Gel Coat Repair Process

pdo

pdo

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Messages
82
Fluid Motion Model
C-288 C
Vessel Name
Selah
I have a few minor scratches on my R23 that I want to repair. I am wondering how simple or complicated the gel coat repair process is? If you have experience with this I would love to hear your perspective. Thanks!
 
Pick up my cell phone. Call gel coat repair guy. Like drywall mud its an art not a science.
 
I agree that a visible gelcoat repair is an art! The existing gel coat color, whether light or dark, changes over time due to the effects of UV and other environmental factors. Getting the colors of the repair to exactly match the current color of your gel coat is not a skill you pick up in an afternoon or even many months. And a mismatched color repair will be obvious to everyone seeing it.
Like restoring a Van Gogh, a visible gel coat repair color match is something best to a professional.
Our last boat had some gelcoat damage due to surviving Hurricane Claudette in Kemah, TX in 2003. The guy who did the gelcoat repair was truly a wizard. I knew from photos where the repairs were but in my 10 years of ownership, you could not ever see them.
 
pdo":3fmj0fgp said:
I have a few minor scratches on my R23 that I want to repair. I am wondering how simple or complicated the gel coat repair process is? If you have experience with this I would love to hear your perspective. Thanks!
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Scratches or dings? Scratches can usually be taken out with a very fine wet and dry around 2,000 grit and then compound and waxed. A deep scratch and ding that did not go through the color gel coat, I have found, was successfully hidden using a clear coat scratch kit for automotive. Anything larger is left to the pros.
 
If you have a dark blue hull, I would, do the minimal necessary to make you feel comfortable. Dark blue is extremely hard to patch, I know from experience. When I purchased my boat, it had a few dings that were really only noticeable by me, but I had to make it perfect. Wrong decision! After about a year or so I had a multicolored hull which looked terrible. After 5 years of ownership, I just had the hull painted with AWLGRIP, and it finally looks perfect. I can now see why most expensive boats are painted. I won't tell you what perfect cost.
 
pdo":3d8sh5d6 said:
I have a few minor scratches on my R23 that I want to repair. I am wondering how simple or complicated the gel coat repair process is? If you have experience with this I would love to hear your perspective. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I agree with the others that gelcoat repair is an art and can easily result in unsatisfactory results. I have been making minor scratch repairs each winter season with good results but only after a fair amount of frustration to get there. Perhaps my experiences may help.

As stated before a lot depends on the color of your boat. The lighter the color the easier to get better results. My boat is Hero Red which is on the more difficult end. I have heard the dark blue is the most difficult. I only use matching gel coat from the factory. As stated above even the original color will not match unless ALL oxidation is removed. Unless the boat is white or pristine condition a local repair will always show unless the whole boat is compounded or wet sanded after the repair.

I have found that even the lightest scratch is nearly impossible to buff out and even sanding them out is problematic. Here are the rules I follow:

- Light to medium oxidation can be removed by buffing with a wool pad on a rotary polisher and heavy grit compound. I then follow with a foam pad, fine grit polish, and a dual action polisher.
- Very light scratches, scuffs, and heavier oxidation need to be removed by wet sanding. Depending on the scratch or oxidation 1000 grit sandpaper may be sufficient. As stated previously, to get this area to match the boat boat will likely need to be compounded at a minimum or even wet sanded. Besides matching the color the problem with sanding out a scratch in a small area is it will leave a depression that will show once the boat is polished. To avoid this you will need to sand down a larger area.
- Any scratch that I can feel even slightly with a fingernail I fill with gelcoat first and leave it proud (you need to use a catalyst and wax sealer to get untreated gelcoat to cure). It is WAY easier to sand down a ridge of gelcoat to the surface than to sand out a scratch! I start with 600 grit paper and work my way up to 2000 grit. Care still must be taken to try to mostly sand the applied gel coat and minimize the mount removed locally so as not to create a divot. In any case, a fairly large area of several inches around the scratch will need to be sanded the avoid this. Again the whole boat will need to be compounded and/or sanded after to get it to match unless the gelcoat has no oxidation or is white.
- In any case I recommend doing a single repair in an inconspicuous location first to get comfortable with the process.

In summary, If your boat is very new with no oxidation, has only a few scratches, and you can get the matching gelcoat from the factory, it is very doable to make this repair. It actually isn’t that difficult and doesn’t take long. I agree using clear gelcoat is also great option. Beyond these conditions the job gets much more difficult quickly. Doable, but a ton of work, and you will quickly become an expert or be calling one on the phone!

I hope this helps.

Curt
 
I’m surprised to hear so many people think gel coat repair is so difficult. Trust me, it’s not that hard IF you take your time. Several months ago I hit the port side and left a two foot long DEEP gouge through the gel coat. After a lot of crying and cursing here’s what I did. I called Ranger Tug parts and ordered a quart of matching gel coat. After watching numerous hours of YouTube video on gel coat repair I sorted out a plan. I cleaned the area, taped it off and applied a generous amount of gel coat material into the damaged area. I then covered the area with wax paper and allowed it to dry. After the repair was dry I removed the wax paper, started wet sanding with coarse 150 grit sandpaper and SLOWLY increased ,in small increments, the grit of the sandpaper to 2500 grit. Wet sanding is tedious but with patience you will be rewarded with a great result. Anyone would have a hard time trying to see where the damage occurred. Once the repair was completed I sealed the area with a good waxing. It can be done by an amateur if you take your time.
Karl
 
Thanks for the input and advice everyone!
 
Capt’nKarl":1moutqsx said:
I’m surprised to hear so many people think gel coat repair is so difficult. Trust me, it’s not that hard IF you take your time. Several months ago I hit the port side and left a two foot long DEEP gouge through the gel coat. After a lot of crying and cursing here’s what I did. I called Ranger Tug parts and ordered a quart of matching gel coat. After watching numerous hours of YouTube video on gel coat repair I sorted out a plan. I cleaned the area, taped it off and applied a generous amount of gel coat material into the damaged area. I then covered the area with wax paper and allowed it to dry. After the repair was dry I removed the wax paper, started wet sanding with coarse 150 grit sandpaper and SLOWLY increased ,in small increments, the grit of the sandpaper to 2500 grit. Wet sanding is tedious but with patience you will be rewarded with a great result. Anyone would have a hard time trying to see where the damage occurred. Once the repair was completed I sealed the area with a good waxing. It can be done by an amateur if you take your time.
Karl
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Thanks for this. Our lift at the dock collapsed last week and, while our R23 (Hero Red) thankfully escaped any serious damage, we did get a pretty good 3" gouge in the port stern that I need to repair. It's not big enough that I want to pay what it would cost to have it hauled out and professionally repaired. I'm going to contact the dealer to get a quart of gel coat and follow your process.
 
As a follow up, I tackled the gelcoat repair process on some smaller scratches and dings in my R-23 with B+ results. I learned some things that will definitely help me in the future. I would say it is something definitely doable, if you educate yourself on the process. Having the right materials is key also. Two products that were essential are 3M Marine High Gloss Gelcoat Compound and 3M Marine Finesse-It. You will also definitely need a good buffer and pad. Thanks again for all the advice!
 
Good to hear you faced the challenge and persevered. I’d be willing to bet your B+ score on the repair would not likely be noticed by the casual observer. We’re always our harshest critic. I give you two thumbs up for facing the challenge, making a plan and completing your goal. Congratulations! Welcome to gel coat repair. It ain’t that hard.
Karl
 
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