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I've scratched my gelcoat!
blockhead_rich - 20/4/05 at 07:16 PM

Hi folks,

I've gone a dropped a big B*****K and scratched my gelcoat. Any one got any tips how I can repair the damage?
Cheers
Rich

Mark Allanson - 20/4/05 at 07:56 PM

How deep? If the scratch is still in the gelcoat and has not gone down to the mat, you can flat it out with 1000 grit followed by 2000 and the G3 to restore the gloss. If down to the mat, its a damage limitation exercise, I would touch it in with clear catalysed resin or activated clearcoat, allow to cure and the flat out as per the shallow scratch.

When flatting down, make sure you dont produce a flat spot which will be noticable in the gel

Humbug - 20/4/05 at 08:23 PM

Depending on the size of the damage, you could try mixing some paint of suitable colour into Araldite and carefully filling in

Triton - 21/4/05 at 07:24 AM

I see you have a Luego?...See if they can get you some pigmented gel coat same colour and a splash of catalyst...use it like filler....scratch needs to be ground out more then cleaned so gel will stick and left overnight....rub it down with wet n dry going thru grades till all marks removed then shine it up with G6/G3 or T Cut.

smart51 - 21/4/05 at 10:10 AM

A friend of mine with a lomax was supplied with a small pot of uncatalaysed gel coat left over from making the body shell so it is an exact colour match.
Perhaps more companies should do this, or you could ask when buying your kit.
Doesn't help you though, sorry.

Hellfire - 21/4/05 at 11:42 AM

Cover it with a 'maxpower' sticker or paint 'oops' right next to it......................

Seriously though, whereabouts is it?

bigandy - 21/4/05 at 12:24 PM

quote:
Originally posted by blockhead_rich
Hi folks,

I've gone a dropped a big B*****K and scratched my gelcoat. Any one got any tips how I can repair the damage?
Cheers
Rich


It must have been a well sharpened B*****K!

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but is there any way to cover up/touch up gelcoat that has cracked where it has been cut back a little to viciously too?

Or perhaps something that can be applied to stop further cracking of gelcoat around a chipped area at the edge of a panel?

I'm guessing it will be fairly similar to touching up a scratch?

Cheers
Andy

dave dickson - 21/4/05 at 06:21 PM

to stop cracks spreading, drill a small (2mm ish?)hole over the end of the crack. You can either leave it as is, or fill and repair it as above. Dont try to repair any crack without drilling the ends first or there is a good chance it will re-appear later.

RazMan - 26/4/05 at 09:36 PM

The manufacturer should be able to supply some uncatalysed gel coat - failing that he should give you the RAL number of the colour used in the gelcoat so you can get some made up.
I will soon be putting this method to the test as I am cutting and grafting my bodyshell to accomodate some (top secret ) design features.