The confidence you have is awesome. I have some stress cracks and spider cracks I'm going to take on. I'm watching every video on boat gel coat repair on the internet I swear😂. I have already learned what not to do by watching video and reading comments. I have a real good idea of how I'm going to repair what I want to. It's just nerve racking to actually get out there and start grinding. I'm afraid I don't have the talent to make the repair job look as nice as some of the jobs I see in the video. I know most of the materials I need and that I don't have a lot of time to work with resins and expoxy so I have to get it right and I have to be quick. Especially because I live in Florida. I will be trying to do this in my driveway in the summer heat and humidity. Trying to find weather windows with no rain. In Florida thats like trying to split an atom with a pudy knife in your garage😂 . Most of my repairs are on the side of the boat above the rub rail. I have two definite impact circular cracked areas that to do right I will have to grind out down to the glass. I will have to put a couple layers of glass in then I plan on using polyester filler to fill and smooth and shape the area for sanding. It's that part that worries me I suck at sanding things back to original shape to get a nice hidden repair. It's prep thats everything and I know it.
Just found your channel and love the Gelcoat repairs. Curious if you could use thickened gel coat instead of the body filler to avoid sanding through finish gel coat ?
Thank you! Yes, you can. It seems not as efficient because it takes longer to dry than body filler but will work for what you are looking for it to do.
@matthewwebb62024 Thank you! For light dock rash and scratches we use USC-icing. It’s a self-leveling polyester product. Below the waterline we use the 3m premium vinylester filler
@bobgeoghegan5910 For light dock rash and scratches we use USC-icing. It’s a self-leveling polyester product Below the waterline we use the 3m premium vinylester filler.
great video. Is there a reason why you used the filler, as opposed to thickened gelcoat (with colloidal sillica, etc..) to fill the scratches? I wanted to fill similar scratches on my boat, and am afraid that if I compound or wetsand the boat in the future, it would wear through the outer gelocat coloring?
Thank you! You can definitely do that. We do that on dark colored boats. I personally think it is a bit more time consuming for similar results. I feel like it needs quite a few passes and then still isn’t perfectly colored, better but not perfect. The thickened Gelcoat still may show up if the Gelcoat is that thin from future wetsanding and buffing. I think if you keep up with the maintenance you shouldn’t need to wet sand in the future, just polish and wax.
This is a very good video, slightly different method than most others, top notch end result! May i ask a few questions: what is "Patch booster" chemically( here in Europe have not seen such product?) 2: usually you need to cover the gel coat to mak it harden totally with a surfacing agent on the final coat or wax film. You did not use such? Did you use any thinner, gelcoat is usually rather thick? Thanks in advance !
@xsailor65 Patch booster or patch aid is used to thin, adds gloss, and will act like a wax additive to harden the Gelcoat. We like to use this product but it may not be available in your region. fiberglasssupplydepot.com/Gelcoat-Patchaid.html Another one that is more easily available and that we often use is Duratec and here is a link for what that looks like… 904-001 Duratec Clear Hi-Gloss Additive for Gelcoat (Gallon) a.co/d/9cnAXHX
Really good video. I'm looking at a 28 year old boat. Should I try a heavy cut in and buff to see if it can be revived? how can I tell if its too far gone? and is the only option paint it, or is it ever practical to sand and re-apply gelcoat?
Find an inconspicuous small area on the hull. Get 1000, 800, 600 and 400 grit sandpaper along with a spray bottle. Start at 1000 wet and sand til you see milky residue. Rinse and work down to rougher grit as needed until you start to see a smooth, mirror like finish. You should be able to work thru the oxidation to clean gelcoat before you burn thru it... unless someone already worked it a long time ago- some manufacturers are better than others with gelcoat application, so you might get lucky and be able to sand/cut/polish what you've got.
@saokim82 We rarely use wax but when we do we always wipe the wax with acetone before sanding, this helps out a lot. Patch aid, patch booster, duratec clear additive will act like a wax aid. I still wipe it with acetone before sanding
@aaronalvarado2791 we used HK Gelcoat for this particular boat but we use many different ones depending on age/make boats. Spectrum Gelcoat is another good one that you might be able to find for your particular boat. Many times we start with a white tint base and tint it ourselves.
@@ChettyH2O your videos are top shelf. Very informative and easy to follow. When possible please add videos that include the fiberglass repair phase. Awesome results.
@jamiebraman2299 We use 3M Wool Compounding Pad & 3M polishing pads (yellow wool). For the compounds and wax we use 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Heavy Cutting Compound, 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Medium Cutting Compound + Wax, 3M Marine Finesse-it II Glaze, Collinite No. 885 Paste Fleetwax. Another product we use often is purchased locally from Premier Polishing and it’s there formula for heavy and medium compound. These are our go to products.
@stephensmith6055 Thank you! For light dock rash and scratches we used USC-icing. It’s a self-leveling polyester product. Below the waterline we use the 3m premium marine vinylester filler.
I have a question i have a 2008 sea pro center console how can I find out the original gel coat paint color? Can't find out any information about it! Do you have any suggestions?
You can contact your manufacturer using your hull identification number to check the original color. With that, they can assist where you might be able to purchase factory Gelcoat.
The confidence you have is awesome. I have some stress cracks and spider cracks I'm going to take on. I'm watching every video on boat gel coat repair on the internet I swear😂. I have already learned what not to do by watching video and reading comments. I have a real good idea of how I'm going to repair what I want to. It's just nerve racking to actually get out there and start grinding. I'm afraid I don't have the talent to make the repair job look as nice as some of the jobs I see in the video. I know most of the materials I need and that I don't have a lot of time to work with resins and expoxy so I have to get it right and I have to be quick. Especially because I live in Florida. I will be trying to do this in my driveway in the summer heat and humidity. Trying to find weather windows with no rain. In Florida thats like trying to split an atom with a pudy knife in your garage😂 . Most of my repairs are on the side of the boat above the rub rail. I have two definite impact circular cracked areas that to do right I will have to grind out down to the glass. I will have to put a couple layers of glass in then I plan on using polyester filler to fill and smooth and shape the area for sanding. It's that part that worries me I suck at sanding things back to original shape to get a nice hidden repair. It's prep thats everything and I know it.
Keep these coming!!! Awesome vids
Sir,
You do exceptionally good work, And your explanation of your process is outstanding. Many Thanks!! From Jeff in Outerbanks NC
Thank you so much
This was a clear and helpful video, I learned alot (not sure enough to attempt) and appreciate you sharing this!
@brianblair6569 Thank you! I’m going to do a smaller repair in the future that may be a good starting point for many.
Very impressive results! Thanks for sharing your technique!
@1999Valkyrie Thank you!
Those repairs turned out great!
Thank you @kookiedabear I really appreciate it!
Great job. Thanks for the great lesson as well⁶
Thank you @ingvey999 I am going to do more in the future.
Amazing work!
Thank you, I really appreciate it! @daved6708
Just found your channel and love the Gelcoat repairs. Curious if you could use thickened gel coat instead of the body filler to avoid sanding through finish gel coat ?
Thank you! Yes, you can. It seems not as efficient because it takes longer to dry than body filler but will work for what you are looking for it to do.
Excellent
Thank you!
Love your video, wish you were near the Florida keys . I had a small repair done with a bad result 😢
Beautiful job
Thank you, I appreciate it! @bahamasking2063
@@ChettyH2O Welcome
Look great!
Thank you @joseramos7476 I will be doing more Gelcoat videos in the future
Nice job! 👍👍😯😯
Thank you, I appreciate it @thoughtfulwander
@@ChettyH2O 👍👍
What body filler did you use? Great video. THANKS
I would also like to know what body filler you used. Thanks!
@matthewwebb62024 Thank you!
For light dock rash and scratches we use USC-icing. It’s a self-leveling polyester product. Below the waterline we use the 3m premium vinylester filler
@bobgeoghegan5910 For light dock rash and scratches we use USC-icing.
It’s a self-leveling polyester product Below the waterline we use the 3m premium vinylester filler.
@@ChettyH2O Thanks for the reply!
great video. Is there a reason why you used the filler, as opposed to thickened gelcoat (with colloidal sillica, etc..) to fill the scratches? I wanted to fill similar scratches on my boat, and am afraid that if I compound or wetsand the boat in the future, it would wear through the outer gelocat coloring?
Thank you! You can definitely do that. We do that on dark colored boats. I personally think it is a bit more time consuming for similar results. I feel like it needs quite a few passes and then still isn’t perfectly colored, better but not perfect. The thickened Gelcoat still may show up if the Gelcoat is that thin from future wetsanding and buffing. I think if you keep up with the maintenance you shouldn’t need to wet sand in the future, just polish and wax.
This is a very good video, slightly different method than most others, top notch end result! May i ask a few questions: what is "Patch booster" chemically( here in Europe have not seen such product?) 2: usually you need to cover the gel coat to mak it harden totally with a surfacing agent on the final coat or wax film. You did not use such? Did you use any thinner, gelcoat is usually rather thick? Thanks in advance !
@xsailor65 Patch booster or patch aid is used to thin, adds gloss, and will act like a wax additive to harden the Gelcoat. We like to use this product but it may not be available in your region. fiberglasssupplydepot.com/Gelcoat-Patchaid.html
Another one that is more easily available and that we often use is Duratec and here is a link for what that looks like… 904-001 Duratec Clear Hi-Gloss Additive for Gelcoat (Gallon) a.co/d/9cnAXHX
Really good video. I'm looking at a 28 year old boat. Should I try a heavy cut in and buff to see if it can be revived? how can I tell if its too far gone? and is the only option paint it, or is it ever practical to sand and re-apply gelcoat?
Find an inconspicuous small area on the hull. Get 1000, 800, 600 and 400 grit sandpaper along with a spray bottle. Start at 1000 wet and sand til you see milky residue. Rinse and work down to rougher grit as needed until you start to see a smooth, mirror like finish. You should be able to work thru the oxidation to clean gelcoat before you burn thru it... unless someone already worked it a long time ago- some manufacturers are better than others with gelcoat application, so you might get lucky and be able to sand/cut/polish what you've got.
Hi! Do you use any wax or seal to mix with gelcoat, I use a little too much of wax and wet sanding is pain in the butt.. thank you..
@saokim82 We rarely use wax but when we do we always wipe the wax with acetone before sanding, this helps out a lot. Patch aid, patch booster, duratec clear additive will act like a wax aid. I still wipe it with acetone before sanding
nice job!! How did you match the gelcoat color?
Keep the videos up, what brand gelcoat at you using and who’s matching it for y’all? I have a Baja I need to do some gelcoat repairs
@aaronalvarado2791 we used HK Gelcoat for this particular boat but we use many different ones depending on age/make boats. Spectrum Gelcoat is another good one that you might be able to find for your particular boat. Many times we start with a white tint base and tint it ourselves.
@@ChettyH2O thanks for the response!
Do you color match gel coat when you can’t get it from the mfg? If so do you have any tips you can share?
@bubbabigbucks1 Yes, we color match often. I’ll try to make a video of color matching for you.
@@ChettyH2O your videos are top shelf. Very informative and easy to follow. When possible please add videos that include the fiberglass repair phase. Awesome results.
Very helpful video - what are you using for buffing wheels? Which compund and wax combinations do you like?
@jamiebraman2299 We use 3M Wool Compounding Pad & 3M polishing pads (yellow wool). For the compounds and wax we use 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Heavy Cutting Compound, 3M Perfect-It Gelcoat Medium Cutting Compound + Wax, 3M Marine Finesse-it II Glaze, Collinite No. 885 Paste Fleetwax. Another product we use often is purchased locally from Premier Polishing and it’s there formula for heavy and medium compound. These are our go to products.
Fantastic video! What body filler did you use? Regular auto body or marine/fiberglass specific?
@stephensmith6055 Thank you!
For light dock rash and scratches we used USC-icing. It’s a self-leveling polyester product. Below the waterline we use the 3m premium marine vinylester filler.
I have a question i have a 2008 sea pro center console how can I find out the original gel coat paint color? Can't find out any information about it! Do you have any suggestions?
You can contact your manufacturer using your hull identification number to check the original color. With that, they can assist where you might be able to purchase factory Gelcoat.
Are you guys near Ft Lauderdale. I need some work done.
Unfortunately we are not in Ft Lauderdale, we are on the southwest coast if you wanted to bring it in.
Hi it's very good video mate can u please help me with some guideness to get my boat done it's in india it's a regal 2665
Thank you! I can try to answer some questions to help you @vinodkamath5510
May I know what body filler that you are using which is comparable to gelcoat. Thanks
For the light scratches we used a filler product called icing.
@@ChettyH2O Thanks
After applying filler, what grit did you use to sand it?
@shawnabela I used 220 to sand the filler down
Do you have a gel coat repair biz? I need some work done. I’m in Naples
@opticalinch yes I do, it’s Collier Fiberglass Services but we are scheduling out a ways for jobs that take more than a day.
What did you use for the filler?
@rgrant290 we used icing and 3m vinylester premium marine filler
whats the sprayer you are using?
@jcoop21 the smaller area we used a Preval sprayer. The larger area I did use a gun.
What is the name of sprayer can decide you used?
@cunexttues I used a Preval sprayer
@@ChettyH2Othank you fast response!
@@ChettyH2O how many coats did you use? For that spot?
Not a how to just watch
Damn dude, calm down with all the enthusiasm..
@atomicboyscout haha I know I’m working on it