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Fixing Many Gel Coat Chips


Internetguy

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Hey guys, just bought my first boat and I'm getting it ready for the springtime. Its a 2005 VLX.  the exterior has quite a few chips and scratches in it. Nothing deep, no fiberglass exposed just lots of small chips in the blue gel coat and the rub rail on the sides is not pretty. The previous owner was careless when docking at times, he didn't use fenders at times and it resulted in chips in the gel coat and scratches on the rub rail. The interior is actually in very good shape and cleaned up really well.  I would like to make the exterior look nice if possible. The graphics are fadded and look really bad so im going to take those off as well. I bought the gel coat chip repair from spectrum(color match), but i worry there might be too many nicks to fix this way and the color fade may be too obvious. Just wanted some general advice before i get started on a DIY repair.  Would it be pricey to get a pro to fix this problem, or would i get a pretty decent outcome myself with if im careful? Also, would it be worth replacing the rub rail here are some pics: c5lOscT.jpg

 

Edited by Internetguy
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Congrats and welcome!  I have a peach 2005 also.  Came with snaps so I had to learn gel coat repair.  Spectrum gel coat repair is a great product if they have your color.  If the gel coat is not penetrated recommend you just buff/sand the scratches out.  Practice on a "not front and center" spot first.  If the scratch is a different color then you'll have to repair.   This thread may give you a few ideas. 

 

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Well, you gave me the confidence to dive in. The outcome cant look worse than the chips currently so I went to town on one side, masked off as much as i could and filled in all the chips. Let it dry over night. One concern i have is i took of the sticker on one of the sides and sanded down some rough spots with 1000 grit paper and then tried to compound and polish, but the scratches from the 1000 grit arent coming out. I have ordered the 3M super rubbing compound thinking it might be better at removing the scratches, but now i wish i had never touched it with the wet sandpaper. any advice on that? what compounds did you use for cut and polish?

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I used 600 wet sandpaper and Meguiar's #49.  Light touch on the sandpaper and be sure to back it with something flat when trying to sand down and bumps or ridges.

Buffing and elbow grease should get rid of your scratches.  You have a variable speed polisher I assume?

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Thanks for the thread on this - I've got some gel coat stuff on my list for this spring as well.  @minnmarker great looking job on the snaps removal!  

Spectrum's website is in the stone age.  Wish there was a way to search by year, make, model - but nothing a phone call can't handle.  I was on the fence about a premix vs a mix your own kit and this really sealed it for me.  

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36 minutes ago, minnmarker said:

I used 600 wet sandpaper and Meguiar's #49.  Light touch on the sandpaper and be sure to back it with something flat when trying to sand down and bumps or ridges.

Buffing and elbow grease should get rid of your scratches.  You have a variable speed polisher I assume?

I was using the Meguiar's Ultra Cut Compound, followed by the ultra finishing compound, but looks like the #49 cuts harder. Hopefully the 3M will work out for me if not ill try the #49. I have a DA variable polisher with the foam pads.

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Just now, Internetguy said:

I was using the Meguiar's Ultra Cut Compound, followed by the ultra finishing compound, but looks like the #49 cuts harder. Hopefully the 3M will work out for me if not ill try the #49. I have a DA variable polisher with the foam pads.

Try the wool pads. I think they do a better job.

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3 minutes ago, minnmarker said:

Try the wool pads. I think they do a better job.

So i was a little confused by the wool pads, most of them are sold as an elastic sock-like cover it seems. What do i put them over? Just put it over my foam pad?

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Just now, Internetguy said:

So i was a little confused by the wool pads, most of them are sold as an elastic sock-like cover it seems. What do i put them over? Just put it over my foam pad?

You just put them over the plastic disk with the "permanent" thin foam (and maybe Velcro) on it.

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1 hour ago, Internetguy said:

So i was a little confused by the wool pads, most of them are sold as an elastic sock-like cover it seems. What do i put them over? Just put it over my foam pad?

They make hook and loop wool pads.  I've used the shur hold brand one and the did a good job. 

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mvN6h5fr.jpgKba4vwX.jpglHxQmuU.jpgE7MVGlb.jpgciM50an.jpg

the 3M Marine Compound and finishing material worked well for removing the scratch marks from the gel coat. It came out pretty good. The color isnt opaque enough on some light scratches the white shows through a little bit. I assume i should have grinded a little deeper in those so there is more repair material. Also learned that less material is better as  its less sanding work. Next side which is just as bad as this side was should go smoother. The compound worked really good on the racks too for removing oxidation. I finished with alluminum polish and they came out great.

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did you mention that you used 600 wet sand and then went right to compound?  It's been a while since I had to do gel coat work but in the past it was 3-4 stages of wet sand for me, THEN you hit it with compound.  for example 1,000 grit > 1,500 grit > 2,000 grit and then compound it or else you will definitely see the scratches from the heavier grit.

 

 

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