Keel chip/scrape repairs

[Thornton69]

Hope this doesn't come across as a stupid question. I have an older Sea Ray ('81) which has several chips and scrapes on the keel from loading onto an improperly set up trailer from the previous owner. I have a new trailer coming but am looking to clean up the damage done. In a few spots you can see the glass strands starting to show but for the most part it is just the outer resin material (gel coat?). There is no paint or additional coatings on the hull, just not familiar with correct terminology. Will be blocking the boat up in a couple weeks to do the repairs and fit the new trailer. Would like to have the correct materials on hand before starting. Any recommendations, suggestions or even good links to similar repairs would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Lazy Daze]

There's a couple quick and dirty (but permanent) ways to do it, as long as you're not too concerned with the patches matching the color. Generally speaking, the first thing to do is to clean up the edges - which is going to mean sand paper or, even better, a small grinder/sanding wheel (like a Dremel). Sand the edges until they look "clean" (you'll know) and then also feather the edges of the hole to a very shallow angle. This, of course, means making the hole bigger than what it is, but given the shallow depth of the existing hoe, it won't be that much bigger. Wipe it down with acetone and then fill with an epoxy-based putty.

There are three products that I would consider... since I have actual epoxy on hand (from various projects... in fact, I have a gallon or two leftover), you could mix up a thickened (peanut butter) epoxy mixture. It can be thickened with commercially-available products such as Cabosil, or you can even use something like talc (baby powder) or other products from around the house. Two other products that are readily available and are already thick enough are MarineTex and PC-11. Both of these are available in small quantities. Slightly overfill the hole, then sand smooth when dry. If you're not too concerned about how smooth it is, you can use a flexible putty knife (or credit card) and probably get it smooth enough with the initial filling. Come back when dry and lightly sand the edges so there are no actual edges.

 

[Thornton69]

Thanks Dennis. That's what I was after.