07 Swim deck trim remove and gelcoat fill

[Arick]

I really dislike the trim rail around the swim deck on my 2007 sunscape.  It looks like hell, rivets aren't flush, etc..

My plan was to remove the trim and the rivets and fill the holes with gelcoat.  While I haven't removed the trim quite yet, I imagine the holes are "deep" and it would not be cost effective to fill it all the way with gelcoat.  Is there something else I could mostly fill the hole with and then finish with gel coat?  Please don't say fiberglass as thats something I just don't think I want to delve into for this.

Thoughts?

[formulaben]

I'd use Marine-Tex, it's thick like a putty.  Mask off the holes, then over-fill them, then sand and polish.

http://marinetex.com/products/marine-tex-products/marine-tex-epoxy-putty/

[Eagleboy99]

Epoxy can be a dog to sand, so easy on the over-fill.

[Arick]

On 1/4/2021 at 5:27 PM, formulaben said:

I'd use Marine-Tex, it's thick like a putty.  Mask off the holes, then over-fill them, then sand and polish.

http://marinetex.com/products/marine-tex-products/marine-tex-epoxy-putty/

If I understand correctly you're saying to use this in place of gel-coat? 

I read on their site that the epoxy can be tinted. The color I'm trying to match in Sangria and its a sun faded sangria from 07.  

[Eagleboy99]

If you are going to colour-match, why not just use gel?  And you should clean/freshen up the  faded colour - it is likely just normal oxidation.  Otherwise, you  will match the faded colour and the first time you clean and wax it... I spent the better part of day last fall on my 99 RLX stripes and  the colours look like the day it was popped out of the mold. 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Eagleboy99
Spelling

[Arick]

1 minute ago, Eagleboy99 said:

If you are going to colour-match, why not just use gel?  And you should clean/freshen up the  faded colour - it is likely just normal oxidation.  Otherwise, you  will match the faded colour and the first time you clean and wax it... I spent the better part of day last fall on my 99 RLX stipes and  the colours look like the day it was popped out of the mold. 

I'm all for using gel.  This is certainly not an area I'm knowledgeable in and my original post I was looking to fill the rivet holes in to save on gel coat.

The swim deck was neglected prior to me owning the boat.  I plan on cleaning it all up before I end up doing the final fix.  Also will be putting a new swim pad on it.

[Eagleboy99]

Use thickened epoxy to almost fill the hole and then gel coat over it to make it flush. 

[Eagleboy99]

Some tips on filling screw holes here. https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.php/repairing-machined-holes-in-fiberglass/  Note the comments about chamfering the holes.

[granddaddy55]

On 1/9/2021 at 5:04 PM, Eagleboy99 said:

Use thickened epoxy to almost fill the hole and then gel coat over it to make it flush. 

this^^^^  but the bondo glass from autozone is compatible with gel per spectrum snd easy to work with snd no mixing 

 and when manually applying the gel versus spraying it gel sucks,  did 4 repairs last year ladling it on with a brush underneath the boat and at corner of sides and hull bottom and spraying it on is the way to go.  the spectrum support tech said he wouldn't do a gel coat repair he couldnt spray, ladling it in with a brush ain't easy and i found pin hole bubbles were hard to defeat. they come from manually mixing gel and hardener and from just poring it into paint cup    two of my four repairs you can see one or two if your doing a very very close inspection 

the swim deck is a perfect situation to spray because its removable from boat

this winter i discovered two small voids that broke plus a third, when the air warms up i have 3 more to get done before season kicks off, uggggh!

Edited January 12, 2021 by granddaddy55

[justgary]

On 1/3/2021 at 8:17 PM, Arick said:

It looks like hell, rivets aren't flush, etc..

Does it look like hell because of impact damage?  If so, you might want to replace it so that you continue the kind of protection that you can easily replace.  

I could be mistaken, but I think the trim is there to mask the uneven mold line as much as for edge protection.  Your job won't be just filling the holes, but finishing the entire mold line as well.  Once you get done with your gel coat job, it won't be very durable at all.  Go for something that can take a hit.

If you really want the trim gone with an "Easy Button," fill and sand the holes as above and then put a vinyl stripe along that edge, possibly in a contrasting color that matches your interior.