Gel Coat ?

[Rich (P303)]

I have a self-inflicted chip (down to the glass) on my non-skid. (size a little larger than an eraser head).What is the best way to repair?How do I get that non-skid pattern back on the top surface... so it doesn't look like a patch job?Thanks for your replies in advance.

 

[Maine Sail]

Rich...

The best method I know of is this:#1 Find gelcoat that matches. If you can't send a core or chip to Mini-Craft in Florida and they will color match it for you.#2 Using a Dremel feather the edges of the hole back like a counter sink would do.#3 Mix up epoxy and Cabosil and fill the hole flush. Cabosil won't bleed through the new gel coat as it's white/off white).#4 Using the Dremel grind the Cabosil about 1/32 of an inch below the surface.#5 Tape off the area around the hole.#6 Over fill with waxed gel coat and let it kick.#7 Using a razor blade take the high spots off the new dab of gelcoat. Do not sand as the old gel and new gel will be different hardnesses and will sand at different rates usually the old will give way easier than the new.#8 Using a jewlers file set and a pick set begin filing and carving the non skid back into the new gelcoat dab by lining the files up with the diamond pattern. #9 Once the pattern is back use Commet, Bon Ami or Scotch Brite to dull the new area to match the old gel..It's time consuming but it works very, very well and if you have an exact match on your gel from Mini-Craft you will not even be able to tell..

 

[Arabella]

There's got to be a better way

Seems to me you could make some kind of a mold, either by using another area of non-skid, spraying pam on it, then laying down some fiberglass, and carefully pulling it up when dry, or anything that would hold the pattern, even silly putty or car filler (bondo). Then patch the repair like normal, but instead of laying down wax paper, just use your covering with the pattern instead. Again, if it was fiberglass, just spray it with pam or something.Might take a couple trys to get the height exactly right, but at least the pattern would match.

 

[Rich (P303)]

Arabella...

I was actually thinking along your lines... then tinting some marine-tex... let it set up some... and stamp it.I was hoping for someone to tell me that... (that actually did it). I am sure MaineSail is right on the button.

 

[Tim R.]

There is a mold you can create

nm

 

[Chris Burti]

Maine Sail's procedure is faster and easier than

messing around with a mold on a small ding. It just sound like it is more involved because of the precision in his instructions. You will likely take more time trying to get a mold aligned than his simple fix and end up having to file the edges anyway. Worse, you have a 50/50 shot at catching an air bubble and having to repair that. Molds are fine and commonly used for large repairs, but even then the pros will usually create a clear band border ring to eliminate the alignment issues.

 

[Maine Sail]

Rich..

Rich,Colored Marine Tex will not hold up well to UV... I've tried the patch method and it's very difficult to get the patch to line up with the rest of the grid. When it does line up you still need to file the edges to blend it... If you have one of those minute patterns a mold might make sense but if you have a decent grid pattern the files, or even a Dremel in careful hands, work very well..

 

[Rich (P303)]

Chris/MaineSail...

You are right. It reminds me of the commercial with the patient making his own incision for his own operation over the phone with his doctor!I have gel-coat... I have a dremmel... I'll get to work!

 

[Rich (P303)]

Reporting in general sir...

Patch was a success in the painted non-skid area.The hardest part was coloring the gel-coat. I mixed a batch... put it in... it hardened... the color was off.Dremeled it out (I'll assume that is a word)... mixed up another bath (Picked a cloudy day to match color)... used a putty knife for a straight edge, small file and an sharp awl (actually I found a metal pen with a carbide tip) to etch pattern... scotch bright to dull. A lessoned learned... match your color on a cloudy day. Lesson 2... make sure pressure washed head is screwed on tight. Thanks for the advice!On to another project.

 

[Tim R.]

I think the bath made the difference Rich

I always try to be well groomed when working on gelcoat ;-)

 

[Rich (P303)]

Tim...I have no idea

what you are talking about Tim! Actually I changed bath to batch will you were probably typing.I take a bath every Saturday... needed or not.Glad you had a good weekend on the water.

 

[Tim R.]

Don't mind me

Varnish fumes!