Gel Coat Repair

[carp104]

Hello,

I recently had my boat manufacturer ship me some gel coat to exactly match the color of my hull so I could repair a few scratches in my hull. There were no instructions provided with the gel coat, so I cleaned my hull with denatured alcohol and like an idiot applied the gel coat without any type of catalyst or hardener. It has been on the hull for a few days now and has not fully cured, it's still somewhat tacky. At first I thought it might be due to the cool weather outside, but now I'm thinking it's because I never added a hardener. I emailed the boat manufacturer and they said to use MEKP9 as a hardener but did not list a mix ratio.


Do I need to redo this entire job or is there still a way to get this gel coat to cure properly without the MEK (heat lamp?). What ratio are you supposed to mix the MEK with the gel coat? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Lee W]

There will be some pros along soon to help you out. It will need to be removed, I would use acetone. You mix MEK according to the ambient temp. You will also have to encapsulate it from air to get it to dry. I use wax specifically for this purpose added to the gel before I add the MEK. Once it hardened it will need sanded and buffed to A smooth and glossy finish. Malibu boats used to have a video that showed the process using a prevail sprayer however I use a foam brush.

[scotty34]

Clean off with acetone dig uncurled gel out with a razor blade clean again. Get the catalyst and surface wax. Everything must be at least 65 degrees to properly cure. What I normally do is at 70degrees 10 drops per oz and a couple drops of surface wax. Apply wait 24 hours and wet sand.

[crank68]

That’ll do it....^^^