Gelcoat Question

[ReelDoc]

My 2000 TR-20 is starting to get a bit of damage I'd like to take care of this winter. I've read through the various repair threads here but have some questions.

The boat sat outside last year - it was covered with an Aurora cover most of the time, but it was uncovered for about a month during the hottest part of the summer. It was facing due east, so the majority of the sun was on the starboard side. Most of the top cap is nice and smooth, but a couple of areas on the starboard side feel slightly rough to the touch. I suspect I'll have to wet sand/compund/polish - your thoughts??

Area 1 - the rounded edge at the top of the TR-20 decal - from the decal aft a couple of feet. I've removed the decal since this picture was taken, so it's out of the way. If sanding is required, what kind of backing pad can I use for the curved surfaces and what grit wet/dry sandpaper should I start with?



I also have several scratches and chips from encounters with various types of objects over the years - trees, docks, etc. The scratches may wet sand out, but I think the chips need to be filled. If so, where can I get clear gelcoat?



Does anyone have any good current links to places to buy the supplies at reasonable prices? My local auto parts store carries the 3M pads and such, but at retail of course. Sorry, but I'd really rather not bend over quite that far.

Thanks for any info you can give me. I worked with epoxy fiberglass model airplane fuselages for years, but I'm a novice at working with gelcoat.

[BASSCAT7]

That chip looks to be past the clear gel and into the polyflake, try Minicraft to get a close match for the gel:

http://www.minicraft.com/

Any decent 3M pads are not going to be cheap, google the pad # and you'll come up with a few different online parts places that sell them :

Compound
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mperiirubco.html
Glaze
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3m06068.html
black pad
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mperplusfoa1.html
white pads
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mpeiiiroedf.html
protec
http://www.protecproducts.com/faq.html


The wet sanding is done by hand, so backing pads are usually a sponge/close cell foam, etc or similar material.

The roughness you are feeling is the oxidation. The boat is 12 years old , and if it has had normal use then it has been exposed to a lot of UV rays from the sun.
UV is what deteriorates the gelcoat.

Gelcoat is porous, seen under a high power magnifier you can see the tiny pores.

The combination of heat from the Sun and the UV causes the gelcoat to overheat triggering a reaction in the polymers that cause the gel to break down and eventually fill the pores in the outer layer with the broken down gel which turns to a fine white powdery substance............more or less, plastic rust.

You might try just using the high speed buffer with the cutting compound first and see if that removes the oxidation.
If not , then you can do the wet sanding.
Depending on how severe the oxidation is you can start with 800 grit, or if not too bad, 1000 and then progressively move up.

If you have not read thru this post, it has a lot of good info on this subject:

http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread?id=311487

[ReelDoc]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by BASSCAT7 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">That chip looks to be past the clear gel and into the polyflake, try Minicraft to get a close match for the gel:

http://www.minicraft.com/ </td></tr></table>

Lots of stuff on their site for sure. I'm not trying for a professional repair. Can I just get some clear gel and fill it with that?

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Any decent 3M pads are not going to be cheap, google the pad # and you'll come up with a few different online parts places that sell them :

Compound
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mperiirubco.html
Glaze
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3m06068.html
black pad
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mperplusfoa1.html
white pads
http://www.levineautoparts.com/3mpeiiiroedf.html
protec
http://www.protecproducts.com/faq.html
</td></tr></table>

Thanks for the links. They definitely have good prices. What do you recommend for removing the old wax before applying the ProTec?

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
The wet sanding is done by hand, so backing pads are usually a sponge/close cell foam, etc or similar material.
</td></tr></table>

I hadn't thought of using a sponge - great idea.

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
The roughness you are feeling is the oxidation. The boat is 12 years old , and if it has had normal use then it has been exposed to a lot of UV rays from the sun.
UV is what deteriorates the gelcoat.

Gelcoat is porous, seen under a high power magnifier you can see the tiny pores.

The combination of heat from the Sun and the UV causes the gelcoat to overheat triggering a reaction in the polymers that cause the gel to break down and eventually fill the pores in the outer layer with the broken down gel which turns to a fine white powdery substance............more or less, plastic rust.

You might try just using the high speed buffer with the cutting compound first and see if that removes the oxidation.
If not , then you can do the wet sanding.
Depending on how severe the oxidation is you can start with 800 grit, or if not too bad, 1000 and then progressively move up.

If you have not read thru this post, it has a lot of good info on this subject:

http://www.bbcboards.net/zerothread?id=311487</td></tr></table>

Thanks for the great info. I re-read that entire post last night which led me to these questions.

[ReelDoc]

Good news - I spent an hour or so in the man cave this afternoon getting up close and personal with the buffer. I used some Meguiar Ultimate Compound I had on hand and attacked the rough areas and scratches. 100% of the oxidation and about 80% of the scratches are GONE!!!! The rest of the scratches should respond well to light wet sanding/compounding/polishing.

Bad News - The chips will still need to be dealt with. Further examination showed there are a dozen or so chips 1/4" or less in diameter on various areas of the boat. Does anyone know where I can obtain a small amount of clear gel coat?

Thanks again for your help.

[BASSCAT7]

Gelcoat is hard to find in small quantities, usually the smallest is a quart for around
$ 17.00 online.

Evercoat makes a small tube of clear gel for nicks, check your local Marine Store or Auto Body supplier.

http://www.jamestowndistributo...Patch

[ReelDoc]

Thanks again for the info.