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Taking a Gelcoat sample?


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martinarcher

Need a little advice. The patrol boat on the lake hit our boat while trying to pull us over in a no wake zone. I was in neutral and he dropped his sunglasses and bumped the throttle while trying to tie up to us. He took a pretty nice piece of gelcoat out right behind the registration numbers above the rubrail. Mad.gif

I called the local Bu dealer and they were going to order color match gel with my hull ID, but the boat is too old for Spectrum to have gel on file. They have to do a whole gallon of custom colored gel using a sample of my boats gel. I sent them in two of the largest chips I could get off the boat using a sharp knife. They called me today and said they need a peice at least the size of a quarter. The gel just seems way too brittle to get a piece that big off the boat without it cracking.

Are there any tricks to getting a large piece of gel off in one chunk other than getting hit by the patrol boat again? Dontknow.gif Too bad I didn't notice if that piece was floating in the water. I was way too mad to look!

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Something the size of a the hole for your fuel tank vent maybe?

The best way to get that size piece off is probably to drill it, and the fiberglass below it, with a hole saw. I'm not saying that's the best for your boat, but it will give you a good size very clean sample.

If it comes to that - you could find some accessory - a boarding light for instance, and mount it to the hull over the hole you cut to get your sample?

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Wow, that sucks. Hope their taking care of you.

I agree that a holesaw is probably the best way to get a sample that size (without the drill bit of course). If you don't already own a set, you can get inexpensive holesaws at Harbor Freight.

And if your not comfortable doing it yourself, and they are really taking care of you, then take it into the dealer & have them take the sample. Might be a good idea to temporarily patch it at that point too.

Good luck!

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Another idea............can Spectrum send you a selection of stock color chips and then you can pick the best match? Otherwise, I like the make a hole and mount something idea.

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I always thought about putting a tramsom light in my '87, Skier but couldn't fathom boring holes thru the gelcoat.

Where did "the man" hit your boat? ...and I hope he didn't write you up for a wake - these are inboards, ya know...

Can't the color be scanned (by a reputable paint supply/ body shop) rather than removing more gelcoat?

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martinarcher

Thanks for the replies everyone. No I didn't get a ticket - he let me off with a warning and a damaged boat. I had the boat trolling so I'm not sure how I could have been throwing a wake. I buzzed buy a fishing boat that was trolling outside the no-wake zone so I wonder if the patrol officer thought I came into the no-wake zone on plane (if it looked like the fishing boat was in the no-wake from his angle across the lake). That's the only thing that makes sense to me.

Well, even if I were to use a hole saw I don't think I could get a good sample without taking all the fiberglass underneath it. I do need to mount a couple thru-hulls for the ballast system, I just wasn't planning on doing it quite yet. I'll have to take a good look at the corner of the boat and see if I can fire a hole through it without getting in the way of anything. I guess if I can't get a sample I'll trailer it up the the dealer and have them give it a go. I just couldn't believe how brittle it was trying to take just the gel without taking fiberglass with it. It is really hard to get a good size piece even if you score the outline of the sample all the way through the gel. It just comes off in small chips. Dontknow.gif

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Thanks for the replies everyone. No I didn't get a ticket - he let me off with a warning and a damaged boat. I had the boat trolling so I'm not sure how I could have been throwing a wake. I buzzed buy a fishing boat that was trolling outside the no-wake zone so I wonder if the patrol officer thought I came into the no-wake zone on plane (if it looked like the fishing boat was in the no-wake from his angle across the lake). That's the only thing that makes sense to me.

Well, even if I were to use a hole saw I don't think I could get a good sample without taking all the fiberglass underneath it. I do need to mount a couple thru-hulls for the ballast system, I just wasn't planning on doing it quite yet. I'll have to take a good look at the corner of the boat and see if I can fire a hole through it without getting in the way of anything. I guess if I can't get a sample I'll trailer it up the the dealer and have them give it a go. I just couldn't believe how brittle it was trying to take just the gel without taking fiberglass with it. It is really hard to get a good size piece even if you score the outline of the sample all the way through the gel. It just comes off in small chips. Dontknow.gif

Are the patrol folks covering the cost?

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martinarcher

It looks like it. I am filling out an accident report and sending in quotes for the repair costs as well as addresses and phone numbers of all 6 people that were in the boat.

What is a transom mounted remote? My boat is an 88'. Whistling.gif I take it that is a remote on the transom to control the head unit.

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Can't you just take your boat in?

You have to take it in for the repair right? I don't get why you're cutting up your boat to get a gel match.. Dontknow.gif

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martinarcher

I dunno guys. That's what the local dealer told me. He is sending it to Spektrum and they are using a machine to read the sample a create a color matched gel. They only do custom colors in gallons. I don;t really care because the state is buying the gel and I get to keep the rest of the gallon. Thumbup.gif

I got the sample tonight. I changed my bilge thru-hull to a 1 inch stainless fitting and added a second one for the ballast system I am working on. I had to use a scroll saw to cut the hole since they also said the little hole in the middle from a hole saw would ruin the sample. I then used a sanding drum to make the hole perfectly round and bevel the edges. Turned out pretty good and looks way better than the crappy old plastic fitting....

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I dunno guys. That's what the local dealer told me. He is sending it to Spektrum and they are using a machine to read the sample a create a color matched gel. They only do custom colors in gallons. I don;t really care because the state is buying the gel and I get to keep the rest of the gallon. Thumbup.gif

I got the sample tonight. I changed my bilge thru-hull to a 1 inch stainless fitting and added a second one for the ballast system I am working on. I had to use a scroll saw to cut the hole since they also said the little hole in the middle from a hole saw would ruin the sample. I then used a sanding drum to make the hole perfectly round and bevel the edges. Turned out pretty good and looks way better than the crappy old plastic fitting....

their website says they need at least 1 square inch of gelcoat sample, hope 1 round inch will work for you.

they actually have some helpful hints on their technical page. There has been discussion here about blisters and what to do about them, that is covered here as is info about how to do your own gel coat repairs. Here is the link: http://www.spectrumcolor.com/technicalinfo.htm

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martinarcher

Good find! I didn't search their site yet. There are a couple scratches on the bottom of the boat I'll be attacking once I get it back with the remaining gallon of gel. Thumbup.gif

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