Hi I was wondering if some of the boaters out there could give me some advice on gel coat repair. I just bought a used Trophy 1903 CC that needs some gel coat work. Most of the damage is small, and centered around the gas pump area and around the rubber seal that goes around the boat. I talked to a guy at the trophy dealership in Durham, and he told me that it's really difficult and I should get the work done professionally. I am pretty handy and was wondering what you guys think I should do?

5/30/2006 6:03:22 PM

I'd have to see the damage to tell you what to do.

If the gelcoat has those microcracks in it, you can try to treat it with some of that shit they sell at West Marine to fix it, but the cracks are indicating a different problem thats potentially more severe.

Although if you said gas pump area, it could be spilt gas causing the degredation of the gelcoat and not stress fractures.

Gelcoat isn't rocket science. It goes on just like any other two-part paint except the top layer

5/31/2006 11:14:29 AM

^

5/31/2006 11:39:07 AM

Thanks for the info. I'll post some pictures soon.

5/31/2006 11:41:09 AM

Quote :

"trophy dealership in Durham, and he told me that it's really difficult "

have you ever noticed the type of people that typically work at dealerships/service centers... they are typically gomers that generally shotgun troubleshoot... or straight sales people that don't know a thing about DIY...

most repairs aren't that hard with a good forum to check and ask questions on... (with that said I've never had to do gelcoat repairs... but google it) coronakid and maugan are very apt with fiberglass

5/31/2006 1:04:28 PM

The photos are in my photo gallery. Those pictures give a pretty good representation of the damamge. I can post more pictures if needed.

6/1/2006 3:48:36 PM

that shit slammed against a dock hard

6/1/2006 3:50:04 PM

Yeah, I imagine the previous owner did not care too much about cosmetics...

6/1/2006 3:53:28 PM

youch

that one chip on the edge you can take care of with marine tex. While it may turn a bit yellow, it will fix the gelcoat enough not to worry about it.

The other crack is what worries me. It looks like one side of the crack is raised from the other side, which would probably indicate some sort of structural problem under the gelcoat with the glass.

6/1/2006 5:37:42 PM

Okay, so is there any way I can do the repair without the gel coat turning white? Also, I have looked on the internet for ways to repair gel coats and there seems to be a lot of variation on how people repair it. So I was wondering if there was a specific strategy that I should pursue. Lastly, how do I go about seeing if there are any structural problems? Thanks again for the advice.

6/1/2006 6:09:30 PM

like I said, the marine tex is the strongest, easiest solution... but it does turn a wee bit yellow.

There are gelcoat repair kits also available at West Marine that have dyes to color match, just follow the directions. As for structural damage, are you able to see the underside of the deck or at least feel if the glass has been broken? I'm pretty sure I see strands of glass coming out of that crack.

6/2/2006 8:37:47 AM

I would be worried about rot from having all that glass exposed.

6/2/2006 12:12:42 PM

1. Sand and clean damaged area
2. Buy some west systems two part epoxy(105 resin and 205 or 206 hardener) and some west systems 406 filler (its expensive, but its worth it), youll also need the pump kit to mix the epoxy in the correct proportions.
3. mix epoxy and filler until its firm so it wont run
4. fill the area, all cracks and voids
5. sand smooth
6. paint/gelcoat or whatever

After that I personally would get some paint like pettit easypoxy or something similiar and paint the washboards or even the whole topside if you want everything to match. If not just paint the repaired area. Doesnt look like its in an area thats going to flex all that much so the epoxy should hold up fine.

6/2/2006 1:15:18 PM

if you're going to go all out and use epoxy, then I'd put some kittyhair in there just in case there is structural damage.

6/2/2006 2:34:02 PM

Thanks for the advice Maugan, wbcreef and other posters. I'll work on it this weekend/week and I'll let you guys know how it turned out (post pictures). Is there any shop you guys recommend to buy this stuff? Also I guess you use a medium grit sandpaper. Thanks for the help; you guys helped me avoid totally screwing up my boat.

6/2/2006 3:10:42 PM

go to west marine on capital blvd to get the resin and so forth. be prepared to shell out $120 for all the resin and pumps and supplies.

For sanding, use 60 or 80 grit to shape the patch and then finish it off with some 120 and you should be ok. If you're going for showroom quality then you have to wetsand with 800/1200 to get the high gloss effect, but I doubt thats what you want around the fuel cap.

6/2/2006 3:14:01 PM

that shit might be a little cheaper at boaters world on glenwood, and they tend to a better selection. that west marine store is tiny.

6/2/2006 3:29:54 PM

us composites has some great low cost epoxies, using on the hobie now and have used it in the past and it held up well, but no local distributors, gotta order it online. they have a huge range of viscosities, stregths and cure times, you can match it to any application you need

6/3/2006 10:44:39 PM