It looks good, more important for it to be smooth than exactly the same shade of white. You never notice that while cruising down a wave. I've only done small spot repair gel coat patches, but this video makes me want to get the old Explorer down and sand it and just do the whole hull. And I don't know why. I hate sanding.
my only suggestion: instead of that non-orbital sander, look into making a fairing block. they aren't hard to rig up, and can be bought as well. Those will get your surface perfect for the final sanding/polishing: no odd curves in places they shouldn't be.
Btw Luke, I did my own keel strip on my Illusion with a “Keel Easy”, and it came out fantastic! White on white.😊I did use a heat gun to apply mine. I’ve done 3 kayaks with Keel Easy, very pleased with all three.
Awesome!! I’ve gone back and forth on doing it, but I’ve seen some that didn’t turn out great when done DIY so I was hesitant to do it. Thanks for letting me know though. Maybe it’s worth doing once I fix the rest of the hull
The miracle of white is how forgiving it is to variation. Gelcoat is notoriously hard to match. You did great and your method seems sound. Someone else mentions epoxy as a substitute, but my concern is that polyester does not bond to epoxy and later this would come back to haunt you.
What I don't understand is that they say the gelcoat with wax is to be used as a topcoat, and gelcoat without wax is for building up layers of thickness. The gelcoat without wax is said to remain tacky so do you refrain from sanding until the final topcoat is applied? Alternately will multiple layers of the "with wax" version properly adhere to the sublayers?
I’m not a fast paddler, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. Changing from kayak to kayak I’d be able to get a sense if I’m paddling fast or not. But just fixing the gel coat, I wouldn’t be aware enough. I’ll bet there are paddlers that are so in tune with their equipment they probably are able to. Or at least if you’re timing yourself maybe you’d see a difference?
@@KayakHipster yeah it’s hard to isolate that as a factor vs how you’re feeling, conditions, etc. I’d imagine racers would be the most in tune with it though, so maybe!
It looks good, more important for it to be smooth than exactly the same shade of white. You never notice that while cruising down a wave. I've only done small spot repair gel coat patches, but this video makes me want to get the old Explorer down and sand it and just do the whole hull. And I don't know why. I hate sanding.
Exactly! 👍
my only suggestion: instead of that non-orbital sander, look into making a fairing block. they aren't hard to rig up, and can be bought as well. Those will get your surface perfect for the final sanding/polishing: no odd curves in places they shouldn't be.
Awesome thanks mate, got a couple of nicks and bumps I have picked up that this is really timely.
Nice work Luke!
Btw Luke, I did my own keel strip on my Illusion with a “Keel Easy”, and it came out fantastic! White on white.😊I did use a heat gun to apply mine. I’ve done 3 kayaks with Keel Easy, very pleased with all three.
Awesome!! I’ve gone back and forth on doing it, but I’ve seen some that didn’t turn out great when done DIY so I was hesitant to do it. Thanks for letting me know though. Maybe it’s worth doing once I fix the rest of the hull
The miracle of white is how forgiving it is to variation. Gelcoat is notoriously hard to match. You did great and your method seems sound. Someone else mentions epoxy as a substitute, but my concern is that polyester does not bond to epoxy and later this would come back to haunt you.
What I don't understand is that they say the gelcoat with wax is to be used as a topcoat, and gelcoat without wax is for building up layers of thickness. The gelcoat without wax is said to remain tacky so do you refrain from sanding until the final topcoat is applied? Alternately will multiple layers of the "with wax" version properly adhere to the sublayers?
Would you use this to fill slight dents 1.5 inches long ..very slight dents put into the hull by Thule hullavators
Did you notice any performance improvements? I’ve heard some racers swear by boat polish but I’m not sure whether it’s psychosomatic or real.
I’m not a fast paddler, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. Changing from kayak to kayak I’d be able to get a sense if I’m paddling fast or not. But just fixing the gel coat, I wouldn’t be aware enough. I’ll bet there are paddlers that are so in tune with their equipment they probably are able to. Or at least if you’re timing yourself maybe you’d see a difference?
@@KayakHipster yeah it’s hard to isolate that as a factor vs how you’re feeling, conditions, etc. I’d imagine racers would be the most in tune with it though, so maybe!
How long did it take for the coat to harden completely before sanding?
I let it cure overnight. Rock solid the next morning.