Gelcoat Repair

superdtf · June 12, 2012

Wicked awesome write up. Extremely helpful. This is my next project! now I have the confidence to tackle it!

You rock. Thanks.

I never imagined you lacking for confidence my friend.

Sporty · June 13, 2012

I am OK with tackling stuff as long as I have some direction. Your write up makes gelcoat work less of a mystery as I have never done any.

So seeing what is possible makes it sooo much easier to start. Once started I think it will go OK.

I have a nick under the waterline, so I will tackle that first, working my way up to the places you can see.

I have gelcoat and supplies coming from Spectrum and should be on my doorstep this week.

Thanks a ton.

Troy · June 27, 2012

WOW great write-up!

superdtf · June 28, 2012

Ooh, glad for the bump, it reminds me to purge some remaining thoughts:

Update: The repairs have nearly 15 hours on them, all good.

Patch Aid: Apparently gelcoat is engineered to cure without air against the boat mold while the boat is being built from the outside in. So when you spray it on the outside of your boat, the air will cause it to not fully cure. It will harden as it's catalyzed, but it won't "fully cure" is the story I've been told. So patch aid is a waxy component that emulsifies and "rises" to the surface, blocking the air, and allowing the gelcoat to cure. And that's why it always has an orange peel sprayed gelcoat, and why you should not sand it for at least 24 hours. I indicated before that it was recommended to wait 24 hours before sanding, but didn't explain why. When I ordered the gelcoat from iBoats, it showed up with an appropriate amount of Patch Aid.