Small Gelcoat gouges

[jhortonvt]

Well we had a very frustrating 1st day out this year. Wind changed, and our raft of boats started banging against each other-and mine bore the brunt of it.

So I have about 6 small 1" x 1/8" gouges in my gelcoat. Only one is down to the black, the rest aren't as deep but beyond wetsanding.

My brother happened to have a Evercoat Match & Patch Gelcoat repair kit. According to the Spec sheet my gelcoat is "Pearl". I'm wondering which of the following color mixes would be the closest:

Cream: White mixed w/ Yellow
Almond: White mixed with Yellow and Red, then shaded with Blue
Off White: White with Black or Brown

Does anyone have experience with this product?

 

[Larry&Leisa]

Spectrum has a nice kit and you can get an exact match. I contacted Sea Ray with my HIN# and they gave me the spectrum stock number to get the correct 'white'. There is a very good thread by Turtle Tone on using this product too.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Unless you've had experience mixing gel color (like paint, it changes a shade when dry), I'd suggest the Spectrum stuff as mentioned above. Even with the Spectrum, there may be the slightest difference when you're done - depending on how much your gel has faded, or not.

 

[RT 240SD]

Spectrum. I had a similar issue my first year (guy's boat came back and his folded exposed swim platform tube acted like an icecream scoop on my gel). Repaired myself and I have to really look to find the repair... there was a tiny air pocket that left a small pinhole indention about the size of a grain of sand.

 

[Gettin' There II]

Launched Monday from Navarre Beach Boat Ramp, was on Santa Rosa Sound just north of Navarre on plane when a sickening thud was heard on the starboard side and my wife spotted a 10-12 foot piece of lumber behind our boat.
We stopped and checked things out, no water in bilge, mechanicals seemed okay, so we kept on to our destination to enjoy our day.
When we pulled out of the water neither of us wanted to look at the bottom of the boat, but it isn't as bad as could be.
I am thinking some epoxy followed by Spectrum gel coat and a lot of detail work and I should be good top go.

 

[jhortonvt]

Ok, I'm sold on the Spectrum. I got my color from Sea Ray (MAXGUARD LE PEARL), which is not listed on Spectrum's Sea Ray color page. I emailed Spectrum today, we'll see what they come back with.

I also overestimated the damage, looked again today and none are down to the black, they're all pretty shallow. I shouldn't need to deepen then to give the patch more surface area, should I?

 

[crewdog]

Use a dremmel to clean the gouge out don't wipe the dust out just blow it out so you don't grind any dirt into the gouge the spectrum paste is good in it's place. sounds like your on the right track. Mike

 

[wish2fish]

Getting There II,
I would look into insurance claim on your gelcoat repair.