Is there a repair kit for small chips in the fiberglass?

gssaharris

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2021
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
64
Model
Freedom 285
I got caught in the wind and caught by bow and got a chip the size of a dime on the bow just above the rubber rub rail. Is there a repair kit for this that works well?
 

Ekea

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
649
Reaction score
216
Points
43
Age
39
Location
Mid Atlantic
Model
Chase
short answer probably not.

its hard to color match gelcoat, especially when grady doesnt use plain white. what makes it even harder is that gelcoat will bleach/fade in the sun over time, so even "new grady gelcoat" may not be a perfect match. if well cared for (ie covered or uv protected) you may get lucky. might just be easiest to have a fiberglass guy do it for you. a good one will color match perfectly
 

trapper

GreatGrady Captain
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
825
Reaction score
211
Points
43
You could try Spectrum gelcoat repair paste.They carry the colour according to year of manufacturing for Grady. It will be close and I doubt noticeable in a dime size repair. I have used it on my 208 with success.
 

seasick

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
9,556
Reaction score
1,429
Points
113
Location
NYC
How old is your hull. Over time, the gelcoat bleaches out and becomes whiter ( but not white white)
The Spectrum color probably will be too dark. In those cases where I am more concerned about a bare spot with the fiberglass showing and not so much the color, I use Marinetex paste white . It is less expensive than Spectrum. Although I haven't seen theses in the store, there are MarineTex coloring agents that can be mixed into the white paste. MarineTex is epoxy based so I don't think that polyester resin gel coat dyes are compatible but that would be an interesting experiment.
 

Sdfish

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
Messages
509
Reaction score
175
Points
43
Location
San Diego, California
Model
Adventure
How old is your hull. Over time, the gelcoat bleaches out and becomes whiter ( but not white white)
The Spectrum color probably will be too dark. In those cases where I am more concerned about a bare spot with the fiberglass showing and not so much the color, I use Marinetex paste white . It is less expensive than Spectrum. Although I haven't seen theses in the store, there are MarineTex coloring agents that can be mixed into the white paste. MarineTex is epoxy based so I don't think that polyester resin gel coat dyes are compatible but that would be an interesting experiment.
I used MarineTex below the water on old transducer holes and it adhered well. MT color did not match, but it doesn't bother me there.
On other areas of the hull, I have used Spectrum, it still matches well on my 25 year old hull.
 
  • Like
Reactions: A&J Outdoors

seasick

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
9,556
Reaction score
1,429
Points
113
Location
NYC
Below the water line and under the hull gel coat doesn't get the same UV damage as above. I also assume your hull is not painted with anti foul
 

Recoil Rob

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2019
Messages
299
Reaction score
59
Points
28
Age
69
Location
CT Coast
Model
Sportsman
Spectrum has different colors for GW by year of build.
 

Fishtales

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
8,070
Reaction score
1,299
Points
113
I’d look at marine Tex and a color matched gel coat.