Recently purchased a 1981 23'Oday. One winter project is to repair several nicks and gouges to the white hull, etc. Any suggestions? I love this forum - many great suggestions. Bill Mac
- Status
- Jan 22, 2008
- 519
generally
There can be a lot more detail added to this answer, but generally, you want to clean with acetone, then cover with gelcoat for minor scratches, and putty then gelcoat for the deeper ones. Then sand the repair with increasing fineness of grit starting at 180 and ending at 400 to 600 depending on the finish around it. With deep wide gouges, you may want to fill with some fg cloth/mat/or fibre to give it a bit more resiliency to cracking. For cracks that go into the cloth make sure you don't have any delamination, and ensure the substrate it absolutely dry (use a blow dryer) to evaporate any moisture or migrate it through the crack to the atmosphere. If there is delamination, peel it back and treat it as a larger repair, including replacing patches of cloth to built it up. Read up on this detail, if it pertains, as the patches must be increasing in size and the repair 'feathered' for a final finish. For hairline cracks and crazing, gouge out and V the cracks for better adhesion.
There can be a lot more detail added to this answer, but generally, you want to clean with acetone, then cover with gelcoat for minor scratches, and putty then gelcoat for the deeper ones. Then sand the repair with increasing fineness of grit starting at 180 and ending at 400 to 600 depending on the finish around it. With deep wide gouges, you may want to fill with some fg cloth/mat/or fibre to give it a bit more resiliency to cracking. For cracks that go into the cloth make sure you don't have any delamination, and ensure the substrate it absolutely dry (use a blow dryer) to evaporate any moisture or migrate it through the crack to the atmosphere. If there is delamination, peel it back and treat it as a larger repair, including replacing patches of cloth to built it up. Read up on this detail, if it pertains, as the patches must be increasing in size and the repair 'feathered' for a final finish. For hairline cracks and crazing, gouge out and V the cracks for better adhesion.
Nicks and Scratches
There's a pretty good article on this subject in a magazine, this month's "Boat Works". Good Luck, Chuck
There's a pretty good article on this subject in a magazine, this month's "Boat Works". Good Luck, Chuck
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