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#1
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Gelcoat repairs ?????
Something I've never done is repair the gelcoat on a sailboat. But then
repairs may look like just that. I have a few chips and cracks in the gelcoat of my boat and I'm looking for advice, product and methods of repair. Anyone willing to venture into that realm ? Many Thanks in advance. |
#2
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"High Seas" wrote in message .. . Something I've never done is repair the gelcoat on a sailboat. But then repairs may look like just that. I have a few chips and cracks in the gelcoat of my boat and I'm looking for advice, product and methods of repair. Anyone willing to venture into that realm ? Many Thanks in advance. I'd thoroughly recommend "Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair" by Don Casey - I bought mine via Amazon - the cover cost is US$21.95. I've recently done some biggish fibreglass repairs to my deck and this book really gave me the confidence to go ahead. I now would certainly have no qualms about filling a few gelcoat cracks and chips - I suggest you get a tube of gelcoat filler (it comes as a tube of paste and a tube of hardener that you mix as per the instructions) and get stuck in. If you've ever used car body filler it is exactly the same principle. The stuff I use is white, but I believe you can get it in different colours. You need to get a good surface for the paste to adhere to - for example with a crack use a sharp edge and run along the crack to make a V-shape groove (no need to go wide or deep, just key the surface), clean with acetone (I use nail varnish remover, simply because my 3 daughters have the world's supply) and fill with the paste. With a larger hole you need to ensure the edges are clean and roughened up - on my boat I had to use a grinder to bevel the edges of a large hole where I'd cut out a damaged area and glassfibred to about 5mm from deck level - the new gelcoat went on top of this repair. Note, you must not use gelcoat with epoxy resin - so if you need to fill deep holes and intend gel-coating over the top you should use polyester resin (the amber coloured stuff) and glass-fibre. The new gelcoat surface will remain tacky for a long long time - although you can rub it down once the gelcoat has gone off (a few hours at room temperature). To make it cure fully you have to cover it - say with cling-film and tape and leave for 24 hours. Rub down the repaired area and re-fill until you are happy that it is fair, then gently sand and polish it in. I recommend you get the book first if you are at all apprehensive about hacking at your boat. My old tub is great to work on because I do not mind making mistakes - I'm learning as I go along. Good luck! |
#3
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Adam wrote:
"High Seas" wrote in message .. . Something I've never done is repair the gelcoat on a sailboat. But then repairs may look like just that. I have a few chips and cracks in the gelcoat of my boat and I'm looking for advice, product and methods of repair. Anyone willing to venture into that realm ? Many Thanks in advance. I'd thoroughly recommend "Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair" by Don Casey - I bought mine via Amazon - the cover cost is US$21.95. I've recently done some biggish fibreglass repairs to my deck and this book really gave me the confidence to go ahead. I now would certainly have no qualms about filling a few gelcoat cracks and chips - I suggest you get a tube of gelcoat filler (it comes as a tube of paste and a tube of hardener that you mix as per the instructions) and get stuck in. If you've ever used car body filler it is exactly the same principle. The stuff I use is white, but I believe you can get it in different colours. You need to get a good surface for the paste to adhere to - for example with a crack use a sharp edge and run along the crack to make a V-shape groove (no need to go wide or deep, just key the surface), clean with acetone (I use nail varnish remover, simply because my 3 daughters have the world's supply) and fill with the paste. With a larger hole you need to ensure the edges are clean and roughened up - on my boat I had to use a grinder to bevel the edges of a large hole where I'd cut out a damaged area and glassfibred to about 5mm from deck level - the new gelcoat went on top of this repair. Note, you must not use gelcoat with epoxy resin - so if you need to fill deep holes and intend gel-coating over the top you should use polyester resin (the amber coloured stuff) and glass-fibre. The new gelcoat surface will remain tacky for a long long time - although you can rub it down once the gelcoat has gone off (a few hours at room temperature). To make it cure fully you have to cover it - say with cling-film and tape and leave for 24 hours. Rub down the repaired area and re-fill until you are happy that it is fair, then gently sand and polish it in. I recommend you get the book first if you are at all apprehensive about hacking at your boat. My old tub is great to work on because I do not mind making mistakes - I'm learning as I go along. Good luck! Many Thanks I'm looking for the book as soon as I finish posting this. Thanks again. |
#4
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High Seas wrote:
Something I've never done is repair the gelcoat on a sailboat. But then repairs may look like just that. I have a few chips and cracks in the gelcoat of my boat and I'm looking for advice, product and methods of repair. Anyone willing to venture into that realm ? Many Thanks in advance. I've got some photos of gelcoat repair in a Webshots album at: http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom They're of repairs on kayaks, but the basic principles are the same for any type of boat. |
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