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Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
By:Bill Hamm
Date: 4/26/2011, 1:08 pm

: Another option for thought - I am just finishing up a repair on a
: fiberglass kayak that suffered some impact damage before I
: bought it. Rather than try to match gel coat color or try to
: re-apply gel coat, I just faired the repair carefully with epoxy
: filler, and will soon sand the whole hull with wet and dry, and
: paint it with some two part polyurethane marine paint. Interlux
: Perfection is pretty widely available at larger marine stores,
: and comes in a good range of colors including some off whites
: perfect for glass kayak hulls.

: If it was my kayak, I would remove the crazed gel coat completely,
: fair with epoxy filler, and paint the whole hull. As long as you
: remove any gel coat that is failing or likely to fail (yeah, I
: know, easier in theory than practice), the repair should look
: perfect and stay that way. If you go this route, make sure you
: aggressively clean the hull before sanding it because there will
: still be traces of mold release on the surface. I have used
: acetone in the past with good results, but given the stories I
: have read on this site about the quality of acetone, I will be
: doing further homework on this before cleaning my hull. I
: imagine that Interlux has some suggestions on this score
: somewhere.

: Good luck,

: Allan Edie

If you're going to use Interlux, I think their thinner is #333, anyone that's got the paint has the thinner.

Best to not mix brand names, most of the time it works, not always.

Bill H.

Messages In This Thread

Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought Boat *PIC*
Kurt Maurer -- 4/22/2011, 6:53 pm
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
dave g -- 4/22/2011, 9:13 pm
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
Bryan Hansel -- 4/23/2011, 12:18 am
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
dave g -- 4/23/2011, 12:52 am
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought *PIC*
Kurt Maurer -- 4/23/2011, 9:50 am
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
Bill Hamm -- 4/24/2011, 12:28 am
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
Al Edie -- 4/26/2011, 11:36 am
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
Bill Hamm -- 4/26/2011, 1:08 pm
Re: Off Topic: Gel Coat, or Fixing a Store Bought
Al Edie -- 5/1/2011, 9:33 pm
Look at the bright side, Kurt...
Robert N Pruden -- 4/26/2011, 4:47 pm