Hello, I have an O'Day 302 with some minor surface scrapes I want to touch up with Gel kote. My concern is color matching the gel to my grey hull. I found a place that sells kits that are color matched. The problem is they only match current production boats - O'Day went out of business in ~ 1988. My boat yard will do the repair at $79.00 per hour plus materials. I'm reasonably handy and think I can do it myself. Again, my only concern is color matching. Has anyone done this before and can you offer some tips?
Gel Kote
- Thread starter Joe Walworth
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Gelcoat repairs
Joe - There was a company in Mass. that sold gelcoat & claimed to be able to match almost anything. Unfortunately they've moved or gone out of business, but they did produce a couple of VHS tapes on gelcoat repairs that you may be able to rent or borrow. The videos took much of the mystery out of gelcoat repair for me : the old saw that a picture is worth 1000 words etc etc. Also, try Googling 'Gelcoat' or 'Matching gelcoat' : seems to me that there's an outfit somewhere on the East coast that offers matching gelcoats.
Joe - There was a company in Mass. that sold gelcoat & claimed to be able to match almost anything. Unfortunately they've moved or gone out of business, but they did produce a couple of VHS tapes on gelcoat repairs that you may be able to rent or borrow. The videos took much of the mystery out of gelcoat repair for me : the old saw that a picture is worth 1000 words etc etc. Also, try Googling 'Gelcoat' or 'Matching gelcoat' : seems to me that there's an outfit somewhere on the East coast that offers matching gelcoats.
Gel coat
Joe, I've been trying to apply Gel to my O'Day for years and even with the right color mixture, it still never comes out looking good. The biggest problem with Gel coat is; that it has to cure from the inside out. This means that you need to apply either a wax base mold release liquid with a spray gun, or seal the Gel coat with wax paper or cellophane and tape the edges with tape. Then it has to be smoothed out with a putty knife. When it's dry, I would hit it with a super fine wet or dry 600 or 800 grit sandpaper to make it blend in with the existing color. I've tried those Pre-Val spray cans for the Gel coat and the Mold release wax, and it still doesn't come out good. So, I've come to the conclusion that if there's a guy out there that has the equipment and does great work, it's far better to have him do it and spare myself the headache of trying in myself. One of my friends had this guy at a local boatyard do a repair plus Gel coat, and it came out so good, that you couldn't tell where the repair was made. By the same token; another one of my friends had this guy come down and do a repair, and it came out looking terrible, like a neophyte like me had done the work. So, if you want to give it try, go ahead, but I've been trying for years and never got good results. In fact, I've even thought about doing my boat over with Awl Grip. It would probably come out better. Check around, and find out who does the best work in your area. Ask to see his work before you use him. As for me though,-- the old saying is; "Been there, done that."
Joe, I've been trying to apply Gel to my O'Day for years and even with the right color mixture, it still never comes out looking good. The biggest problem with Gel coat is; that it has to cure from the inside out. This means that you need to apply either a wax base mold release liquid with a spray gun, or seal the Gel coat with wax paper or cellophane and tape the edges with tape. Then it has to be smoothed out with a putty knife. When it's dry, I would hit it with a super fine wet or dry 600 or 800 grit sandpaper to make it blend in with the existing color. I've tried those Pre-Val spray cans for the Gel coat and the Mold release wax, and it still doesn't come out good. So, I've come to the conclusion that if there's a guy out there that has the equipment and does great work, it's far better to have him do it and spare myself the headache of trying in myself. One of my friends had this guy at a local boatyard do a repair plus Gel coat, and it came out so good, that you couldn't tell where the repair was made. By the same token; another one of my friends had this guy come down and do a repair, and it came out looking terrible, like a neophyte like me had done the work. So, if you want to give it try, go ahead, but I've been trying for years and never got good results. In fact, I've even thought about doing my boat over with Awl Grip. It would probably come out better. Check around, and find out who does the best work in your area. Ask to see his work before you use him. As for me though,-- the old saying is; "Been there, done that."
Heres is a link to Gelcoat Repair
Joe, there are a number of places to look for guidance on this ... I agree with II that a picture is worth a thousand words. A great resource today is You Tube. A number of companies put their video's there and ... Voila instant lerning. So here is a link which will show you a number of Gelcoat repair videos. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gelcoat&search=Search Check out the different videos the one by TAP is very informative. Jamestown also makes a good video which is posted on the serach results. Below is a URL to Webshots which has a a series of pictures which walk you through of the repair of a kayak. http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1107841929044194919bcAwco Enjoy - I accept no responsibility if you become addicted to You Tube - there are some great videos - Do a search on sailing and ..... tell the family to call you in the morning. James.
Joe, there are a number of places to look for guidance on this ... I agree with II that a picture is worth a thousand words. A great resource today is You Tube. A number of companies put their video's there and ... Voila instant lerning. So here is a link which will show you a number of Gelcoat repair videos. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=gelcoat&search=Search Check out the different videos the one by TAP is very informative. Jamestown also makes a good video which is posted on the serach results. Below is a URL to Webshots which has a a series of pictures which walk you through of the repair of a kayak. http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1107841929044194919bcAwco Enjoy - I accept no responsibility if you become addicted to You Tube - there are some great videos - Do a search on sailing and ..... tell the family to call you in the morning. James.
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