Calling for fiberglass help

[TitanTn]

I'm needing to fix a keel repair by the previous owner. There was apparently some scraping/gouging from beaching the boat and he filled it in with some kind of gray epoxy. The repair is very functional but very ugly. What are some suggestions for how to make this look good?

http://unumemarketing.com/boat/keel.jpg

[Ptownkid]

Just go over it with some white gelcoat.

[TitanTn]

But there's no where for the gelcoat to sit. It would be sitting on top of the repair unless I ground out the original repair. I'm hoping there's an option where I don't have to do that.

[beast 496]

proceedure to repair. sand effective area with 150 grit abrasive witha DA sander. feather out you sanding with 220 grit. Spray appropriate gelcoat, properly mixed and catylized of coarse. Once gel is set up, wipe with acetone, sand with 400, smooth out repair, if you and through respray 2nd coat, rough up with 220, prep area, respray, wipe down once set up. sand with 600 and then 800, buff to shine. Proper gell thickness should be .030 thick Good luck Al

[duckseatfree]

Very thorough beast! I'm going to try to do this over the next week also

[TitanTn]

Ok. That makes sense and sounds do-able, but "spraying" gelcoat? The only gelcoat repairs I've done are with paste. Where do I find liquid gelcoat and do I need a special gun?

[beast 496]

Patch paste gel coat is really a joke. DON'T waste your money. Go to Spectrom Gel and they can sell you a pt of gel and thinner along with catylist. For the boat owner a basic touch up gravity feed gun will work fine. Try to buy one with a minimum needle size of .017 a .024 works better I have three different guns. Needls sizes range from .017 to .030. Since this is on the bottom it is a great location to learn. Gel coat is basically a liquid, and fillers are added to make patch paste. The problem with patch paste is it shrinks and is extreamly porus. Good luck Al

[beast 496]

http://www.spectrumcolor.com/

[TitanTn]

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Thanks for the advice. This sounds perfect. I'm going to look into it.

[sybrmike]

Also, since you're a novice like me - get lots of sandpaper. Shooting gel can be tricky - it doesn't flow like paint. Hopefully you'll do better than me with the "orange peel" and sputters. If it happens, don't worry - let it cure, sand smooth, reshoot, & repeat a few layers. Once it's built up you can work on making that last coat look pretty (sand/compound/polish).

[beast 496]

The viscosity of gel coat varies from one supplier to another. Also temp. can change viscosity. I like the gel to be 80* and I thin 15% usually. For a pt of gel in winter shop temp 60* catylize 10cc This will give you a spray time of about 10 to 15 min. More than enough time to cover properly. If you want to cover more, clean gun after initial shoot and mix another pot. Al

[TitanTn]

Thanks NGAVDBA. I might consider that. I called today about the gelcoat and if I could get a pint it's just over a $100. But reality is that my white gelcoat, code 11000 from Spectrum, is not really white anymore and to get the color to match I'll have to have them mix something and then I have to buy a gallon for $290. That's a lot to just cover the small area I need. I'm going to need to see if they can darken a pint of white to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, I might need to take it somewhere (assuming it's less than $300 to fix it).

Spectrum didn't know how to tell me what white I have because their records only go back to 1988. Supra made three whites, Egg Shell, Bone, and White. I called Skier's Choice and as you already know, their records are gone also. Based on some extended conversations and on my descriptions, they're pretty sure I have just the white which is 11000.

p.s. I'd like to come down sometime to Allatoona and meet you on the water. Maybe we can get a little North GA Supra meet of the Supra Forums members.

[rludtke]

Gelcoats, in my experience, will not cure if exposed to air. The solution is to have a piece of plastic ready to squeegy over the area filled with the gelcoat. This seals out the air, and allows the resin to cure. Once fully cured, the plastic can be pealed off, the gelcoat will have a hard, smooth, and faired surface, with little sanding and polishing required.

I have seen some U tube videos in the past that shows this method, try searching gelcoat repair.

[beast 496]

Using the proper thinners, for spray application, has a waxing agent mixed in. Thus once sprayed and the heat from curing, leaves a slight skin of wax and then the gel can be fully cured. If you want an extra amount of skin, once gel is sprayed, a light coat of PVA, poly vinyl alchohol, can be sprayed on. This a a green film and once gel is cured it can be removed with hot water. I seldom use the PVA unless temps are below 50*. Good Luck Al

[TitanTn]

I was just thinking, I've always wanted to bring mine up and ride down the Tennessee river. I've crossed the dam up there hundreds of times and keep thinking one day I'll put in on either side.
But, if you ever make it this way south, just PM me and most definitely we can make it a forum thing. We were at Allatoona every weekend except two last summer from June to August. Good luck with the repair.

Well, the same back to you. If you ever have time to come up here, let me know and I'll join you. Lot's of room up here (especially north of the dam).

[sybrmike]

It was relatively cool when I laid down the gel on my floor and bilge (plus didn't want to screw things up with my limited gel experience), so I sprayed a coat of PVA like Beast mentioned & left it in the sun a few days to make sure the gel would cure. Seemed to work fine.