Fixing mismatched gelcoat

[mattsmall1972]

I have been playing around with the idea of painting my boat, but I've realized that it's actually in good condition but needs oxidation repair. To that end, I wet sanded with 600 and 1000 grit today, and I am halfway done with the 3m compound. It seems to be getting much shinier at this point.

One issue I am facing is previous gelcoat repairs seem to have been done using a gray repair, whereas the boat is white with a hint of gray. There is at least one spot that was fixed using pure white. I am wondering how to fix these color issues. I am wondering if I should either go over the gelcoat with another, matching gelcoat, or if I should gouge out the repair using a dremel and then replace it. Got any hints?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[ondarvr]

First see if you can match the original color.

 

[mattsmall1972]

Well, that's not a very informative answer.

 

[Woodonglass]

Matching gelcoat colors is one of the most difficult things there is. It takes PROS years to get it down pat!!!! The best thing you can do is get one of these...

and try your hand at matching the color. But... here's the deal...you should get the gelcoat sanded and polished before you attempt the match cuz it's gunna change color and even then once you get it matched when it dries and the sun hits it for a few days, weeks, months, it'll change again. Matchin gelcoat is an ART, and there are very few people that can do it well. ondarvr is one of the best gelcoat experts on this forum and that's why he answered the way he did. He's occupied at a Boating exhibition at the moment and doesn't have a lot of time to go into detail. He's forgot more about gelcoat repair than I will EVER know and what I'm telling you is mostly what I've gleaned from him and others here on the forum. Get a kit and try your best to Match the color after you've cleaned and polished. Keep close records of what you used and how much of each. A little bit goes a LOOOONG ways when changing tints. Toothpick tip bits at a time is what I've heard. Start small until you get a close match and do it in good sunlight.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I believe what Ondarvr was trying to say is that it is important to match your gel color first before you start removing the mismatched color gel used for the repair or you would have accomplished nothing at the end.


If you can't match the color yourself, there are companies out there who do this for living. We have one here in Seattle (Gel-there Products) and they ship all over the country. Unless they matched your specific boat/color before, the will need a sample of your color to match it. Anything has the gel on it would do, a cut out for a through hull fitting or a hatch door, etc. Spectrum sells already matched gel coat but the quart is over $100

 

[zool]

If I recall correctly, friscoboater did a decent job of matching his gel, he has a video of it on here somewhere, I believe he used a kit similar to what woody posted.

 

[mattsmall1972]

Thank you all. Yes, I am aware of the color matching issues, and I agree with him that I should get gelcoat spot-on before I dig anything out. That said, I still need to understand if I go over existing repairs or dig them out so that the gelcoat sits within the surrounding matching gelcoat.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

It depends. If the previous repair was done right, color mismatch aside, the gel would be flush with the surrounding surface. In this case, you need to remove it. Do you feel any difference between the repair and the rest of the hull?

 

[ondarvr]

Like others have said, the reason I my answered with match the color first is because some are difficult, so before starting make sure you can improve on what's there now. We can't see it, so theres no way for us to know the degree of the current mismatch.

If you use 80 grit and sand it down slightly you can spray over whatever is there and blend it in to the surrounding area.

 

[mattsmall1972]

No Title

That's the answer I was looking for. Sand and re-gelcoat. Got it.

Since you guys love it so much, pictures of the boat and the areas I am talking about:

 

[Woodonglass]

If you're not familiar with the PRE-VAL paint system you should check it out. Works great for small patch jobs like this. Sanding with 80 grit and then shooting multiple coats of gel over the area will allow you to blend and build thickness at the same time

 

[mattsmall1972]

That's awesome, but I just purchased gel-paste, which I don't think will spray out that way. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

 

[Woodonglass]

GelPaste??? For What??

 

[mattsmall1972]

Gelcoat repair. I'm guessing it's not for this specific case? I have chips on the topside I can use this for I guess.
Maybe I will paint after all.

 

[Woodonglass]

Well, if you're gunna try to match the old gelcoat and you want to blend and make the repair "Disappear" then Paste is not gunna be the way to go.3-4 oz of gelcoat and a tint kit and that Pre-Val Sprayer with some sanding will get you a lot closer. Of course that's just an Old Dumb Okies Opinion!!!!

 

[mattsmall1972]

I've decided to wrap the top part of the side hull in gloss Orange vinyl wrap. that's where all of the repairs are anyway and it would hide that.
Matching gel coat and painting seems so stressful and my wife would say that I'm colorblind anyway (not really).
I've ordered it already and will show pictures of the process when I do it.