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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Gelcoat matching

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Waterboy
Navigator

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USA
204 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/08/2006 : 20:00:20

I have some cosmetic sprucing up I'd like to do, including some gelcoat scrapes and gouges from wear-n-tear and skipper error. I've heard matching shades of white is quite difficult, and one scrape is a couple inches wide directly amidship halfway 'tween the rail and the waterline. IE, it couldn't be in a more visible location.

I'm adept enough with fiberglass repair as long as I get to sand the finished product down.

Should I attempt matching and repairing my own gelcoat? I certainly don't want to make things worse.

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2006 : 20:14:44

The hardest part is matching the color of gelcoat. You can send this guy a chip of the gelcoat and he will match it perfectly. The second hardest part is getting over the price! But he does an excellent job matching the color and you'll have a quart that will last forever. Fixing the scrapes and gouges is the easy part.
http://www.voyagercharters.com/gelcoat.html
There are others that match gelcoat also.
Dan

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Waterboy
Navigator

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USA
204 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2006 : 20:26:21

If I can get the right stuff the first time for $95 ... lessee compare that with about $30 for a kit and three tries to match it myself and sanding and cursing and ... done deal.

Could I expect the gelcoat to match all over the boat? <i>Sabrosa</i> is a '95 model from Arizona, much time in the sun, with nicks, scrapes, and a couple gouges at various places on the boat - from below waterline up to the mast step. If were paint on a car I'd say no, it won't match all over. But I don't know how gelcoat fades ... it looks the same all over, but I haven't compared chips from various places on the boat side by side.

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Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2006 : 20:56:46

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Could I expect the gelcoat to match all over the boat?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Don't know. Probably not. But I'm thinking, get the darkest shade you have matched, and then add a little white to lighten it as needed.
He matched the interior color sample for me perfectly.
I thought about getting the tint kit just for the little variations that may come up.

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StSimon
Captain

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USA
298 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2006 : 21:39:09

Why pay someone to do a minor gelcot repar when you can do it yourself? I realize it is intimidating at first but for what you will pay someone else you can do it over and over.

What you want to do is mix up your gelcoat pure white and then add color to make up for the yellowing and fading. Wipe on a sample ( a fingertip worth ) near the repair area and let it dry. Wet gelcoat will not reveal the final color. Use a heat gun or blow dryer to get it to cure quickly. You can sand the test areas off later. Once you have mathed the color put it on and let it cure. Sand it down then apply your choice of wax or Poli-Glo (my personal preference).

I realize gel coat repairs are intimidating but they shouldn't be.

Good luck !!!

Edited by - StSimon on 04/09/2006 16:16:57

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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1893 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2006 : 22:04:35

Waterboy,

I also encourage you to do your own gelcoat repairs. And it has also been my experience matching the original color is the hardest part. As for one tint matching large areas of your old gelcoat, I think you'll be much happier with the results if you first thoroughly buff out the areas to be repaired before you start to match colors. Otherwise, you will be matching to faded gelcoat. Then, when you go to sand, buff, and polish the completed repair, you will be removing the faded and oxidized surface of your old gelcoat. If the new gelcoat was color matched to the faded surface color, the more you try to buff out the repair, the worse the mysterious color mismatch will become.

-- Leon Sisson

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StSimon
Captain

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USA
298 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2006 : 16:19:35

Good point Leon.

That and all the missed letters last night got right by me.

I think I'll go and mix up some gelcoat right now. I'm hauled and ready for the bottom paint. The blisters are all sanded out, just needing some gel coat.

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