Gelcoat repairs... help!!

[Ice Kiddie]

After a thorough hull cleaning last weekend, we've discovered a couple of dings that need filling.

A quick browse in the chandlers, and I located some "Plastic Padding" gelcoat filler - is this OK stuff?

How long does it take to cure? Some info I found on the 'net suggests about 20 minutes - so if I use tape over the filler as suggested in Philip's FAQ on RIBnet http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9051 can I remove the tape after 20 minutes and get sanding straight away?

And if I use the tape as suggested above, am I correct in assuming that it's used with the adhesive side onto the filler?

[Jon Fuller]

Firstly, the best chance of getting a reasonable colour match (there are literally hundreds of different 'whites'), is to get some gel from Mr Jelly, he should know what brand and exact colour was used to build the boat.

Personally, I wouldn't go by a clock for curing time etc, just mix it pretty hot (high-ish catalist ratio) bosh itonto the prepared damage, and leave it till the next day.

Excepting this coming weekend, I'll be around the yard over the next few, and will happily give you a hand.

[Jon Fuller]

Oh yeah, don't worry about the sellotape, once cured, you can just wipe off the sticky surface with a drop of acetone, then block the surface with soapy water/wet-n-dry, and it won't clog.

[Gav]

Originally posted by Johnson


just mix it pretty hot (high-ish catalist ratio) bosh itonto the prepared damage, and leave it till the next day.

sorry honkentash but

the hotter the mix the more prone to airation, a repair should be built up in thin layers..........

Make a mix of gelcoat(neat)
add catalyst of approx 2%
start applying gel to repair, heat the repair with hairdryer or heat gun, as gel turns add more, repeat process until last layer when styrene wax solution should be added.

leave to cure (approx 1 hr)

Then rub down with w&d and polish with G7 etc etc.........

But then i'm a northern monkey

[Ice Kiddie]

Thanks for the help both of you.

Here's what I think I need to do then - please correct me if I'm wrong!

The first repair is a ding on the keel, about half way along - so completely upside down. As any future trailer launching could put a lot of load on the finished repair, I would like to make it good and strong. So I do the following:
1. key the surface with some rough glasspaper
2. remove all dust (solvent?)
3. paint on some gelcoat
4. apply heat with Louise's hairdryer (dunno how I'll sneak it out of the house!)
5. build up more layers repeating 3 & 4
6. finish with gelcoat containing styrene wax
7. if no styrene wax available, build up extra layers and remove gooey top layer with acetone (where's the best place to purchase acetone?)
8. use sanding block to finish

whadday ya reckon?

I'm probably going to crack on with this on Saturday as valuable days out are ticking away!

[Jon Fuller]

Acetone, ..any decent chandlers.

2% mix...i'm looking forward to see how you measure it! (it's easy when your mixing a lot, but in the quantities we're talking about here, it's a little more tricky, over to you Gav.

I wouldn't piss about with loads of layers, i'd just get the damage filled, flat it back to the point where it needs a thin layer to finish (using the demel tool I saw in ya mota), and just do the final thin layer on top of that.

But then I'm not a boatbuilder, so I wouldn't trust a word I say.

jf

[nigelk]

For Acetone, try Louise's Nail Varnish Remover.

But dont ask me how you're gonna explain THAT one !!!

[Jon Fuller]

Originally posted by nigelk
For Acetone, try Louise's Nail Varnish Remover.

No need, Richard has his own

[Ice Kiddie]

Oi - this is a serious thread about mendin' me boat!

We've found out the info on the gel used to build:

Make Neste
Type GE 1000 HH
Batch number 16995


So I guess an exact match might be difficult - initial enquiries seem to suggest that Neste aren't in the business any more.

[Jon Fuller]

you could do the repaires in orange gel, and just say they're 'temporary'!

[Ice Kiddie]

Maybe if I hadn't cleaned the hull I could have got away with using a shitty brown-yellow colour!

[Gav]

Originally posted by Ice Kiddie



Neste aren't in the business any more.

poppycock!

[Jon Fuller]

Originally posted by Ice Kiddie
Maybe if I hadn't cleaned the hull I could have got away with using a shitty brown-yellow colour!

Hope you're not refering to my windscreen!!

[Ice Kiddie]

Originally posted by Gav
poppycock!

Well that's good news!

[Matt]

Oi!! You were givin me funny looks when I hinted at that kind of thing on Sunday!

Originally posted by Johnson
you could do the repaires in orange gel, and just say they're 'temporary'!

[Jon Fuller]

Originally posted by Matt
Oi!! You were givin me funny looks when I hinted at that kind of thing on Sunday!

Yeah I know,...breaks went out!! (Chaos & Truck'll get that one)

[Matt]

WTF?

[Jon Fuller]

Philistine

[Matt]

I know exactly what film "Brakes went out" is from, but I aint ever heard "Breaks went out" before.

[Jon Fuller]

smart-arse!

Originally posted by Matt
I aint ever heard "Breaks went out" before.

Well you won't be able to say that again, will you smartarse?