Gel coat repairs - mobile service

[sasqman]

Anyone know any good gel coat mobile repair guys. My boat is on blocks at crescent beach marina, I have a few chips under the water line that need fixing before I apply new bottom paint.

Thanks

 

[Aces]

I had some too and just 2 part epoxied them then painted over it ......just a suggestion if you're stuck

 

[the butcher]

don't think someone would come out for a few small dings because it involves prep work , color matching, if the gelcoat is chipped into the fiberglass layer it may need to be epoxied or if it's not structural it could be filled with polyester resin.. then you have to wait and then gelcoat then wait and then a few additional layers of gelcoat. Then sand down.... then wetsand... then polish... not to mention color match which can be extremely difficult depending on the color.. do you have bottom coat? I knew nothing about gelcoat repair last year and had a few dings with one being a decent one and learned via youtube and it came out amazingly well. I would imagine someone would likely charge a lot for the small job due to the tedious nature. The supplies are very inexpensive and once you learn, you can just about do all future repairs by yourself.

Why don't you post some pictures so that we can see the extent of the chips you are talking about.

 

[sasqman]

Here is what I'm dealing with and yes will be re applying bottom paint

 

[grascal]

Get some Bondo, or equivalent, body filler from Canadian Tire. Clean and sand the bad spots, smooth on the filler. It sets quickly so mix small batches.
Sand smooth and your ready for paint.

 

[sasqman]

Thanks for the advice. Seems like I should be able to pull this off with the help of a few youtube videos.

Thanks all!

 

[pescador]

Mm

 

[pescador]

Marine Tex. This’ll solve your issue. Simple to use one step mix. Tape off area and apply with a tool and let dry then paint, or not. Comes I White or grey. Can be tinted. Buy at Steveston Marine. Small box leas than $50.

 

[Pineapple Express]

Marine Tex. This’ll solve your issue. Simple to use one step mix. Tape off area and apply with a tool and let dry then paint, or not. Comes I White or grey. Can be tinted. Buy at Steveston Marine. Small box leas than $50.

I remember using that with my dad all the time. Mix with a popsicle stick on a little bit of aluminum foil and then smear it on and sand it off.

 

[CBsqrd]

One thing to be aware of with Marine Tex it gel coat won't adhere to it (or most epoxies I believe). Works great for other jobs, but not if you are planning to gel coat over top. Better to us a vinyl ester or polyester based product for bonding / fairing repairs.

 

[Foxsea]

I remember using that with my dad all the time. Mix with a popsicle stick on a little bit of aluminum foil and then smear it on and sand it off.

If you stretch a piece of plastic wrap over top of the soft Marine tex, tape it down and let it cure you'll get a smooth finish with almost no sanding.

 

[sasqman]

Marine Tex. This’ll solve your issue. Simple to use one step mix. Tape off area and apply with a tool and let dry then paint, or not. Comes I White or grey. Can be tinted. Buy at Steveston Marine. Small box leas than $50.

On my way!

 

[the butcher]

I have gelcoated over marinetex but you need to carefully prep the area well by sanding with an agressive grit and flare out the edges. But since the OP is bottom painting I would just use the marinetex to get it flush with Hull and not gelcoat. Celophane applied on top will help make the finish less bulky but you still need to sand in order to get it flush with the rest of the hull. Depending on the outside temp, it can setup fairly quickly so don't mix smaller batches.

 

[sasqman]

Thanks for all the info and help guys. I did end up buying the marine tex, but later that day the marina got price from someone to do the work. $300.00. I thought that was fair. At least I have the knowlage for next year if need be.

 

[Corey_lax]

That seems like a very fair price. I didn't know anything in the boating world happened for that cheap.

 

[captmike]

Anyone know any good gel coat mobile repair guys. My boat is on blocks at crescent beach marina, I have a few chips under the water line that need fixing before I apply new bottom paint.

Thanks

small chips are quick fixes with white marine tex from Wolff Marine