in regards to products used? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering about this myself. I bought my boat in the fall, and they had already put it in the water when I picked it up this spring. In the fall the hull was spotless. When I drove the boat home and got it on the hoist, I can see two spots where the fiberglass is exposed by gelcoat chips. I don't really care about how something below the waterline looks (it isn't like bottom paint is a pretty sight anyways), and most of the gelcoat repair videos make it look simple enough.

But they never specifically address whether the damage is below the water line and if that matters, nor do they address whether it is done the same way if the chipping has gone down to the fiberglass. I was going to start my own thread, but I think the answers to these questions ought to go into the sticky.
 
Smackledorf said:
I'm wondering about this myself. I bought my boat in the fall, and they had already put it in the water when I picked it up this spring. In the fall the hull was spotless. When I drove the boat home and got it on the hoist, I can see two spots where the fiberglass is exposed by gelcoat chips. I don't really care about how something below the waterline looks (it isn't like bottom paint is a pretty sight anyways), and most of the gelcoat repair videos make it look simple enough.

But they never specifically address whether the damage is below the water line and if that matters, nor do they address whether it is done the same way if the chipping has gone down to the fiberglass. I was going to start my own thread, but I think the answers to these questions ought to go into the sticky.
Click to expand...

To my knowledge the process is the same above and below the waterline...gelcoat is gelcoat. With that in mind, you can get two small spots fixed professionally for a couple hundred dollars.
 
When I bought my boat, there were 2-chips(1/2"x3/4") on the strakes revealing fiberglass. I had a shop make the repairs. Sometime late last year, the front end of one of the repairs chipped out again maybe from a rock while trailering. This time, I made the repair myself as I had made other small repairs and learned how to use the gelcoat paste. Sanded, buffed, waxed, and it is perfect.

Like Tonka says....gelcoat is gelcoat....

Bennett
 
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