Gelcoat Repair

[SoxFan]

Had a ‘Holy Crap’ moment when I looked under the boat this weekend.
In addition to the scraps, there are 4 quarter sized areas that are missing gelcoat. It is like the gelcoat chipped away-no fiberglass damage.
Have been out twice this year, but nowhere near a place that could cause this, so it must be from last season.
Any advise on gelcoat repair would be welcome.
Being directly on the bottom, is this a water infiltration issue?
Yes, a keelguard is in my immediate future!

 

[CrankyGypsy]

fairly easy fix, especially since it is on the bottom and then getting covered with a keel guard. most of those scuffs should buff out to the color, though it may still look gouged (again, bottom might not matter to you). just order the correct color of gelcoat and fill the chipped areas - even when white, I avoid epoxy-based fillers like Marine Tex because it may cause bonding issues on future repairs.

leave the boat out of the water a few warm days so the damage is totally dry. I personally wouldn't even bother with surfacing wax or PVA here. rough up the damage with some 80-120grit and apply painter's tape around the chipped areas, then brush fresh batches of mixed gelcoat in with a couple applications to build it up. wait for the last layer to start to kick/congeal before adding the next for the best bond - if you wait, you'll need to sand between coats. I wouldn't try to fill deeper chips with one application, maybe 2-3. once it is built-up, you can cover it with packing tape so it can cure without oxygen, or simply wipe the skin off with acetone after 24-48hrs (what I prefer).
remove all the tape - you might want to re-apply tape to help keep your sanding level until you get to the higher grits. start sanding/fairing with maybe 220grit then work your way up thru 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200, and finish with 1500 (use a soft sponge-type of sanding block and/or a homemade fairing board - do not use your hand). this is the paper schedule for great topside results, but you can skip grits since it is on the bottom. now you're good to go and when you get around to it, go over with 3M compound and polish before applying the keel guard - you can polish it by hand, but mechanical will def get the job done faster with all those additional scuffs.

it sounds way harder than it is, but this is an easy repair and will give you a lot of confidence for the next.

optional: if you're really a perfectionist, you may want to seal the exposed FRP with a thin layer of resin prior to gelcoat application, but not necessary. gelcoat is water permeable, but if you don't moor the boat, it will be fine. you can go ahead and start applying the gelcoat as soon as the resin kicks for the best bond.

 

[SoxFan]

Thanks for the info.
Picked up Gelcoat Repair at West Marine today (non-epoxy). Will give it a shot.
I’m rather anal with my boat, so not noticing this til now irks me

 

[tdonoughue]

Here is one of my earlier repairs, more limited than yours, but you may find bits helpful:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/gelcoat-repair-question.9039/

But, really this one is probably more helpful:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/stump-strike-repair-was-oh-glassman.10442/

 

[haknslash]

Are you beaching your boat? I don't know how you would not notice hitting something to cause all of that. It looks like repeated damage by the way the scratches and gouges are all over the place but in the same place on the hull.

Man that's tough to see and feel for ya! Best of luck getting her looking good again. It can be done and folks on here have repaired much worse. Check out some of their threads for tips as well.

 

[Jane305]

I am using Poli Glow, very satisfied with it. This stuff works and will make the surface looks new. This Gelcoat restorer from Poli Glow is offering its superior quality effects without giving unnecessary flaking off or yellowing the surface. Just make sure that the surface is clean before the application and you will have the best gelcoat surface for a long time.

 

[Heizen]

3M recommended this Perfect-It Gelcoat for some of my more heavily oxidized gel coat on my 2013 Sea Ray. I followed this with the light polish and then wax. It buffed out light scratches and removed oxidation as it says it will. Just do yourself a favor and use 3M wool buffing pads they are just way better than the others I found.

 

[David Martin]

I don't see any fibers sticking out so you are just above raw glass but most of the deep scratches(like 70%) of you scratches are beyond buffing.........you need a good wet sanding just to determined what can be sanded and what will need gel fill. Remember you are not sanding the scratch to get it smooth your sanding the gel(around the scratch) that's not damaged, down to the level of the scratch.....you will be removing a lot of the color gel to get to a smooth service to buff.............and after keel guard any scratches in the thinned areas will require new gel down the road. After a lot of sanding you will need gel fill on several scratches other than the large chunks that will need gel for sure.

Hope this helps and YES to the Keel guard.