Will gelcoat stick to epoxy resin? Marine tex?

[tmh]

Hi. I banged up the front/keel area about 6 inches long by 2 inches wide a while ago. The damage went into the fiberglass but not completely through. When I was using epoxy resin for something else, I used a paint brush to slap some on the damaged area to seal it up until winter when I could fix it better. I THINK the epoxy at least sealed it from weather.

Now, I want to fix it and re-gelcoat. I need to build up maybe 1/8 to 1/4 and shape to match the hull so I was thinking either thickened resin or marinetex. Which would you recommend? Will a gelcoat patch kit work over either one?

Any ideas are appreciated. I can't get a photo now because the boat is in a slip.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Will gelcoat stick to epoxy resin? Marine tex?

You should use some glass in a repair that thick, at 1/4" even epoxy will crack fairly easily in an area that will get the kind of abuse the foward area of the keel can get. Now that you've started with epoxy you'll need to do the rest with it , or sand off everything you put on before, as polyester won't bond all that well to the epoxy. Gel coat will sort of stick to epoxy, but not well, so if you use it there is a very good chance it will chip off soon. If you want it to look good and match the rest of the hull, then do the whole repair with polyester resin and gel coat, if matching isn't as important, then continue with epoxy and paint the surface.