Adding color to Marine-Tex

[Cain Roberts]

I'm moving this over from the general bassboat forum because it isn't seeing much response action over there...

I have some gouges in my hull that need repair, and do-it-yourself fiberglasss work is completely out of my experience. It's an old boat, so cosmetics aren't paramount, but I'd like it to look as nice as possible. It had some fiberglass patches on it when I bought it used, and they look like hell, so I'm sure any I'd add would look even worse. But I've worked with Marine-Tex before, so that is the route I'm thinking of taking.

Part of what I'd like to patch is navy blue, very dark. The Marine-Tex instructions are vague as far as adding gel tint to the product. All it says is to keep the color below a certain percentage (5% if my memory serves) of the total mass of the product. Will a tiny amount of navy blue tint in white Marine-Tex end up being diluted to light/sky blue, or will it end up navy blue? Should I be starting with gray Marine-Tex, and adding blue to that? Anyone with experience adding color to Marine-Tex?

[APS]

you need to start with the gray base and add blue to get it close. I think the ratio is closer to 15% of tint. You might need to add black to darken it some. Once you get in the ballpark you'll need to adjust it with either a green or red to dial it in. When you add your colors other than blue, use a toothpick to add the color and use very little at a time.

[Cain Roberts]

Great APS, thank you! Just the advice I was looking for.