Repair Minor Nicks in Gel Coat
Repair Minor Nicks in Gel Coat
My 2003 150 Sport has a couple dozen minor nicks--some above waterline, some below. I am more concerned about protection than I am about appearance. The nicks and gouges are all small. I want to repair them as simply as possible. I'd rather not have to mix resins and epoxy. What is the most popular solution?
-
quickenberger
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:48 pm
Re: quickest way to repair minor nicks.
You will have to do a little bit of mixing of epoxy or something. There is rapid set marine tex that you can google to find, or local hardware stores may have some marine epoxy made by loctite. It sets in 1-2 hours and is white-ish in color.
A little trick I found for small nicks and dings that you don't want to fair afterward is find some mylar plastic sheeting at a hobby store. If you can't find mylar then 4 mil ziploc plastic bags work and you cut a small patch piece out of the plastic (mylar or polyethylene plastic). You want the small plastic pieces to only extend about half an inch beyond the ding on all sides. Then you can fill the ding, overlay with the plastic and also smooth it out with a plastic scraper afterward. Clean up excess that is squeezed out and wipe with acetone. Once cured the plastic can be peeled away and it leaves a pretty good finish and usually doesn't need fairing.
That's about the quickest way I can think of to get dings and nicks cleaned up.
A little trick I found for small nicks and dings that you don't want to fair afterward is find some mylar plastic sheeting at a hobby store. If you can't find mylar then 4 mil ziploc plastic bags work and you cut a small patch piece out of the plastic (mylar or polyethylene plastic). You want the small plastic pieces to only extend about half an inch beyond the ding on all sides. Then you can fill the ding, overlay with the plastic and also smooth it out with a plastic scraper afterward. Clean up excess that is squeezed out and wipe with acetone. Once cured the plastic can be peeled away and it leaves a pretty good finish and usually doesn't need fairing.
That's about the quickest way I can think of to get dings and nicks cleaned up.
Re: quickest way to repair minor nicks.
Hello, I found a source of a simple yet professional looking repair kits for my 2003 160 Dauntless, it's: http://www.iboats.com/Boston-Whaler-199 ... _id.830142
I tried an off the shelf solution from West Marine but the color was several shades off and where my (self inflicted) chips were it was too noticeable for my tastes. Hope this helps. Todd
I tried an off the shelf solution from West Marine but the color was several shades off and where my (self inflicted) chips were it was too noticeable for my tastes. Hope this helps. Todd
Re: Repair Minor Nicks in Gel Coat
To use any sort of polyester resin you will have to mix the resin with a catalyst to speed up the curing. To use epoxy you also must mix resin and hardener in careful ratios.
The Spectrum Color gel coat paste is often cited as being useful. Exactly which vendor you buy from is your preference.
Epoxy resin is not a good choice for repairs to gel coat--unless you are not overly concerned with color match and color durability. Epoxy resins will tend to yellow with age and exposure to ultraviolet rays from sunlight. On my boat I use epoxy resin to make repairs to gel coat in many areas, but usually they are below the water line and not visible, or, if above the water line, they repairs are in areas that are somewhat obscure and not highly visible.
The Spectrum Color gel coat paste is often cited as being useful. Exactly which vendor you buy from is your preference.
Epoxy resin is not a good choice for repairs to gel coat--unless you are not overly concerned with color match and color durability. Epoxy resins will tend to yellow with age and exposure to ultraviolet rays from sunlight. On my boat I use epoxy resin to make repairs to gel coat in many areas, but usually they are below the water line and not visible, or, if above the water line, they repairs are in areas that are somewhat obscure and not highly visible.