Gel Coat Repair

[Marcia Robertson]

How do you repair Gell Coat in a non-skid area with a texture or pattern without destroying the look of the textured or patterned area. Thank you.



SRobert301@aol.com

[Stephen]

Do a search in the message archive under "gel coat." You will find a bunch of articles, including a series of excellent commentary by Dana Arenius.

Stephen



sailing@star.net

[Chris Gordon]

The current issue of Practical Sailor (August 1, 1998) has a good write-up on the Flex-Mold product "for application or repair of non-skid patterns..." from Gibco in Fort Worth, TX. Gibco's phone nuber is 817-236-5021.



cgordon@novaresearch.com

[Dana]

How do you repair Gell Coat in a non-skid area with a texture or pattern without destroying the look of the textured or patterned area. Thank you.

___________________________________________________________________

Marcia,

Depends on what repair is being made....hairline crack?....or larger area?

Cape Dory non-skid is easier than other manufacturers who have "pattern" non-skid designs like a "basket weave design". The CD non-skid is a random "splatter" design which allows hairline cracks to be repaired pretty easy. On crack repair, I layer the gel into the widen crack repair area. It takes multiple layer applications to finally get it worked up the the surrounding area. The final layer is applied so it is just above the surrounding surface and I "dab" this layer with a damp (not wet) acetone rag very gently. It tends to smooth the final coat contour to the immediate high and low rough surface areas. With practice, one can get so it is barely seen. The gel tends to strink a bit, so the multiple coats is necessary and thus requires patience.

Larger areas may require a "splatter" spray of gel coat. I have done this on trial pieces of fiberglass with a Preval sprayer which is available from West Marine and others. It works pretty well but again one needs the practice before hand. I have tried to keep away from paints due to the commitment for repainting, dirt collection and wear considerations.

Dana



darenius@aol.com

[Alphee Bouffard]

How do you repair Gell Coat in a non-skid area with a texture or pattern without destroying the look of the textured or patterned area. Thank you.

Dig out imperfection, fill with a fiber reinforced resin, block sand to level of deck, add nonskid powder to gell coat and roll on with one inch diameter FOAM ROLLER (Wall Mart) continue to roll as gell thickens to match area. Makes a perfect match.