Gel coat Question

You get what you pay for. Mixing gelcoat color is not for the faint of heart and will cost you more then that to get all of the pigment needed to get there.

If you don't want to use gelcoat, look at Awlgrip. Thats easy to match, but with all that is needed may end up costing more.

 

Spend the extra $200. It’s a boat.

 

+1 here…..You have some extra bucks for entertainment (boat love) or you wouldn’t be here.

Now, imagine the repair is done, you’ve sprayed the $40 junk….it looks awful, really awful ‘cause it doesn’t match. You see it every time you look around your baby, you see it in your dreams at night, you see it in your mind’s eye every spare moment of your day……..you’ll end up doing it right the second time anyway, so why not save yourself all that that other stress?!?

 

I guess I had different luck than others. I used the gelcoat kit on my Chaparral 2550 about 10 years ago on a big chip someone put in my boat when they backed into it while she was tied up.

I guess the secret is proper preparation / repair of ding and using very little tint at a time, until it is a match.

After patch was done (properly), it was only visible if you knew exactly where to look and only in the right light.

 

I suspect Marine Max is marking it up quite a bit. I would check directly with Spectrum, might get the same quart for less $$.
SPECTRUM COLOR | spectrumcolor.com

 

I bought a 2oz container of paste from spectrum that perfectly matched the gel coat on my sea Ray.

 

I have a 2006 with the blue hull, does spectrum have the repair paste for the color? If so does anyone know the pat number.

 

@Harmon

 

Spectrum used to have a local outlet 10 minutes from my house... The good old days

 

The products from Total Boat are some of the best. You would need to do a color match which is a bit of a talent in it's own right plus having to purchase all of the pigments. Gelcoat has a shelf life and the reason Spectrum costs so much due to the quantity of color selections. Spectrum pretty much corners the market on color match for many boats and many model years. The ladies that work on my boat have been doing gelcoat for a thousand years it seems - they color match perfectly all of the work I've had them do. For the things I've done it is Spectrum.... The good thing about gelcoat is is doesn't fade or change color so the match is usually spot on.

 

SeaRay arctic white is very similar to my Meridian arctic white I believe, if not the same thing. I learned from a long time SR fiberglass guy here in Merritt Island (actually goes around the world repairing L-class warranty’s) that yellow oxide is the only color needed to mix with white to achieve the desired match. I’ve done it multiple times now with good luck, and actually enjoy the process.

Our local fiberglass place, Fiberglass Florida, will color match gelcoat as well, and it’s much less $$ than spectrum. I’d be worried about the Spectrum color not matching an older boat.

 

Where are you located on Merritt Island? I slip a boat at Harbortown.

 

Down the way a little bit. South end of Sykes Creek. Hi!

 

mixing pigment not that bad very small amounts pea size is usually to much be very sparing with color added. then when right add hardener