Patching screw holes in gel coat

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SBH2OMan

SBH2OMan

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The top horizontal surface of the interior of my cabin near the helm looks like Swiss cheese from all the various things that have been installed there over the years. Previously I'd patched many of the holes with some West Systems epoxy, but was white and so doesn't match the off-white gel coat. I'd like to drill it out and do a nicer job of trying to make everything blend. Does anyone know of a color-matched epoxy (or a way to make it) where I don't have to by gallons of material? I find the array of products from West Systems to be absolutely bewildering and need a guide!

Thanks
 
SBH2OMan said:
The top horizontal surface of the interior of my cabin near the helm looks like Swiss cheese from all the various things that have been installed there over the years. Previously I'd patched many of the holes with some West Systems epoxy, but was white and so doesn't match the off-white gel coat. I'd like to drill it out and do a nicer job of trying to make everything blend. Does anyone know of a color-matched epoxy (or a way to make it) where I don't have to by gallons of material? I find the array of products from West Systems to be absolutely bewildering and need a guide!

Thanks
Click to expand...

Cecil Marine has Parker gelcoat in stock, check out their website and "Parker Parts". As far as plugging the holes, depending on the size, I'd recommend backfilling with thickened epoxy up to just a bit below the surface, then once it cures sanding the area around the hole to create a beveled "divot" around the hole. Add a thin layer of the gelcoat to the divot to just above level; you may need several coats. Then wet sand to level, compound, and wax. If you search around under "gelcoat" there's a lot of material on here. Alternatively, if the holes are bigger, you may want to consider cutting a wooden dowel plug to fit the inside of the hole, sealing it with epoxy, then epoxying it into the hole, then use the gelcoat ad described above. If you've got REALLY big holes, now you're probably talking about replacing core materials, and that comes with its own complications.

Highly recommend using the search feature, there's TONS of good intel on here. As far as the West System products go, they make epoxy, not gelcoat (to my knowledge). That's the substrate you use to fill the hole, the gelcoat is just the finish coat on top for appearances and to protect the epoxy from UV rays. Check out the West System website, there are a couple really good flow charts that can describe to you the exact epoxy products you need.
 
pelagic2530 said:
atively, if the holes are bigger, you may want to consider cutting a wooden dowel plug to fit the inside of the hole, sealing it with epoxy, then epoxying it into
Click to expand...
pelagic2530 said:
Cecil Marine has Parker gelcoat in stock, check out their website and "Parker Parts". As far as plugging the holes, depending on the size, I'd recommend backfilling with thickened epoxy up to just a bit below the surface, then once it cures sanding the area around the hole to create a beveled "divot" around the hole. Add a thin layer of the gelcoat to the divot to just above level; you may need several coats. Then wet sand to level, compound, and wax. If you search around under "gelcoat" there's a lot of material on here. Alternatively, if the holes are bigger, you may want to consider cutting a wooden dowel plug to fit the inside of the hole, sealing it with epoxy, then epoxying it into the hole, then use the gelcoat ad described above. If you've got REALLY big holes, now you're probably talking about replacing core materials, and that comes with its own complications.

Highly recommend using the search feature, there's TONS of good intel on here. As far as the West System products go, they make epoxy, not gelcoat (to my knowledge). That's the substrate you use to fill the hole, the gelcoat is just the finish coat on top for appearances and to protect the epoxy from UV rays. Check out the West System website, there are a couple really good flow charts that can describe to you the exact epoxy products you need.
Click to expand...


Thank you! Yes I've read a lot of the posts here on "perfect" fixes such as you described. I was hoping to just get color matched epoxy that was "good enough" and do it in one step rather than the two+ steps you've outlined (as Churchill supposedly was fond of saying "perfection is the enemy of progress") . I've never worked with gel coat and always avoided it because it sounds like a huge hassle, but perhaps I'm totally wrong.

And thank you for that link to Cecil Marine - they have a LOT of stuff on that site that I can use! :)
 
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SBH2OMan said:
Thank you! Yes I've read a lot of the posts here on "perfect" fixes such as you described. I was hoping to just get color matched epoxy that was "good enough" and do it in one step rather than the two+ steps you've outlined (as Churchill supposedly was fond of saying "perfection is the enemy of progress") . I've never worked with gel coat and always avoided it because it sounds like a huge hassle, but perhaps I'm totally wrong.

And thank you for that link to Cecil Marine - they have a LOT of stuff on that site that I can use! :)
Click to expand...

You may be able to get away with just sanding down the repair you have now, and then applying the gelcoat over it? As long as the holes are plugged effectively and you can introduce a mechanical profile for the gelcoat to bond to (sanding), that approach should work.
 
pelagic2530 said:
Cecil Marine has Parker gelcoat in stock, check out their website and "Parker Parts". As far as plugging the holes, depending on the size, I'd recommend backfilling with thickened epoxy up to just a bit below the surface, then once it cures sanding the area around the hole to create a beveled "divot" around the hole. Add a thin layer of the gelcoat to the divot to just above level; you may need several coats. Then wet sand to level, compound, and wax. If you search around under "gelcoat" there's a lot of material on here. Alternatively, if the holes are bigger, you may want to consider cutting a wooden dowel plug to fit the inside of the hole, sealing it with epoxy, then epoxying it into the hole, then use the gelcoat ad described above. If you've got REALLY big holes, now you're probably talking about replacing core materials, and that comes with its own complications.

Highly recommend using the search feature, there's TONS of good intel on here. As far as the West System products go, they make epoxy, not gelcoat (to my knowledge). That's the substrate you use to fill the hole, the gelcoat is just the finish coat on top for appearances and to protect the epoxy from UV rays. Check out the West System website, there are a couple really good flow charts that can describe to you the exact epoxy products you need.
Click to expand...

Great info. Stock gelcoat may or may not exactly match what you have but it will be close. Even if the repair kit is the same color the boat was built with, the original has faded over time. If you want an exact match you have to tint it to match. That is apparently beyond your skill set (and mine as well).
 
Interlux makes a two part filler that works great filling screw holes or around the wood plugs. It is just that a filler. Once it is hard you can sand and then top coat it with gel coat. I usually tape under the bottom and use a puddy knife to push in the filler. I have not had any problems with holes I filled three years ago.
 
Working with gelcoat is pretty simple. Apply it just slightly thicker than the repair. Once dry sand with some 1200grit sandpaper. Use a good buffing compound over the area then buff with good quality wax
 
Does anyone have any advice on patching ~25 small screw holes in the sanded deck of my 2520? I have already slightly over-drilled, chiseled out the spider cracked gel coat around each hole exposing the top of the resin-coated plywood, and filled the holes with 404 thickened West Systems epoxy up to the top of the plywood. Now wondering the best way to cover the little bit of exposed plywood/epoxy at each screw hole? Thinking about using medium grade Soft Sand (looked at Awlgrip Grip Tex but it comes in such a large container) mixed with Parker gel coat from Cecil Marine. Do I just dab it in the depression at each screw hole? Maybe use my vibratory tool with no attachment to get it to settle? Any thoughts or alternative approaches much appreciated.
 
So I have done some research and looks like making a mold of the deck with PVA and silicone and then using straight gelcoat and pressing the silicone mold over the gelcoat while it cures to give it the texture may be the way to go?? Any thoughts on this approach? Also, I will be using the Cecil Marine waxed gel coat. Would I want to coat the cured silicone mold with PVA before pressing over the waxed gel coat? Will the presence of the mold and/or mold with PVA coating interfere with the curing of the gel coat? Thanks again in advance for any advice.
 
If you are going to make a mold of the deck and coat it with PVA prior to covering the gelcoated spots you should not need waxed gelcoat. The purpose of the wax or PVA is to provide a barrier between the air and the gelcoat thus enabling it to cure. If you cover the gel coat with the mold it should cure with no issue. I have used plastic wrap to cover over small smooth repairs before. I would do some testing on something else before I tried this on the deck. You need to make sure your mold will work. I could see how something with that little relief could create a raised area with spillover along the edges. At that point you have only created a larger area to touch up. I have thought about the mold idea before but never did it. Let us know how this turns out...Pics would be great.
 
gregd123 said:
So I have done some research and looks like making a mold of the deck with PVA and silicone and then using straight gelcoat and pressing the silicone mold over the gelcoat while it cures to give it the texture may be the way to go?? Any thoughts on this approach? Also, I will be using the Cecil Marine waxed gel coat. Would I want to coat the cured silicone mold with PVA before pressing over the waxed gel coat? Will the presence of the mold and/or mold with PVA coating interfere with the curing of the gel coat? Thanks again in advance for any advice.
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That seems like a lot of extra steps for relatively little benefit. There have been at least a few posts on here where people describe how they got a good match, either with the addition of grit or simply via using a roller with the right nap. Worst case scenario, I would get a few different nap rollers and some grit, and do a couple of test patches on some wood to see how the surface rolls out. Pick the closest one and go with it. At the end of the day, it's nonskid; as long as its not drastically different and it's effective as nonskid, you're very unlikely to notice a minute difference.
 
gregd123 said:
So I have done some research and looks like making a mold of the deck with PVA and silicone and then using straight gelcoat and pressing the silicone mold over the gelcoat while it cures to give it the texture may be the way to go?? Any thoughts on this approach? Also, I will be using the Cecil Marine waxed gel coat. Would I want to coat the cured silicone mold with PVA before pressing over the waxed gel coat? Will the presence of the mold and/or mold with PVA coating interfere with the curing of the gel coat? Thanks again in advance for any advice.
Click to expand...

Quick search for "texture" came up with the following:

https://www.classicparker.com/threa...mless-back-to-3-piece-boat.17743/#post-120750
https://www.classicparker.com/threads/gelcoat-repair-a-to-z.579/page-2
https://www.classicparker.com/threads/repainting-the-non-skid.17398/#post-118756
There's more out there, but I think those three cover your bases pretty well.
 
Thanks for the input. I will post some pictures this weekend when I attempt the repairs. Windknot, I think the Cecil Marine Parker gel coat only comes waxed. Pelagic, the repairs are each about a dime or smaller in size scattered over the deck. Not sure rollers will work on such small areas. On a side note, fished the Indian River Inlet from the rocks for blues as a kid with my dad (grew up in Wilmington). Loved those trips.
Came up with another idea in the middle of the night. Thinking about just using a paraffin wax bar, pressing into the deck or maybe even a medium or coarse sand paper to get some texture, then putting that over a couple drops of gel coat. A wax mold should release fine from the cured gel coat, right? Might paint some PVA around the edges of the repairs if spillover is an issue with my test spot. Also might wait to put the mold on until after the gel coat gets tacky. Gonna experiment and will post the results with pictures.
 
I have just been going through the exact same thing on my 2820. One thing you should know is that if the repair doesn't come out to your liking, you can easily drill it back out and start over.
That being said I did a lot of repairs in textured areas. What I did was thicken the gelcoat with cabocil to the consistency of sour cream. I then took a small pain brush and dabbed it into the repair. After it hardened the repair areas were kind of sharp little peaks. I then took 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the tops off the peaks and polished it. Came out very nice.
 
Here’s what I’ve learned in my week-long quest to repair dozens of little cracks and holes on our Parker. I don’t know if it’s right and some experts can point out the flaws in my approach but once I distilled it down to this everything became a lot less daunting!

1. Liquid 2-part resin for small holes and coating exposed wood on larger repairs

2. MarineTex for filling larger areas to build it up to a level surface.

3. Color matched gel coat from Cecil Marine

4. Supplies: 180, 220, & 400 grit sand paper, some plastic spreaders, a stack of Dixie cups, blue painters tape, rubber gloves, clear plastic sheet protectors, and lots of paper towels. Can of acetone for cleaning up.

The “magic secret” that unlocked everything for me was stumbling upon the idea of the clear sheet covers. I was cleaning out my office cupboards last week and getting ready to thrown them away (“why do I still have these!?” I was literally in bed later that night unable to sleep and the idea of using them just came to me.

The secret to getting epoxy or gel coat (or resin) to not sag out from a repair which is not perfectly horizontal is to tape a small square of this plastic sheet over the repair material tightly enough that it forms a smooth surface. The repair will cure and you can just peel the plastic off. Very little sanding will be required to make it all match perfectly! I’m sure this is probably an “old trick” used by pros but it really is a game changer. I’m shocked I’d never read about it before (that I can remember)

It also works brilliantly for repairing corners and other irregular edges that used to give me fits trying to patch with putty that I let set long enough to be stiff but workable. Sooooo much easier!

So I’ve spent the entire weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) drilling out old holes that were filled with 5200 by the PO, cleaning up other dings and gouges with 180 paper, and identifying all the repair spots with a tiny square of blue tape.

Then I mixed a pot of resin and went all around the boat wetting out the large repairs and filling small ones level.

The following day I did a bit more sanding with 180, made a batch of MarineTex and then went around again to all the large repair areas (or spots where aluminum window frame had corroded through, etc).

While those repairs were curing I also replaced corroded bright work, refinished all my teak trim, and stripped and refinished the aluminum trim around the main cabin door with almond appliance paint (turned out great but wow what a messy job!). I also removed the starboard window to make a template for a replacement from Wynn Inc ($575 + crating and shipping)

Now I’m just waiting for the heavy fog that has suddenly descended to lift so I can go back and do my final gel coat repairs in the exterior.

I am no longer afraid of doing gel coat repairs! :)
 

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I ordered a bunch of small silicone mixing cups off of Amazon for gelcoat and epoxy mixing purposes. The set came with a few different size cups, a mat to work on, and some mixing and application tools. One the epoxy hardens, it peels right out of the cup and you can reuse. Works really slick!
 
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