chip in fiberglass/gel coat

[Barrettkatz]

OK guys, help me out here.
As most of you, I am obsessive and unreasonable about the appearance of my GW.
Noted small chip on the edge of the fiberglass, but clearly deeper than just surface.
How thick is the gel coat? How might I repair this small chip without making a federal case out of it?
Mine is a 2006 209 Escape, but looks otherwise new.
Is therapy the answer?
Thanks in advance.
BK

 

[DennisG01]

Where is the chip located? How big? How deep (can you see the fiberglass)?

 

[seasick]

Where is the chip located? How big? How deep (can you see the fiberglass)?

The question is whether you can see fiberglass fibers, they will look like hair only sort of white. If not, a gel-coat patch kit can be ordered that will match the hull color ( to an extent depending on how faded the gel-coat is.
If there are fibers showing the recommended repair is more complicated. The chip are will have to be ground, epoxy( and maybe glass mat) applied to seal the glass and then a gel-coat repair.
If you don't care about an almost perfect match ( I suspect you do care though), you can apply MarineTex but it will be white as opposed to the Grady chalk color.

 

[DennisG01]

It might be best if you could post a picture (put something like a ruler in the picture for a reference size) so those of us with some experience in this (unfortunately!) can better help. In re-reading your initial post, it sounds like maybe it's not very deep since you asked "how thick is the gel?". If the chip was through to the glass, you probably wouldn't ask that question since you would be able to see it. I'll wait to hear more from you before going into any more detail.

 

[mboyatt]

Get the Spectrum gelcoat repair kit. Very easy repair. Do a YouTube search for videos on the process. Super simple. You will also need very fine sandpaper and some light compound and wax to blend it all in. Good luck!

 

[langski93]

I posted this back in 2012. The ding was deep enough to get to the fiberglass, but not damage the fiberglass. See below.

Great Results w/ Grady Gelcoat
Postby langski93 » Oct Tue 09, 2012 4:48 am

I have always hesitated to fill in a couple of cosmetic dings on the topsides of my 208, figuring I would just make it worse. Recently, I had an incident with an unfamiliar dock that left the corner where the topside and the transom meet with a good sized snake bite down to the darker fiberglass. I had no choice but to make the repair. Long story short, I bought the repair sized jar of Gelcoat matched by hull year, at the Grady dealer, and used wet sandpaper from 400, 600, 1000 to 2000 (could have stopped at 1000) and the results are excellent! A few minutes to tape around the area, a few minutes to mix and apply, 10 minutes with the boss's hairdryer on warm setting to cure (optional) and a few hours of lawn mowing and errand running while it did final curing. I took my time to sand out about 30 minutes and was done. I used the leftover to cover the cosmetic dings referred to earlier and the toughest part of the whole job was paying the $32.00 for the 2.0 oz jar of Gelcoat from the dealer. Seriously though, if your boat has a ding that has been bugging you everytime you look at it, go for it. The gelcoat is very forgiving and you will be pleased in the end.
langski93

 

[Barrettkatz]

thanks all for the great advice.
Clearly, my ding must be very superficial, as no fibers seen.
Will try the Spectrum gelcoat repair kit.
thanks again for the help
BK

 

[Doc Stressor]

I got the $32 jar from Grady. Only thing is that they shipped it overnight, which cost an additional $40!

The color of the repair gelcoat in the bottle looks too yellow to match up with my hull color. Is there something wrong with the bottle they sent me or does the color lighten up when it cures?