DIY Gelcoat Repair

I got some nicks and scratches that need to go. This is my first try at gell coat repair. Here are some pick's of what I have done so far. Like I said first time @ it so if you have any advice

I got the direct color gell from spectrum. They have all major brands of gell in factory colors. You can buy it in liqued (for spraying) or gell (for chip's and holes) I got the gell.


This is the chip I was gonna fill.

First things first. I got a space heater and got the garage nice and warm.

Then I prepped the aera with Acetone

Tape off the aera

Take a dremel and clean out the aera to be filled. The gell will have a better aera to stick to.

I filled the chip with gell and coved it with packing tape and then sanded it with 220 and then 400. The chip is VERY hard to see. went all around the boat and filled every deep scratch and or chip.

Grant, you need a job that requires you more, or grand kids or something. You make me feel soooo lazy. Thanks for the tips, gel coat repair is my next step. Looks too easy when you do it. So jealous. Let the haters hate.

Sorry to revive an old thread but I have a question. Grant, for sanding, did you sand everything by hand or did you use any sort of orbital or palm sander? I'm guessing on the flat areas you block sanded right?

I repaired some areas under the bow of my boat last night. I ran out of time and forgot to apply the packing tape. It will be at least another week before I can get back to work on the boat an sand it. Is there any issue with letting it sit this long before sanding?

It should skin over and cure, the plastic or spray is used so it cures properly at the surface. If you put extra on, it should work out, especially if you leave it for a long time. It will probably just be harder to sand, ot that gel-coat is that hard. Use a block to knock down the high points. If you use a power sander, be very careful and look often. Also, wet sand only. The orbital will come in handy when you are using cutting polish and wax.

I saw you post this link in a current thread. I just wanted ask, now that its been quite some time since the repair, have any shadows or "ghosting" popped up around the repairs? or has the color remained relatively consistent between the repair and the existing gel?

Bryce the tepair still looks great I have no way of knowing where the repairs in the deck used to be but I know where the pedo tubes used to be ill take and post a pic of what it looks like currently. But the repairs have stood the test of time