Gel coat repair

[cliffpaul2]

I have no experience with this, but I'm going to try patching a few small holes and cracks in the gel coat. A friend will be helping and he knows the drill except for coloring the stuff to match the off white color of my boat. Any tips you could give me would be great. Thanks.

[fillet1]

I am going to be doing some gel repairs also when it warms up.

I picked up a can of gel paste, and the color/tint kit.

From what I read, gel coat cures into a different color then what it is when mixed. So if you mix a color that seems to match , and then apply it, it wont be a good match when cured.

I am compounding /waxing my boat first, so I can figure out what its true color is. Then, i am going to mix a few small batches of gel with diff amounts of tint and see which one best matches the boat when cured.

Now, I really have no Idea how to do this, only what I have read.

[cliffpaul2]

I found a company in Washington called Spectrum Colors that sells tinted gelcoat. No mixing required! The trick is getting the right shade to begin with. They have specs for a lot of boat models, but their V-20 book only goes back to 1985. Is it reasonable to assume that the color that works for the '85 would work for my 1980?

[fillet1]

I dont know.

Minicraft of florida also sells gel in manufacturers colors. If you call them and give them your hull id # they can match it. The problem is that you have 20 years of age on the original color.
If its white, then I think a season in the sun will blend it all together. Minicraft also sells color matched aerosol spray gel coat. Its a spray paint can that has the gel in it, and with a separate pump you pump the catalyst into the can.

[reelapeelin]

Fillet, can you post the contact info for Minicraft....THANX... :)

[fillet1]

www.minicraft.com

[reelapeelin]

well, duh... :P

[fillet1]

Cliffpaul

I mixed up a batch of gel paste and got close to the color of the hull on my 85. 1tsp of gel paste, two DROPS of white (Make sure that the gel is really white- too little white will make it yellowish when cured) Then add two DOTS of black. When I say dots, i mean the kind of mark that a ball point pen would make if pressed on paper. It is alot less then a drop. Use a toothpick.