Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

[Salty Sal]

I have a small gouge (2 inches long by 1/8 inch wide and several scrapes from a<br />miscue (boat drifted into a elevated prop) The ammount of gelcoat needed is less than the ammount indicted on the mixing instructions. I would need less than a teaspoon worth. How much MK?? (catalyst) do I need to use as they claim if I use too much the stuff won't cure. Any tips on colorization? Can I do this in 40 degree temps? I've always sanded relatively<br />deep scratches and scuffs with 200 to 600 grit paper with excellent results. Would love to hear from all of you gelcoat gurus.

 

[Ryoken]

Re: Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

if it's a small area, use a heatlamp to preheat the substrate. <br /><br />gel work can be done in pretty cold weather if the surface is warm. i don't have my chart at home, but you can change your percentage of hardener for weather conditions. excessive hardener can cause a multitude of problems.<br /><br />is it a paste repair kit or is it real gel? if real gel, make sure you use a little patch reducer too.<br /><br />as far as color matching, don't expect it to match. even factory supplied gallons don't match 1/2 the time. if you decide to tint your batch, we've learned the best way is to take your tint and add it to a seperate small batch of the gel, then use that to tint the main batch. tint is way too potent to add directly to the gel...<br /><br />here's a link that may help ya.<br /><br /> http://www.cris.com/~westsys/gel-rep.shtml <br /><br />hope that helps...

 

[Salty Sal]

Re: Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

Thanks. Will read. The stuff I'm using is a paste<br />which is the consistancy of peanut butter.<br />I've have the tints from a previous kit I bought years ago. I'll use just a drop of hardener to play it safe. I know tinting is a problem and the coloring agent is very color saturated. Will use a<br />touch.

 

[Ryoken]

Re: Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

your welcome..<br /><br />i should have pointed out that too little hardener is generally more of an issue than too much. make sure you "kick it" enough, especially if it's cold. <br /><br />for a teaspoon of paste in cold weather i'd be using 3 to 5 drops probably to make sure it dries, tho i haven't used the paste in years.<br /><br />have at it

 

[Solittle]

Re: Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

Sal - That is an ideal application for Marine Tex available at most marine suppliers and hardware/lumber stores. When cured it is as hard as steel.

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Gelcoat tips- can I do this in the winter?

The marine tex is good but I've always been told that gel coat does not bond good to it and to use marine tex where it isn't to visible.<br />So has anybody gel coated over it and had problems?? or positives??