I have some gouges on the bottom of my hull. I'm getting ready to order some gel from Triton that mathces because some guys I know said it's a pretty easy do it yourself fix, but it's time consuming. But they just know people who have done it and have no hands on advice. Can someone give me some or point me to some step by step instructions on how to fix and do you have any pointers that will make the job easier. There's a few small gouges in the gel and one long one (2 feet).
Supply list: small mix sticks,3oz paper cups,3/4 mask tape,acetone(1 qt),180-320-400-600grit wet/dry sand paper,shop rags(disposible),spreader(1in"-unless gouges are wider),disposible gloves. 1)border repair area with tape slightly larger 2)sand 180 between tape and remove loose material beveling the ragged edges 3)wipe with acetone 4)replace tape-you probably ruffled the edges when sanding 5)mix gelcoat with catalyst acoording to instructions(you may want to add milled fibers or cabasil to thicken depending on depth of repair) 6)apply your mix with flat spreader between tape with lite pressure to insure good smooth fill to level of tape(this may require several applications letting each cure and shrink before reapplying)(if fibers are used to thicken,only apply at first fill and lower than tape level to insure final finish is gelcoat only) 7)wipe off with acetone after fully cured(it may have a sticky film remaining) 8)sand 180 exposing inside edges of tape,sand flat across(i use a small stick wrapped with sand paper)9)remove tape and continue 320-400(edges shuold be gone)-600. 10)compound Hope this helps!
Thanks for the information. Can I do this repair in a cold garage or do I need to try to heat it?
It's probably 35 degrees in my shop today.Any small repairs I make today, will be preheating my materials I anticipate using to about 85 degrees.I'll be spot warming the surface of boat to about the same(heat lites,heat gun,etc.).I'll continue babysitting these areas until cured(gel time aprox 15 min.-cure time aprox.1 hour).Clamp lites with 60-70 watt lite bulb seem to work good in multiple areas.Good Luck!
Where do you get the gel coat repair stuff?
I would try local repair facility first-small quantities are hard to find they may sell you just enough to do repair(take your own containers most cases-qrt cans Home Depot?).Minicraft in Florida sells gelcoat to match by hull# on your boat.They are very expensive and I usually have to tint their materials for better match.Hope this helps!
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