Gel repair 101

[Hydrilla Gear]

I am new to this so I want you guys to double check my plan of attack.

I have got the colored gel straight from my boat manufacturer and have spoke with them, but I just want to double check myself since this is my baby.

Ok so I have 4 holes in the cap of my boat that I want to fill. They are 1/4 inch in diameter. They are not in a structural area of the boat but will be in plain sight.

This is my step by step.

1) Wipe surface down with denatured alcohol (sp)
2) sand down the top edge of the existing hole and wipe with the alcohol again
3) Tape off about 1" around hole.
4) I bought a 1/4" wood dowel. Cut to length and Epoxy (2 part Devcon water resistant) in place. I plan to leave about 1/8" under the surface of cap, let cure.
4) Mix gel with MEKP 1740, stir and pour into hole. Let cure

I Plan to fill the hole just enough so that it pools up a little higher then the hole. Like when adding water to a spoon.

5) Start to sand with 180 grit(dry) then 400 wet, then 1000 wet.
6) Wipe over repair with acetone
7) Buff if need be then wax.

What you guys think? Can I have shrinking problems or adhesion problems, Will I see rings? I just don't want to make a huge mess so any hints or tips would help.

I have mixing cups and planned to mix about 1/4 at a time. Can anyone give me a ball park on how much 1740 to use. I know its touchy stuff.


Boat is basically new and always kept in doors so I am not dealing with oxidation or fading.
Thanks

[RAZOR Jim]

Rich

1. Wipe area down with a cleaner to remove wax/grease etc.
2. Masking tape off the area around the hole about an 1" or 1 1/2" away from it.
3. Break the shine and edge around the hole with 320, being gentle.
The deeper the sanding grooves are in the existing gel coat, the more sanding and buffing required to finish the job, could cause "BURN THROUGH".
4. Epoxy dowel and install, leaving it approximately 1/8" below surface.
5. Mix gel coat and pour into hole, allowing the gel coat to puddle high enough to just cover the edges of the hole.
I would let the gel coat cure at least over night.
6. Leave the masking tape on and start sanding the patch, with nothing lower than 400 grit. Like I stated above, the deeper the sanding scratches are, the more your going to have to sand and could caused "BURN THROUGH" which means that you sanded through the gel coat into the skin coat. (Fiberglass mat) When sanding, use multi directional patterns. Don't sand continuously in one direction. Sand in a N to S and E to W direction as well as in an "X" pattern. Back your sand paper up with a block of wood or a hard rubber sanding pad, keeping it flat at all times. Keep your sand paper and the sanded area clean at all times. A lot of people add dish soap to their water, but it is not necessary. Just keep the area clean of globs of sanding residue. Work your way up to 1000 or 1200 by using 600 and 800. Don't sand the area perfectly flat with the 400. Leave a little raise in the area and take it down a little more with the 600 then 800 and let the last sanding work it smooth or flat. If you work it flat with the 400, you'll end up with a depression on your patched area when trying to eliminate the scratch marks with the finner sand paper.
7. Remove the masking tape and clean the area good with clean water
8. Buff area with an adjustable buffer set at about 1500 rpms. Buff over the area with a finishing grit compound. Wipe clean and look to see if the area is flat, raised of if a depression has occurred. If all looks good or if there is still some sanding scratches, you'll have to either buff some more or sand some more, depending on how deep the sanding scratches are. If all looks good, buff with a mirror glaze compound. If all still looks good, finish with a good waxing.

Getting the patches to be perfectly flat with the existing area is hard, but, if you take your time and don't get to aggressive, you can get it to come out perfect. Don't be in to much of a hurry to get it done the first time. If it's a little high, you can go back and sand it down a little more and go from there. It's easier to sand away a raised area, than it is to go back and re fill a depression and start sanding all over again.

[Hydrilla Gear]

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the help.