patch awl grip?

[Terrulle]

Is it possible to patch a 2'x2' area of awl grip and blend the color in with the rest of the boat? It's a 42' Hatteras and this is the only spot that is damaged. I understand that this paint is very thin and would be difficult to blend. but... is it possible. I'm very good with gel-coat patches (can't tell they are there once completed). Thank you for any help that you can offer. T.

 

[flashback]

Re: patch awl grip?

sure you can, is it only the paint that is damaged or is the glass damaged? in any case, just get the surface fair, and spray with a good paint gun.. color may be off some tho, thats always the hard part for me...my wife says Im color blind so that probably doesn't help much. be sure to wear a good respirator and cover your body as much as possible. that stuff is not good for living things. if you were doing much more than just a patch, I wouldn't advise it without a positive pressure suit..

 

[Terrulle]

Re: patch awl grip?

Thanks for the information. Yes, its just a patch. Another queation that I have is....To prep the spray patch do you still sand the surrounding area?, and after the paint hardens, does the patch need to be sanded to blend? By the way, The damage is through the paint but just a little fiberglass damage. I usually rout out the damage, fill with resin putty(milled fibers)or akime polyester filler(a better bondo) depending on how deep the damage is. In this case, the filler.Sand down till smooth then prep with 220 gr around the area, wipe down,tape off,spray, then sand down with 400,then 600, then buff to a gloss(when using gelcoat).

 

[flashback]

Re: patch awl grip?

You seem to have a good idea of what you want to do. I would scuff up a little of the surrounding area with some 320 grit. I don't tape off the area but rather use the over spray to do most of the blending.. then depending on how good you are at spraying, you should not need to do too much sanding accept maybe a little around the edges to help it blend in.. just remember, the paint is not as thick gelcoat, so be careful sanding. then buff as needed... good luck .....

 

[Terrulle]

Re: patch awl grip?

flashback, Thanks again. People have told me that I can spray pretty well but I don't think they really have that much experience spraying. Ha!Ha! Anyway, the Hatteras isn't mine it's a friend of a friend's dad's boat.(make sense?) Whenever people find out that you can do fiberglass-gelcoat rework somehow you always aquire new "friends". Know what I mean? And I'm a pushover when it comes to helping somebody out. It will probably send me to the poor house. Thanks again.... T