Champ hull paint touch up

[Bayou]

While tied to a dock today the front of my boat got tossed around a bit and suffered a little scratching on the underside of the hull but high on the bow end. It's quite obvious and visible to me. I baby my Champ so I want to fix it right.

It's not that bad but it's mine and I see it right away If you run your finger tip across it you can feel there's a little tiny gouge. It looks like a black felt tip marker was used on the white hull.

Any product suggestions to use for a quick fix - I'm thinking something like a touch up paint stick used for automotive puposes. Thanks in advance for any help.



Modified by Bayou at 3:04 AM 12/12/2008

[Lea]

Maybe some of the folks in the restoration forum will have some good suggestions. I don't know how deep (or what) the black is, but you might need to seal it. Those restoration guys will know.

Matching whites can be difficult. You may need to contact the factory folks for an exact match...

[BASSCAT7]

Paints not gonna work for you. If it is down to " black" you are more than likely down to the resin/mat layer.
Or close, could be a black gel layer , some manufacturers will spray a layer of black gel after the clear/stripes/color gel is sprayed and before the laminate layup.
Either way You will need to seal this up before any water has a chance to penetrate into this layer.
Easiest fix is probably going to be Marine-Tex, it comes in white and may be a close match to your gel.
Can also be tinted with one of the cheap gel coat tint kits available at West Marine or any online shop.
For an exact match though , you'll need to contact Champion and have them send you the exact gel color on your boat. You will not need much, most boat companies will sell it by the pint.
For a real cheap temporary fix, clear nail polish will seal the scratch, then you could " paint " it LOL....will keep water out at least.

Here's how to fix a chip or scratch in Gelcoat :

It's an easy fix, but trying to get the color match is difficult.

Get the flaked gelcoat directly from the boat manufacturer to get the best match, they should be able to send you a small half pint or pint container.

You'll need some catalyst MEKP, can be bought at auto body supply or most larger auto parts stores. This is nasty stuff, treat it like you would acid.

If on the top cap it is pretty easy, follow directions on mixing the catalyst in the gel...if on the sides you'll probably have to build it up in layers.

Clean the chip area real well, lightly sand the edges to remove any loose particles, using a Dremel tool, bevel the edges sloping into the repair area. Make sure there are no ledges.
Tape off the area around the repair.
Stay close to the repair. Make sure there are no tape ends in the sanding area. The purpose of the tape is to avoid a mess and protect the area around the repair from the sand paper.

Mix about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of Gelcoat in a waxed paper cup with 5-7 drops of MEKP. Stir completely, in addition to mixing in the MEKP, the gelcoat is dissolving the wax off the cup and this will seal the repair. If you don't have a waxed paper cup and use a plain cup you will need a piece of waxed paper over the repair to seal it off and help the curing..Build the gel a little over as it will shrink some, if you see any air bubbles pop them gently with a pin....should be cure in 4 hours, but waiting overnight to sand is best.
If the surface is still sticky on top but the gelcoat is hard underneath, wipe off the tackiness with acetone so your wet sand paper does not gum up.

Acetone is also used for the cleanup

Use a small sanding block and 400-600 WET sandpaper to get a smooth finish, keeping the paper wet.
If you see a shadow below the sand area you are about to go through the Gelcoat and into the glass and resin. Stop sanding.
Once you get the chip sanded smooth you can compound and wax.

If the repair is on an " underneath " part of the hull where you need a " paste " type to stay on the repair you can mix some Cabosil ( available at auto body supply also ) or some Talc powder in the gel to thicken it up.

[Tom I]

Bill,

Call me I have a repair kit that will fix that right up. Phone number sent by pm

Tom

[Bayou]

Tom - I dind't know I have PM's here??? Do you still have my email? If so send it there. Thanks
I've caught a ton of jerk fish at Canyon the past two days - LM's and yellows - no size to speak of.

Basscat7 - That is a ton of information there. Thanks a whole bunch.

[Lea]

Bill...in order to receive and send IMs (instant messages) you need to turn off your pop-up blocker...or set it to allow pop-ups from this site only.

To send an IM..look under the name of the person you want to send to...there are 3 little icons. The one on the right says "IM"....click it and a window will open. To see any IMs you may have missed, look at top of any page and you will see the words "My Profile". Click on that and then on Instant Message History....

[Tom I]

I will do Bill, I have new contact information so I will send you all that.
We will get that Champion looking as good as new!
I haven't been out yet this month. I have been working way too much!!! I will be going out on the 27th though, and maybe next weekend as well.

Email sent,
Tom

[Bayou]

Thanks a lot for the repair work, TomI You ought to open a business doing such work. It looks good as new. I hope you manage some time away from work to fish real soon.

Lea, I have used the IM's before but unaware of PM's - thank you. Fortunatley, TomI has my email and was able to do an outstanding job with the fix.

[Tom I]

Come on Bill, tell the truth...

[Lea]

I thought IMs and PMs were the same thing. Instant msg or Personal msg? Not correct?

[Bayou]

IM's are different from what we refer to as PM's on another fishing board. Yes, they do work differently.
In this case, it sure helped that TomI had my email! He did a great job wiht the fix.

Merry Christmas to all of you ChampHeads!

[Lea]

Can you share what you all came up with for the fix? Might help someone else ...

Thanks...and Merry Christmas to you, also...

[Robert Williams]

If you just have black dock rubber on your boat you can us acitone it will come right off.If it's a scratch in the gel coat and your handy go to a marine supply like marine West they sell a gel coat repair kit.solid colors are easy,Deep scratch needs an expert.
RWilliams

[Bayou]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lea &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can you share what you all came up with for the fix? Might help someone else ... </TD></TR></TABLE>
I was really hoping someone wouldn't ask, Lea When Tom came over we both ran our fingernails across the scatches and could feel a little something. Tom thought most of it would buff out. I waxed the area with a little elbow grease and voila! If that helps anyone I'll be both happy and amazed!

Merry Christmas, ChampHeads!

[Lea]

That's great, Bill! Glad it was not worse!!!