Gelcoat Repair Advice
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=22000
Printed Date: November-19-2024 at 10:33pm
Topic: Gelcoat Repair Advice
Posted By: KRoundy
Subject: Gelcoat Repair Advice
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 3:53am
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Hey everybody, I would like some advice. Some of you might have seen my post about the 1993 SN that I just purchased (see in the General Discussion, "A Rough 1993"). I'm starting to work on things and figure the gelcoat is as good a place as any to start.
As I noted, it looks good from a distance, but up close there is a lot of work to do. I first would like to work on the gashes that you can see in the pictures: 
 ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
Replies:
Posted By: KRoundy
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 3:59am
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So, how do I attack this? Spectrum Color has a gel coat patch paste repair product. The product is color matched and apparently has the consistency of Vaseline. You spread it on, fill the holes and then sand and buff it down. Has anybody used this product before?
Or it is better to get some sort of filler and then spray gel coat? Any advice or opinions are appreciated. Kevin ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
Posted By: Keeganino
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 4:14am
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None of those are too bad. I have used the http://evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=105 - Evercoat products with good success. Gelcoat repair is time consuming but not difficult. Do the repairs and then wetsand and buff the whole thing and it will look great. You will have to point out the repairs for people to see them even if your color match is not perfect. There are some good videos on youtube by jamestown distributors that walk you through the basics of gelcoat reapair. ------------- "working on these old boats may not be cost effective but as it shows its what it brings into your life that matters" -Roger http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=4897" rel="nofollow - 1973 Skier |
Posted By: Keeganino
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 4:17am
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That is not a big enough job to warrant trying to spray it. Gelcoat is an easy to use workable medium. Build it up, sand it down. The hardest part is getting the bubbles out of it. Watch some vids and you will see. Its pretty easy stuff. ------------- "working on these old boats may not be cost effective but as it shows its what it brings into your life that matters" -Roger http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=4897" rel="nofollow - 1973 Skier |
Posted By: Keeganino
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 4:23am
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This is a really cheezy video but it tells you everything you need to know.
------------- "working on these old boats may not be cost effective but as it shows its what it brings into your life that matters" -Roger http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=4897" rel="nofollow - 1973 Skier |
Posted By: KRoundy
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 6:22pm
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Good link to cheezy video, but that definitely helped! The Tap Plastics web site had the second part of this video and had a nifty little short about fiberglass repair too. I might try some of the patch paste as well as some regular stuff and see which I like better. ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
Posted By: kapla
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 7:43pm
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Ha I have the same hit in the bow, ahead of the light!!! guess its normal hit while docking!!LOL
Will see how this turns out and might go ahead and fix all my similar nicks and scratches!!! ------------- <a href="">1992 ski nautique |
Posted By: Keeganino
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 9:40pm
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The evercoat paste was easy to use and you do not have to add the wax to the final coat to harden it. That is what I used on all of my topside dings before putting the rubrail back on. I cannot see using any filler with dings that small. You will be surprised how far a 4oz tube will go. I just color matched the entire tube and put it in a small tupperware. Then just add the hardener to small batches as you go. The stuff in the tupperware will last a long time if you store it properly.
Seb next time you get the feeling you want to buff the boat go ahead and repair all the dings. It is not too bad. I wetsanded and buffed the the entire topside while I was at it so the finish is even. Nobody can see the repairs till I point them out. ------------- "working on these old boats may not be cost effective but as it shows its what it brings into your life that matters" -Roger http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=4897" rel="nofollow - 1973 Skier |
Posted By: Gary S
Date Posted: June-07-2011 at 11:01pm
The hardest part,for me anyway is matching the color  ------------- http://www.correctcraftfan.com/diaries/details.asp?ID=1711&sort=&pagenum=1&yrstart=1966&yrend=1970" rel="nofollow - 69 Mustang HM SS 95 Nautique Super Sport |
Posted By: KRoundy
Date Posted: June-09-2011 at 2:18am
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I hear ya. We will see how the Spectrum Color stuff I get next week looks. I'll post some pictures. I was warned by the woman at Spectrum that 1993 boats had issues with "slight color shifting". Just my luck. :)
Anybody ever had Spectrum make a gallon of 1993 Electric Blue (2310) or Charcoal (2322)? I'd pay for a jar of the stuff from you. I won't need a gallon of each, and it will be a pretty penny to get two custom-made gallons. ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
Posted By: Ed
Date Posted: June-10-2011 at 4:48am
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Kevin,
How are the gray and blue area's? Do the have any damage like you have on the chine and bow? If so, you might be better off tearing the boat completely down, use filler, sand, prime and re-gel. I saw the other thread on your keel, you've got some work to do, but it's definitly possible! For about $500-$700(product, equipment, time and patients), you could have that thing looking like new!! Good luck, you've got a cool boat!!! |
Posted By: KRoundy
Date Posted: June-10-2011 at 3:43pm
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The blue and grey areas are, to be honest, just OK. There are a couple of spots with deeper gouges, but most of it looks like scratches. If I remove all the snaps I'll have holes to fill however. I'm going to see how good I can get it looking by repairing the white areas, removing all the decals and giving the entire thing a wet-sand, buff and was. I have everything I need to fix that fiberglass issue now. If the temperatures here EVER get above 70 degrees here I can finally dive into that issue.
What would I have to prime the boat with? I'd need to buy a compressor and airless equipment too... Oh the fun. ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
Posted By: Ed
Date Posted: June-10-2011 at 3:58pm
| I would suggest a compressor, and agravity feed or pressure pot system. Good luck, there are a lot of guys here with good advice, they'll help you get through it! |
Posted By: KRoundy
Date Posted: July-04-2011 at 2:34am
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Update:
I got the little jar of the Spectrum Color patch paste product. I like the stuff a lot, but that little 2 oz jar did about 1/50th of what I needed it to do. Ha! But I am very satisfied with the color match so I am going to order a quart of the regular gel coat from Spectrum. Hopefully that will repair all the dings to my satisfaction. I also have decided that I really like working with gel coat. It is almost a fool-proof product (which helps with me). I have decided to remove all my decals and sand/buff out the entire boat to a level where I am either pleased with how it looks, or decide to put out the dough and spray the entire thing. It is almost magical how a little water, sandpaper and elbow grease make the scratches disappear. I actually grin from ear to ear watching my boat slowly restored to a beautiful shine. I found a local auto parts store (Carquest) that carries almost everything I needed. They even had one of those magical eraser wheels that make the decals disappear. ------------- Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |