First Gelcoat Experiment

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
joemahoney79
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 1:53 pm

First Gelcoat Experiment

Postby joemahoney79 » Tue May 18, 2021 7:52 am

Replacing the motor on my 88 13' Whaler. The older Honda had a non-standard bolt pattern so I have to fill and re-drill for the 40 HP Yamaha 2 stroke replacement. I followed user recommendations for filling the existing holes. First I over drilled them then filled with mahogany plugs using gorilla glue. Followed by epoxy filler and finally fairing compound.

Now time to paint....I do not need a perfect result but it would be nice to try and get it close. My choices are:

1. Purchase the small Spectrum gelcoat paste repair kit which is color matched to Whaler Desert Tan. Relatively small investment of $40 but I am worried about the coverage and how decent the results will be because I would need to squeegee the product on.

2. Purchase a quart of Spectrum color matched gelcoat and brush or spray it on. I am comfortable with spraying but the quart is $150. I wouldn't hesitate with this approach however the shelf life is only 6 months so its not like I will be able to keep the quart for future repairs.

3. Buy standard white gelcoat and color matching kit. Much less expensive than the Spectrum color matched products but I am not sure in my abilities to match the color. The tinting kits have charts and some guidance but it seems like a daunting task.

Boat 1.jpg
Boat 1.jpg (48.46 KiB) Viewed 2973 times

Boat 1.jpg
Boat 1.jpg (48.46 KiB) Viewed 2973 times


Any advice/experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks
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Boat 2.jpg
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User avatar
Phil T
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Was Maine. Temporarily Kentucky

Re: First Gelcoat Experiment

Postby Phil T » Tue May 18, 2021 11:15 am

I would not buy Spectrum tinted. It will not match due to the variance of the production gelcoat.

Tint it yourself.
1992 Outrage 17
2019 E-TEC 90
2018 LoadRite 18280096VT
Member since 2003

coachf
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:13 am

Re: First Gelcoat Experiment

Postby coachf » Wed May 19, 2021 1:59 am

I have a 1974 11' and a 1977 17'. I've used this "offwhite" color to do what you are doing on the 11 and I did the entire outside of the bigger one as well.
I'd slap gel on the entire stern, then start wet sanding. If the color is different, it won't show much due to the corner transitions.
Call them to see if the people they get it from have a dealer nearby. Or have them ship from Canada.
https://fibertek.ca/shop/products/fiber ... d-gelcoat/

joemahoney79
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 1:53 pm

Re: First Gelcoat Experiment

Postby joemahoney79 » Wed May 19, 2021 8:12 am

@coachf...that looks like a pretty good out of the box match. Much better price point than the Spectrum stuff. I have reached out to them to see if they have anyone in US and/or what shipping looks like.

I am not a color match expert but I have more faith in my ability to slightly tint something that is already very close than to start with white and try to get there.

Thanks