fixing chipped gelcoat

[NH Seafarer]

I have a number of chips on my '98 Seafarer 228. Obviously the color have faded a bit since new but was wondering what was the best filler everyone like to use ?
I have tried Marine Tex on a few spots, it works fine but color is off a bit.

 

[seasick]

Marine tex makes tints that can be mixed with Marinetex.
Spectrum Color sell patching material similar to MarineTex but color 'matched' to specific make and model year hulls. The color will be close but not perfect due to the aging of your existing gelcoat. There are tricks to make the patch blend in better but you probably don't want to go that route. It makes a simple job a lot more complicated.

 

[wrxhoon]

I used spectrum in my old boat with great success, not exact match but you wouldn't pick it unless I point it to you and even then you would straggle to see the difference . You have to buy the paste for your specific year model. Make sure you buff the area very well so you can bring the old colour as much as possible.

 

[Caburke1]

For small chips, I've used 9 Second Chip Fix with excellent results. If you do some research, you can find which color is the best match for your Grady.

 

[grady33]

I second spectrum! Used it to repair a large hole in dash when i replaced my furuno autopilot with Garmin. easy to use. you can also thin it out and spray it for smoother results.

 

[seasick]

I second spectrum! Used it to repair a large hole in dash when i replaced my furuno autopilot with Garmin. easy to use. you can also thin it out and spray it for smoother results.

Are you referring to Spectrum gel coat or the patching paste? If paste, what did you use to thin it and how did you determine how much catalyst to use?

 

[grady33]

Yes. you can order it for your specific year and type boat. There are directions and it’s easy. as for diluting it, i’m not sure what they recommend, but you can probably find on their website. i think it’s Patch Booster or Duratec. They say not to use styrene or acetone.

 

[Capt Tom]

Just posted a thread on this earlier this month. It has the before and after pics plus the product used.

Got a Good Hull Gash Yesterday

Well yesterday coming into the dock like I have done many times before, I hit pretty hard. Now I have this gash in the fiberglass I need to repair. I know I can use a marine epoxy and sand smooth but how do you come close to matching the color?

www.greatgrady.com

 

[Hookup1]

I used the Spectrum gel coat to re-paint my anchor locker on my 1997 268 Islander. Color was way off due to the amount of sun exposure on the topside. It may be useful for out of the sun repairs. You are going to have to hand tint it. It is my understanding the Grady White color in that year range is tinted with "brown". if the repairs are small the color match needs to be close but not necessarily perfect. If you are not comfortable doing it (like me) take it to a pro and have it done.

I'm in the process of repairing several hatch, bow pulpit and a other edge chipped areas. I can do the filler work but haven't decided how to paint them. I don't want to use the gel coat - I prefer to spray a two-part polyurethane. I'm going to explore this more in the coming weeks.