Tuch up gel coat


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DWeiss67

New member
Anyone have any luck at matching the off-white color Formula uses? I tried on my old boat(mixing black with white) and it was close but not good enough. I contacted formula about getting a patch kit and they have them but the hazardous material fee basically doubles the price of this quick fix to the amount I might as well let the local glass guy do it...if I did that I would lose a good opportunity to drink beer out in the pole barn and work on my boat...lol

I guess I could make up a few examples and use the best match...hard to keep it consistent though! I got a pretty good gouge along my haul when a bunk got ripped of from the step...I told the Marina owner not to hit the brakes and try to make it slide off...float it off...noooo he knew better and all I got was SORRY DUDE!
 
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I'd have someone fix it and send the marina owner the bill!
You can always watch the other guy fix it while you're drinking beer :)
 
Lol...that's a good idea! I can't bill him now it was last year. He's a nice guy, stuff happens but he still could have launched it for free...he charged me $75 bucks on top of it...lmao, I just dug in my pocket, shook my head and walked away! I didn't know how bad it was till I pulled it out at the end of the weekend! Chalked it up as a lesson learned to never let the Marina owner launch your boat regardless of his assurances! Ouch!
 
There was a place in Florida that claims to have Formula gel coat. I'll see if I can remember or find the name.

Last I recall you sold the 271. What Formula do you have now?
 
My best advice is bite the bullet and order it from Formula. You know you have the right stuff. Gelcote is different and although it may match, it may not last long.
Better yet, plan a factory tour and pick it up while you are there.
 
Ordered it and it was a perfect match...I tried five different mix ratios first because a had allot left over from a previous boat but none matched ...after wetsanding and a good buff with 3M "prefect it" I had to do the whole bottom because now the fix looked to good...couldn't resist but working that way isn't normal! Talk about sore!
 
I was thinking about a tour this summer...it looks like a quick ride from the ft wayne airport just north of their plant...I was in ft wayne last summer and didn't realize how close I was or I would have went then...
 
Formula refers people to order it from Gelcoat Products in Washington. It is almost impossible to exactly match aged (no matter if a year or two) gelcoat. It may be super close and a bystander won't pick it up but you will know it is there. Stuff happens right?

Hey is that your 271 i see on CL all the time? Estelle Manor?
 
Yeah that was it...decide not to sell this year! I want to haul it up to Lake Placid and Champlain this summer and my truck cant pull anything bigger so till i get a bigger truck this boat is gonna stay or stay up there! That would solve that issue! Then I could convince the boss we need a boat for down here also... Lol

That could have been where they droped shipped the Gel from IDK because it wasn't cheap...that's my dumbass fault for not asking around. I probably could have got it direct from them and cut the guy from customer service out! But it seem like they had it there, from his emails...I never even looked where it camd from to tell you the truth!

You can only see a slight difference from the last chine up. The patches match the original Gel perfectly. I obviously, didn't wetsand the haul above the last chine so nobody will ever see the transition which stopped at that chine...seemed to be a logical place to stop!
 
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Give it a year and it will fade if not quicker! Our river water is brackish big time and what I've noticed is the new Gel dosan't stain as quick so when you haul out you can see the patches which are white compared to the origional gel which stains brown easier...acid is the only thing that I found takes the stain of but I don't like using that crap very often...so I'm assuming the old Gel softens up or becomes more permeable over time which I guess is the same thing...lol
 
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