Gelcoat Color Mixing

Curious to know if anyone has had success at creating color matching gelcoat for repair of a serious scratch or ding?

I have used a lot of the Spectrum Color gelcoat "patch paste" kits in fixing up the horrific gashes in my Silver Cloud colored hull and deck. That stuff is amazing and the repaired areas look as good as new. But now I am turning my attention to the Electric Blue and Charcoal Grey pieces of my hull. Some of the damaged areas are down to the glass (or deeper), so I can't just buff it out. The worst offenders are the screw-in snaps that someone installed for a boat cover. I want to get rid of those snaps, repair the other areas damaged and get the hull looking as good as new again.

I'm asking because a you cannot get a patch paste repair kit from Spectrum for 1993 Electric Blue or Charcoal Grey. A full gallon of gelcoat is well over $200, so I'd be spending quite a bit for 2 gallons a gelcoat, when I likely need maybe a cup or so of each color to do the repairs.

So, I'm wondering if I should buy some gelcoat with the pigments and try to match the colors myself? Or would that just be a waste of time and money and I should just buck up and pay Spectrum?

Gelcoat and tints are cheap, you have little to lose by attempting the repair yourself. If you’re unhappy with he color match, dremel and try again- or pay a pro.

Gary S wrote: It would get you close but the chances of Spectrum color match are slim to none anyway Kevin. I spent the bucks one year to match the Mustangs deck, cut out a piece out behind the back seat and sent it into Minicraft. Close but still needed tinting. Was not worth the expense.

    +1

I just posted on another thread how the available color match wasn't a color match for a 91 base color white. It needed tinting.

Also, you will be surprised how good it looks with the snaps removed and the hull sanded/buffed. I know an Orange Promo that most folks (even a few on this site) don't realize had snaps once removed. The holes are small and only annoying to the owner!

Super. I'm going to give it a go on my own and do my best. Thanks for the help. The idea of surrounding the area with tape is a great one, Pete. Thanks!

Another thought - the original gelcoat may have faded some. You might want to wetsand & buff around the repair before doing the color matching.

Otherwise, you might be in for a surprise when you do final buffing.