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Gelcoat repair?


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Long story short, my friend slammed the transom of our VLX into a dock today and the dock won. :( The scratch is about 12"x .5" and went all the way through the gelcoat. It's located right above the rear Malibu stickers maybe 3"-4"below the rub rail, it looks like it would be a pretty straight forward fix without a whole lot of complexity.

Does anyone know how much getting something like that repaired will cost? (I realize it's tough to say without a picture of it, but really any sort of ballpark figure would be great. IE $500,$800 etc.) Could I clean it up and fill it in with the marine repair filler and then just take it in somewhere to have them shoot the gelcoat on?

Thanks,

-Richard

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How many gelcoat colors were damaged? I had a little 2 inch gouge once that needed only one color. I found the gelcoat exact match myself. Had to buy a whole quart for about $65 even though just a bit was used. Found a gelcoat/fiberglass guy that fixed it for $100. Your repair sounds more intensive. :guns:

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Luckily, it only damaged the white gelcoat which I understand is relatively easier to color match. Which is making me wonder if i should try to fix it myself...

Edited by DRAGON88
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If you are debating the DIY I would use a product called Sprectrum Color. They will have the color match for your boat and it is easier than you might think.....only you can judge if you can handle the repair.

One thing you can do is try to do the repair yourself and if you don't like it, then go to the professional. You will only be out a few bucks and some time.

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My only apprehension is the fact that I've never shot gelcoat before, and I'm not sure if a paste solution would work for something this deep.

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My only apprehension is the fact that I've never shot gelcoat before, and I'm not sure if a paste solution would work for something this deep.

I had a ding same location about the size of a dime. I used the color matched spectrum patch kit to fill it. Since I was having the boat detailed, I left the rough patch job for them to wet sand it. It turned out very well. I would recommend it.

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Not to be a downer here, but for a scratch that big don't try and fix it yourself, been there tried that. Its very difficult to feather in the repair and also very difficult to get it level. It's in a visible area so don't cheap out on this one.

I'd say you're looking at $500 to get that fixed.

-Chris

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Not to be a downer here, but for a scratch that big don't try and fix it yourself, been there tried that. Its very difficult to feather in the repair and also very difficult to get it level. It's in a visible area so don't cheap out on this one.

I'd say you're looking at $500 to get that fixed.

-Chris

I'm with Chris here, this repair is a cakewalk for a gelcoat guy. It was worth $100 to me to have it look perfect.

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The kit was 35 bucks with another 10 bucks in sandpaper. I am very happy with the repair. Just sayin' you could try the repair yourself and if then your not happy take it to the gel coat guy. No harm no foul.....AND you get to use your boat all summer. Gives you the option to take it in to the shop in the dead of winter :rockon:

Edited by Ruffdog
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Apparently my memory exaggerated a little bit. It's actually more like 7" by .25"

RWilliamsVLXdamage.jpg

For the archives, I'll let you guys know what it ends up costing.

Edited by DRAGON88
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Ouch - you'll likely need a new decal on that side too before the gelcoat guy is done with it.

That one will likely need to be filled first, then gelled.

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$380 - $400 was the price quoted, I have to haul it up to Salem and back though. Fuel and time considered $500 will be pretty close...

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Richard: First you need to make sure that iit did not break into the glass part of the boat Strands of fiberclass matt showing. From the pictures it didnt look to bad. You can fix this yourself if ther are no stands showing you will need a new decale to do it right. Gell coat will not fix that gouge by itself gell coat is just the color coat of your boat just like paint on a car. If you want to tackel this on your omn get yourself some evercoat resin and dry fiber pellets and mix them together to get the repair started. Then you can procede with the gell coat. Try a auto body suppier, they will sell what you need. Also you can use coevette filler made by evercoat. Fiberglass repairs are very expensive because we need to match your finish perfectly. And if you are paying me it better match. In most cases we paint the sides of boats because you will never get it matched right. Good LUCK

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