Gelcoat repair

[yjander]

I made a big uh oh! Was removing the old owners registration numbers and used a flat razor blade to start it. Yea dumb! Got a heat gun and my fingernail for the rest and they came up.

But the damage was done! What could I do to repair this\hide it. It will be under my new registration numbers, so the finish doesn't have to be perfect. ?

Thanks

 

[Beachbummer]

There is a kit from Spectrum that will match the color. You need to call them to get the matching color, there is some mystery behind it.

If you will 100% cover it, there is always 3M 5200, use a plastic spatula to apply it flush (Not a razor sorry, too soon?),
get a bigger 6 or G or whatever that was, apply it to cover the repair, and call it perfect. That's what I'd do.

 

[yjander]

There is a kit from Spectrum that will match the color. You need to call them to get the matching color, there is some mystery behind it.

If you will 100% cover it, there is always 3M 5200, use a plastic spatula to apply it flush (Not a razor sorry, too soon?),
get a bigger 6 or G or whatever that was, apply it to cover the repair, and call it perfect. That's what I'd do.

Thanks. I deserve the dig! I'm an idiot! I am going to cover it with my registration decal I think. So the 5200 is a good idea. Don't want to go through all the work of that spectrum kit. It's pretty awesome, but too much work for that spot I think.

 

[Beachbummer]

Hey, Stuff happens. One of my early mistakes on another boat was not tightening enough a bolt that held the flame arrestor to the carburator... it eventually backed out and went into the engine... It only cost like $700 to fix...so sadly you are not alone in making a less than stellar decision every now and then. It's part of the ownership experience

 

[haknslash]

I can’t tell what I’m looking at. Looks like adhesive and label leftover. Where is the scratch?

 

[yjander]

I can’t tell what I’m looking at. Looks like adhesive and label leftover. Where is the scratch?

Is this any better? Probably not since it's dark out. But if you zoom in you can see it in the center.

 

[rkluck]

You can easily fix the gel coat especially since you will be covering it with the decal. I have had bigger scratches on the bottom from hitting items in the water that you can see. One of the best things i did was put a keel guard to prevent further damage, and thus repair.

 

[FLBulldogger]

OUCH! @yjander I was a newbie and repaired much worse! Like @Beachbummer advised go here to SPECTRUM Color I think this is the white you need but call and verify. Here is a good video by SPECTRUMCOLOR that I used as a guide. Also to remove that adhesive I use Goo-BE-Gone its safe and natural.
Good luck

 

[yjander]

You can easily fix the gel coat especially since you will be covering it with the decal. I have had bigger scratches on the bottom from hitting items in the water that you can see. One of the best things i did was put a keel guard to prevent further damage, and thus repair.

OUCH! @yjander I was a newbie and repaired much worse! Like @Beachbummer advised go here to SPECTRUM Color I think this is the white you need but call and verify. Here is a good video by SPECTRUMCOLOR that I used as a guide. Also to remove that adhesive I use Goo-BE-Gone its safe and natural.
Good luck

Thank you for the information. I think I'll go with some 5200 and then just cover it with my registration sticker.

I totally feel like a newb on this, my first boat was a beater, this one is so delicate!

 

[tdonoughue]

If you haven't used the 5200 yet, consider that this may be a good training ground for you to learn how to apply gelcoat. Someday you will hit something and make a worse dent than that in it--and maybe somewhere you won't hide. I would spend the money for the gelcoat kit (it comes with only a little thing of the gelcoat), prep it, plop some in there and cover it up to harden. Then use a block sander to wet sand (finer and finer), then rubbing compound and then polish. You will be amazed at the professional job you will end up with.

Then you will be ready if you ever mess up something really.

 

[yjander]

If you haven't used the 5200 yet, consider that this may be a good training ground for you to learn how to apply gelcoat. Someday you will hit something and make a worse dent than that in it--and maybe somewhere you won't hide. I would spend the money for the gelcoat kit (it comes with only a little thing of the gelcoat), prep it, plop some in there and cover it up to harden. Then use a block sander to wet sand (finer and finer), then rubbing compound and then polish. You will be amazed at the professional job you will end up with.

Then you will be ready if you ever mess up something really.

damn, why you gotta appeal to my preparedness side?! I'll give Spectrum a call to see what the deal is with the gelcoat repair kit and see if I can figure it out. I got nothing but time, not like I'm going boating anytime soon.

 

[tdonoughue]

My original writeup on my first repair, for your reference...

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

Not that it is the ultimate, but it should show you exactly what to expect.