Just bought a quart of white gelcoat (non air retarded) to repair some
dings and scratches in the hull. My next step is to take it in to a
paint store and have them match the color to the actual white of the
hull. I notice that the underlying gelcoat in scratched areas appears
to be slightly lighter in color than the surrounding area. Am I
correct in assuming I should try for the best match with the
underlying lighter color, and that the difference in color will be
made up in part by the effect of the wax (or in this case Poly Glo) on
the completed repair?

At this point, I'm not inclined to try thinning the gelcoat and
spraying it on the surrounding area. Hoping to get a decent result by
just filling gauges and necessary wet sanding of the repairs. Bad
idea?

Other suggestions based on experience with these repairs?

Hi Dave,

I was not aware that a paint store could color match gel coat. Do
they sell gel coat also? I've got some repairs that I need to make
to my 79 catalina, and will need to match the original color.

Besides trying to mix the color yourself, how do the rest of you go
about obtaining color matches for gel coat?

Don W.

wrote:
Just bought a quart of white gelcoat (non air retarded) to repair some
dings and scratches in the hull. My next step is to take it in to a
paint store and have them match the color to the actual white of the
hull. I notice that the underlying gelcoat in scratched areas appears
to be slightly lighter in color than the surrounding area. Am I
correct in assuming I should try for the best match with the
underlying lighter color, and that the difference in color will be
made up in part by the effect of the wax (or in this case Poly Glo) on
the completed repair?

At this point, I'm not inclined to try thinning the gelcoat and
spraying it on the surrounding area. Hoping to get a decent result by
just filling gauges and necessary wet sanding of the repairs. Bad
idea?

Other suggestions based on experience with these repairs?

Dave wrote:
On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:15:18 GMT, Don W
said:


I was not aware that a paint store could color match gel coat. Do
they sell gel coat also? I've got some repairs that I need to make
to my 79 catalina, and will need to match the original color.


Paint stores don't generally sell gelcoat. I ordered a quart of white from a
marine supply place, but know the white will be too bright to use as is.

Picked up idea of having a paint store make the match on the CS mailing
list. Seems no reason why the pigments used to tint paint won't work equally
well with gelcoat.
I am very curious what will come of this thread, as I have the same
problem. I agree that the pigments would not care whether they are in
apint or gelcoat or eposy. My concern is that the pigment CARRIER would
be incompatible with gelcoat or epoxy. And not all pigments are finely
ground solids - some are dyes, carried dissolved in the carrier, raising
another compatibility question.

bob
s/v Eolian

Hi Bob, Dave

It sure would be nice to have somewhere that you could go to
get color matched gelcoat. For house paint, you just take a
sample of the faded color down to Home Depot, and they stick
under their computer color analyzer which spits out a recipe.

I've either got to learn how to tint gelcoat myself using the
little yellow/blue/red packs, or I need to find out how the
pros get the right colored gelcoat.

I suppose that learning how to tint would be educational and
possibly even fun once you got the knack of it.

RW Salnick wrote:
Dave wrote:

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:15:18 GMT, Don W
said:


I was not aware that a paint store could color match gel coat. Do
they sell gel coat also? I've got some repairs that I need to make
to my 79 catalina, and will need to match the original color.



Paint stores don't generally sell gelcoat. I ordered a quart of white
from a
marine supply place, but know the white will be too bright to use as is.

Picked up idea of having a paint store make the match on the CS mailing
list. Seems no reason why the pigments used to tint paint won't work
equally
well with gelcoat.

I am very curious what will come of this thread, as I have the same
problem. I agree that the pigments would not care whether they are in
apint or gelcoat or eposy. My concern is that the pigment CARRIER would
be incompatible with gelcoat or epoxy. And not all pigments are finely
ground solids - some are dyes, carried dissolved in the carrier, raising
another compatibility question.

I'm also curious to see how it will come out. Every time I've bought
automotive paint, the colors were premixed into a "color wheel" type
machine. I always assumed that these colors were also automotive paint
that was compatible with the base paint. Possibly I was wrong and am
about to learn something

Don W.


bob
s/v Eolian

Don W wrote:

Hi Bob, Dave

It sure would be nice to have somewhere that you could go to
get color matched gelcoat. For house paint, you just take a
sample of the faded color down to Home Depot, and they stick
under their computer color analyzer which spits out a recipe.

I've either got to learn how to tint gelcoat myself using the
little yellow/blue/red packs, or I need to find out how the
pros get the right colored gelcoat.

I suppose that learning how to tint would be educational and
possibly even fun once you got the knack of it.

RW Salnick wrote:

Dave wrote:

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:15:18 GMT, Don W
said:


I was not aware that a paint store could color match gel coat. Do
they sell gel coat also? I've got some repairs that I need to make
to my 79 catalina, and will need to match the original color.




Paint stores don't generally sell gelcoat. I ordered a quart of white
from a
marine supply place, but know the white will be too bright to use as is.

Picked up idea of having a paint store make the match on the CS mailing
list. Seems no reason why the pigments used to tint paint won't work
equally
well with gelcoat.


I am very curious what will come of this thread, as I have the same
problem. I agree that the pigments would not care whether they are in
apint or gelcoat or eposy. My concern is that the pigment CARRIER
would be incompatible with gelcoat or epoxy. And not all pigments are
finely ground solids - some are dyes, carried dissolved in the
carrier, raising another compatibility question.


I'm also curious to see how it will come out. Every time I've bought
automotive paint, the colors were premixed into a "color wheel" type
machine. I always assumed that these colors were also automotive paint
that was compatible with the base paint. Possibly I was wrong and am
about to learn something

Don W.


bob
s/v Eolian


Here in Ft. Lauderdale I just take a gelcoat chip over to Joe's Auto
Marine. They custom match gelcoat and they have an extensive choice of
epoxies and fiberglass resins. Have them send you a catalog. They can
probably ship gelcoat. http://www.fiberglass.com/trade/fg002522.html
krj