Paint matching

[Pat]

I have a very small area on the port side of our 272 that has a spot I repaired with epoxy
several years ago.....it's just a very small repair, but I've not tried to patch the gelcoat
to match the gray hull of the LE...I called a paint supplier in the Pacific NW who offered to sell me a quart of a perfect match to the original gray color but wanted $ 175.00 for it..
it is so small I decided not to worry about it...but while the boat is out right now I though maybe someone has access to the real actual color name or number that olday used and I can just paint it grey w/o doing an original match... even spray paint would cover this if I can come close to the original color.....it's like a Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray. Needs to be shiny......any thougths or shall I not worry about since only the fish jumping can see it. Thanks, Patrick

 

[Sunbird22358]

Well, yo udo need to coat that epoxy with something to protect it from UV damage (might be too late after several years, but...). For small paintjobs, you might try the little jars of enamel paint sold fro use on plastic models (Testors is one brand) avialable at hobby shops or some craft stores (Michaels, AC Moore), they are about 1/4 oz. which is more than it sounds like. At around $1.29 ea. you could buy a bottle of gray and one of white and try blending to match (there are a large assortment of colors, so mixing other colors in could get closer?). Be sure to throughly clean and dewax the repair area and lightly sand before applying paint. The model enamels may not be as tough-wearing as a true "marine" paint, but you don't need to buy an quart just to paint a square inch. They also have spray paint, but then mixing for color would not really be possible. Several boat owners (one guy painted his entire 24' Bristol!) have had success using KRYLON spray paints (acrylic), but again, unless you found a close color match, there is no way to mix colors.

 

[jibes138]

Go to Jamestown Distributors. They sell pre colored gel coat that is an exact match for your boat. I used some last year (eggshell, not grey) and it matched perfectly to my off white topsides. I checked and gray is one of the colors they sell.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...?pid=1522&familyName=Colored+Air+Dry+Gelcoats

 

[Capt jgw]

I tried the Testors model paint on the logos on my boat. Only lasted about half a season, then bleached out, then peeled off. Apparently they don't have any UV resistance.

 

[RichBone]

Check auto touch up spray paint. Sometimes you can find a match.

 

[Pat]

thanks to all.....gave me a good idea(s)...I had not thought of model paint...is so low that
I can't imagine the sun messing it up....but for now (boat out of water), anything will be better than the current color....thanks1

 

[Technodad]

Another try for small touch ups would be to use nail polish, I repainted some Mustang badges red white and blue on my classic restoration and they came out beautiful, just go along to Walmart and pick out the color you want from the multitudes of colors available, cheap too.