Color matching

[Lee]

Any artists out there? I need to repair the white gel coat on my Cape Dory. I know about the Cape Dory colors available from GPC in Seattle, courtesy of Dana, but I assume these colors would match the original colors whereas my colors have faded over time. Thus I would like to experiment with mixing my own gel coat. Has anyone tried this? What color tint would I mix with the basic white gel coat to obtain the Cape Dory off-white color? Not black, I don't think, but what about brown or grey?

[James Mill]

Lee-- Just purely from an artists perspective, color is an additive process using red, blue and yellow, the primary colors. The gel has had two things woking on it sun, and elements. The sun lightens things generally and the elements and any other degrading of the material will generally make it duller and dingy. Adding black to white will make it darker. Adding gray will do the same, just not as much per volums as black is gray and white mixed. I have not done any matching on mine yet, but, I would take the white and put some on a card so that you can hold it up to the existing and then go from there. Add color based on your observations, there are two things is it lighter or darker, and is it more yellow or more red. Add your color accordingly. make sure you either measure and document carefully so you can repeat, or just be sure you make enough.



jtmceach@aol.com

[Don Carr]

Color matching gel-coat is an 'art'. Just remember gel-coat dries to a different color than the color on the mixing palette. After speaking with many boat repair guys the conclusion is: There are very few people in the industry who can make a high quality match..hence the high price charged for good gel-coat repair.
My suggestion would be to mix up 3 or 4 (small) samples and document the amount and color of pigment used. Let these samples cure and hold them up against the boat topsides selecting the one which matches the closest. Now you can mix a bigger 'production' batch and away you go.

IMHO.



carrds@us.ibm.com