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Drilling Holes in Gel Coat


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I need to drill a hole in the gel coat on the family jet ski and I have a few questions. From what I have read the procedure is:

1. Completely tape off area to be drilled.

2. Measure 100 times before drilling.

3. Run the drill or hole saw in reverse until through gel coat.

4. After through gel coat run in normal direction until hole is completed.

5. Chamfer holes when done to prevent spider cracks.

I understand every thing in the list except the last part. If the hole is small enough I know you can just chamfer with a slightly larger drill bit. But what if you have to use a hole saw? Using a slightly larger hole saw won't do it obviously. What is the preferred technique to chamfer larger holes?

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I need to drill a hole in the gel coat on the family jet ski and I have a few questions. From what I have read the procedure is:

1. Completely tape off area to be drilled.

2. Measure 100 times before drilling.

3. Run the drill or hole saw in reverse until through gel coat.

4. After through gel coat run in normal direction until hole is completed.

5. Chamfer holes when done to prevent spider cracks.

I understand every thing in the list except the last part. If the hole is small enough I know you can just chamfer with a slightly larger drill bit. But what if you have to use a hole saw? Using a slightly larger hole saw won't do it obviously. What is the preferred technique to chamfer larger holes?

Do you have a dremmel or similar tool with small sanding attachments?

Edited by Ndawg12
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Gel is relatively soft. I've just run some 320 grit sandpaper around the edges of the hole using your finger until I eased the edges appropriately. No issues so far (2 years).

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On the larger holes, I've used a small very fine half-round file to put the chamfer on the hole, followed by fine grit sandpaper to finish it off. Might be a bit of overkill, but it is so easy, and I already have the file, so I figure better safe than sorry.

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  • 1 year later...

I need to drill a hole in the gel coat on the family jet ski and I have a few questions. From what I have read the procedure is:

1. Completely tape off area to be drilled.

2. Measure 100 times before drilling.

3. Run the drill or hole saw in reverse until through gel coat.

4. After through gel coat run in normal direction until hole is completed.

5. Chamfer holes when done to prevent spider cracks.

I understand every thing in the list except the last part. If the hole is small enough I know you can just chamfer with a slightly larger drill bit. But what if you have to use a hole saw? Using a slightly larger hole saw won't do it obviously. What is the preferred technique to chamfer larger holes?

what tape do you guys recommend?...

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I need to drill a hole in the gel coat on the family jet ski and I have a few questions. From what I have read the procedure is:

1. Completely tape off area to be drilled.

2. Measure 100 times before drilling.

3. Run the drill or hole saw in reverse until through gel coat.

4. After through gel coat run in normal direction until hole is completed.

5. Chamfer holes when done to prevent spider cracks.

I understand every thing in the list except the last part. If the hole is small enough I know you can just chamfer with a slightly larger drill bit. But what if you have to use a hole saw? Using a slightly larger hole saw won't do it obviously. What is the preferred technique to chamfer larger holes?

You should be able to drill the whole thing in reverse, especially if your using a larger hole saw. The teeth are pretty aggresive and will not have a problem going through fiberglass in reverse. Besides if you change directions it may catch and bounce the bit out of the whole. This could chip the fiberglass/gelcoat even with tape on it.

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