One of many boat projects this winter is to improve the appearance of the paint. 1969. The nearest match I could find is Blue Water two part med green gold but that is taking on a huge job. Has any one had success with gelcoat repair kits ,if so, tips on color matching? what is the best way to bring the finish back?
Old Paint
- Thread starter Donald Parker
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color
to match color you have to clean/polish/rub out the hull to its best color, then match color by mixing color into gelcoat to match. dark colors are easier to match with clear gel, lighter with white gel. do not add hardner to gell till color is matched, dab some on the hull to check match etc. when happy add hardner and apply. many recomend taking a can opener to spider cracks to give gelcoat better grip. use lots of lights to better see your color matching.
to match color you have to clean/polish/rub out the hull to its best color, then match color by mixing color into gelcoat to match. dark colors are easier to match with clear gel, lighter with white gel. do not add hardner to gell till color is matched, dab some on the hull to check match etc. when happy add hardner and apply. many recomend taking a can opener to spider cracks to give gelcoat better grip. use lots of lights to better see your color matching.
I've never had any luck with mix and match gel coat kits, and I've even bought O'Day gel coats and tried that with no luck at all. I've tried using these Pre-Val sprayers with the compressed air along with a mold release liquid wax, and wound up installing the Gel coat with a brush. Then, later I had to sand it with a super fine 600 wet or dry sand paper to get it to blend in with the surrounding gel coat finish. They give you a piece of cellophane to seal the gel coat with the kits. I've gotten to the point that I hate working with gel coat. It never comes out the way you want it to. There's a couple of boat yards in my area that do great gel coat work. One of my friends had some repair work done on his boat, and you'd never know by looking at it where the repair work was done. Unless you take it to someone who has the right equipment for applying it, which consists of spray tools and the wax barrier coat that is needed to get the gel coat to cure from the Inside out, it's pretty hard to do it yourself and get a nice looking finish. I'd go for a two part epoxy paint like Aul Grip, because so it's easy to put on with a brush and roller, and it comes out super.
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