I noticed a 1 inch chuck of gel coat on the bottom of my fiberglass boat is missing and you can see the fiberglass. Long story short will this break down the fiberglass and cause serious problems if I delay and fix this in the end of Nov or do I have to fix now? I would like to fish for another month or so… but don’t want to mess up boat either:question:
Yes, I would go ahead and patch it. Water can get into the laminate and into the core, Even a teaspoon can do damage. It’s not likely to cause a major problem in a month, but then again, it ain’t doing no good either. It only takes a couple of hours to fix it.
Go to your local boating store and pick up a small amount of MarineTex. Get the area dry, use a heat gun or hair dryer if any doubt, sand the wound and bevel it a little around the edges. Wipe it with alcohol or acetone. Mix the MarineTex, force it in good with a putty knife and strike it off flush. It will dry in a few hours and you can sand it and buff it out if you want to.
You’ll sleep better:wink:
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
Marine Surveying & Repair
Hey Capt. Larry,
I have a couple of places in my boat where then snaps that hold the bow cushions on came out of the screw holes. Will that Marine Tex work to fix that as well ?
Thanks,
Jack Taylor
Yes, it will. First drill the hole out over sized, about twice the screw size, then fill it with the MarineTex. Put a piece of masking tape on the back side of it, fill it, and strike it off flush on the face side. After it cures, re-drill the hole on center to the pilot size of the screw. Put a dab of 5200 on the screws when you run them back in.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
Marine Surveying & Repair
Cracker; I had a guy give me a tip on finishing those patch jobs! After you get it sanded down, you mix some of the gel coat with some styrene to thin it and put it in a Preval sprayer and hit it with that! Blends it in so well you will never see a patch! Of course that is for small jobs! Works well on cracks, after you clean them out a little first. Just make sure you clean the sprayer with acetone and can use them again.
solid advice Larry thanks
Another good one is to take a piece of thin plastic (sandwich baggie works good) and once marine tex is in place in patch area, place plastic it over patch and lightly squeegee it out with a plastic putty knife or similiar. It will dry glossy then with no need to sand and buff, won’t match color ideally, but is better then nothing! Can do that with gel coat in small areas as well to avoid having to sand and buff ut out, wax paper works as well.
Russ B.
www.joinrfa.org
God is great, Beer is good, People are crazy
I appreciate the info.
Jack Taylor
Thanks Cracker Larry!
I need to fix a spot or two.
You are a real help on CF to many!
NN
06 200 Bay Scout 150 Yam
Marine Tex is great and easy to use.
You can always make money but you cant make time.