Fiberglass or Gel Coat Repair?

[Mauler34Rod]

I have a repair needed. Looking for proper way to repair. It is just a nick in the gel coat although you can see the fiberglass layer. My proposed method would be to delicately grind out the remaining chips of gel coat, sand even and then use a gel coat repair kit from Spectrum. Am I on the right track?

 

[Skybolt]

In that area I would say you are. That looks like a dry void from when they made the boat. Also it looks to be bigger then it looks.

 

[Mauler34Rod]

Something from the ”dock or lock” tagged it because it is new damage. It is not more than 1-1/2”-2” long, so was thinking gel coat repair would do the trick.

 

[ZZ13]

Something from the ”dock or lock” tagged it because it is new damage. It is not more than 1-1/2”-2” long, so was thinking gel coat repair would do the trick.

I repaired this myself. I chipped and sanded the rough edges and cracks away. Then filled with JB Weld Water Weld epoxy putty. Then skim coated with Spectrum patch paste. After sanding looks factory (lost my after picture).

 

[Yendor]

Agree with Skybolt.

Just to clarify your meaning of "grind out the remaining chips of gel coat and sand even" . . . You want to take a Dremel or something similar to route out those cracks to the right of the void. After you do that, the remaining gel coat between that routing and the void should be removed or ground down in the unlikely event that any of it remains.
You will also want to chamfer the edges all around the perimeter of the patch.
Lastly, shoot for overfilling the area a little bit if you can. Better to sand it down flush by design than to end up needing to play the whole game a second time.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'm on a different page here than the others... but then I may be reading the wrong book

It appears that what you're looking at is an air void. It also looks like the area to repair is going to be at least twice as big as what you see. It's also deeper than a superficial scratch - too deep for just gel. You'll need to grind away the loose fiberglass, too.

It will need to be filled, first. Then you can gelcoat it. Or, given it's location (and your preference) you could just fill it with something like PC-11 or Marine Tex (in white). The final color won't be too far off from the surrounding area - but it's in an area that won't be too visible.

 

[Skybolt]

I'm on a different page here than the others... but then I may be reading the wrong book

...

Not at all. To your point - to repair this right, it should be ground out and made twice it's size. Possibly a layer of matting put in and/or filled partly with formula 27 or resin thickened with micro-balloon. At that point sanded and prepped for gel to be sprayed on.

But why bother in this area that can't really be seen? Gel coat paste will hold as long as it's not close to a 1/4 inch thick, 3/16ths is fine. Clean up with a dremel and wipe with acetone, smear in gel coat paste, sand and your done.

The paste is thickened with micro-balloon which is what fiber glass paste is made with. It's pretty touch for what it is and will hold the gel coat together better so you can go a little thicker then if sprayed.

 

[Mauler34Rod]

Thanks everyone, I will report back with pictures and procedure when finished.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Piggybacking on to what you said, Orlando... if I'm reading correctly what you said about "smear"... Good point - the damage doesn't really NEED to be brought back up to level with the surrounding area. That's strictly an aesthetic thing.

The important thing is getting it ground back to a solid surface, chamfering the edges, and making sure it's clean.

Heck, once the grinding is done, a couple coats of plain resin, whether poly or epoxy (or mix some white paint into it), is really all that would be functionally needed.

Also, yes, I agree - it's possible that the hole may be deep enough to warrant some mat (or kitty hair, instead... which is essentially the same thing) if the end result is to bring the repair back to level.

 

[Blueone]

Im not sure why we arent supporting color matching gel coat as the final layer...its the same amount of effort and wont look like shit