[Alberg30] When to use polyester and not

[George Dinwiddie]

If it's just missing gelcoat, and not too large an area, you probably 
won't have much trouble with this.

You can get gelcoat repair kits that have a small amount of gelcoat as 
well as some tints to match the color.  This is a real art, as you want 
the color of the cured gelcoat to match, and that's different from when 
it's wet.  You'll probably have to make some test batches, mixing the 
same amount of gelcoat and keeping track of the colerant added, to 
compare with your current hull if you want a good match.

I think these kits usually have some wax mixed in the gelcoat.  The wax 
rises to the surface and blocks the air, allowing the suface to cure 
hard.  If it doesn't, you'll want to get a little PVA (poly-vinyl 
alcohol) to paint or spray over it to do the same thing.

I usually just mix up some thickened epoxy (thickened to peanut-butter 
consistency with glass beads for easy sanding) to fill the hole and then 
apply some touch-up paint over top.  If it's just gel-coat that's 
missing, you should be able to do the epoxy in one go.  If you need two 
(sometimes the epoxy is too soft and sags out of the hole), then don't 
forget to wash the first coat with detergent and water to remove the 
amine blush.  Otherwise the second layer of epoxy will not bond well.

  - George


Scott Wallace wrote:
> Hi George,
> 
> What would you reccomend for small "chunks" of gelcoat that have come off of my
> bow on my Bluesnose fiberglass sloop? I need something with fill in it or else a
> coat or two of epoxy to replace the small holes where my sloop hit the metal edge
> of the dock coming in to fast...the fiberglass underneath looks fine but the
> gelcoat took a beating...

-- 
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Hope your road is a long one.                        George Dinwiddie
   May there be many summer mornings when,       gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   with what pleasure, what joy,                 http://www.Alberg30.org
   you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time;
                                            from 'Ithaka' by C.P. Cavafy
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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