Lazeratte repair

[Kgatesma]

Someone dropped or stomped on the lazarette. The rubber bumper had worn away, and the offending screw made a radial crack a bit bigger than a quarter on the seat (see the picture).

My plan is to remove the broken pieces with a dremel, fiberglass the hole from the underside. Fill the void with Marine Tek and gelcoat.

Any better ideas or wisdom before I hack at my crack?

 

[JRacer]

If it were me, I would use fiberglass resin mixed with chopped fibers to fill the void rather than Marinetex. Or, use West Systems Epoxy with one of their sandable fillers.

 

[JRacer]

Here is something you might want to look at: http://boatworkstoday.com/archives/1889

And West Systems has videos on their site as well.

 

[dlochner]

MarineTex is probably not what you want to use. Thickened West System epoxy is the way to go. Check the West System site for good info on all kinds of repairs. Andy Miller of Boatworks is top notch, always something to learn from his videos.

 

[jssailem]

For Andy and Boatworks. Very down to earth knowledge shared.
West Systems Epoxy also gets a I have used their products for the type of repair you are considering. Easy to work with and plenty of online directions are available from their site.

Let us know how it goes KG. Send us pictures from before and after.

 

[Gunni]

The trick will be getting the gelcoat right. None of those epoxy products (MarineTex or West) are UV protected.

 

[agprice22]

That looks like a lamination repair rather than just a crack repair. I would use some chopped fibers mixed with thickened epoxy. Cut some mat fiberglass or CSM with scissors. Mix it into thickened epoxy. Thicken the epoxy with West filler. Grind the area with a dremel and cutting bit. The rounded triangular bit works well.
Tape and mask the area carefully. Back the repair with tape. Over fill the area with your mixture. Let it dry. Sand it smooth.
The epoxy is not UV protected, so you will need to gel coat or paint it. Use the dremel to carefully remove a layer off the surface, and fill it with the gel coat. If you decide to paint it, you can just lightly sand the epoxy and paint it. Gel coat is more durable, cracks easier, and is harder to fix. Paint is less durable, more resistant to cracks, and repairs easily... whichever works for you. You can get pigments in white and brown to match your gelcoat, and you can get paints in many colors.

 

[carol palmer]

Best fix might be to squirt some epoxy into the space where the ply (or whatever) has gotten unstuck (delaminated) from the top, clamp it together and maybe 'glass over the crack at the same time. Perhaps have some filler handy to smooth over any gaps or holes. It will end up stronger than new, and since the repair is to the underside, won't be visible. You could paint it afterwards if you wanted.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

You are correct to remove the cover and also whatever ccaused that. Any broken fiberglass shards or damage, best to use a dremel. Do not use marine tex. You need to put glass back in; so what ever you do as this in a sense is a minor structural job which probably underneath a wood screw was used which of course is threaded, not a machine screw.

As for gel coat, it will be difficult to match back to the original; however you should be able to find out the mfg. from the forum site store. They probably sell it. Make sure you have the correct hardner as the standard hardner added to resins purchased in a hardware store will not work. You need the higher temp hardner for gel coat.

There are several ways to paint. One would be of course using a plastic spray paint say from Krylon that is nearest to the color of the boat but painting the entire top would be suggested to mask the contrast from the rest of the boat if applicable vs. a small spot which would be. If you do get the gel coat, suggest spraying the entire top. A lot of cost and remember you have to allow 24 hour drying for gel coats.
However you can buy a white gel kit but you would need to color match which you can buy the pigments for oil base paints from West Marine. Do not let anyone tell you that you need to know the specific brand of paint as only their pigments work. Bunk! Gel coats are basically an oil based paint and any pigments (oil based pigments) purchased will work but the key to spraying is making sure the paint is stirred at the very last or shaken up before spraying. Hope this helps. .

 

[Gunni]

Dave; You can pigment gel coat with standard paint shop coloring?

 

[shemandr]

I'm repairing some holes where instruments were mounted. I've filled with West epoxy and used a countersink bit to clean up and make room for Gel-coat. I purchased some West Marine white gelcoat repair material which air drys (One part). Is this product any good?
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/evercoat--gel-coat-scratch-patch--P004_120_006_503?recordNum=3
I planned to use a syringe to apply it and cover with Glad wrap to make it even with the surrounding taped surface. Will the one part dry while covered?

 

[JRacer]

I'm repairing some holes where instruments were mounted. I've filled with West epoxy and used a countersink bit to clean up and make room for Gel-coat. I purchased some West Marine white gelcoat repair material which air drys (One part). Is this product any good?
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/evercoat--gel-coat-scratch-patch--P004_120_006_503?recordNum=3
I planned to use a syringe to apply it and cover with Glad wrap to make it even with the surrounding taped surface. Will the one part dry while covered?

Cover it with Waxed paper - releases easier. Once the repair kicks and gets relatively hard you can peel back the waxed paper. It comes off relatively easier if you don't leave it on forever. So, I usually will remove it as soon as the repair has gotten stable. Purpose of the waxed paper is to get a smooth surface but, more importantly, it holds in the heat when the chemical reaction starts to "kick off" the gel coat (or glass) repair.

 

[dlochner]

Purpose of the waxed paper is to get a smooth surface but, more importantly, it holds in the heat when the chemical reaction starts to "kick off" the gel coat (or glass) repair.

Gelcoat will not cure if it is exposed to air. There are a few ways of dealing with this. Some gelcoat comes mixed with wax, the wax floats to the surface and forms a barrier so air can not reach the gelcoat. Another approach is to use wax paper, Saran Wrap or something similar. Finally, if all else fails and the gelcoat remains tacky, spray it with some spray automotive wax, like Turtle wax.

The reason straight gelcoat will not cure when exposed to air, is to aid in forming a chemical bond with the resins when building a boat. The mold seals one side of the gelcoat, the subsequent layers of resins and glass seal the other side. This gives the boat builder a longer time to work on the layup.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Gunni, most pigments are either water or oil based. You cannot use the oil in water and vice versa.

 

[RobertLangdirect]

You need to FIX WHAT CAUSED the damage FIRST. Was the screw too long? Was to top NOT properly supported. Does the screw need a washer (of the same metal) to spread the load. Fixing the cosmetics will only invite another failure.