Advice needed on gel coat color match

[JG_OR]

My wife and I own a 2012 17B with a large area or some spider cracks on the rear roof (approx. 1’ x 2’). We plan on having these hairline cracks repaired and are wondering if we should try to have the gel coat color matched by a local repair shop or use the gel coat available from Escape? We contacted Escape about ordering their gel coat and were told that it may not match our 2012 trailer. Has anyone out their used Escape’s gel coat for repairs on a 1st generation trailer, and if so, how well did the color match? Any guidance on this would be much appreciated.

Jeff

 

[Ron in BC]

I've done extensive gelcoat spider crack repairs. It's been my experience that almost any white will blend in if the repair is blended in. Without going into great detail: the worst repair is when the cracks are just gouged out a bit and gelcoat is just used as a filler. The hard edge will not only be more visible but is likely to crack. The most invisible repair is when the crack is dug out a bit and sandpaper held almost flat is used to taper the transition between old and new. 1/4"-3/8" is all that's needed. After a light wet sanding the overall area will blend in well.

There are dyes for gelcoats. Any boat repair shop can provide a small matched amount if needed. If the area isn't really visible from the ground I'd probably use any white and call it a day.

Ron

 

[Ron in BC]

I should mention that older gelcoat is usually a little darker than original. If you take a piece of 600 wet and dry sandpaper and rub it back and forth on a small part of one of the cracks you might see that the fresh exposed surface is whiter than the surrounding area.

Ron

 

[HABBERDABBER]

Some thoughts. Gel coat cracks are very common on fiberglass products. Even folks with $100,000 and up in cost boats get them. Unless the area was highly stressed by an impact, they are more of a cosmetic issue than a structural one. And yours may not be much of a visual issue if they're on top of your roof. They're not a water leak path if it's just the gel coat spidering type of crack.

With all that said, I've used Marine-Tex, a 2 part white epoxy to deal with some vestige roof awning mounting holes on an old Casita I once had. The white epoxy blended in quite well, and unless you're 8 feet tall, you'd never see up there anyways and the patched bolt holes disappeared.

Ron's advice on widening the cracks would still hold true. I used clear packing tape over the epoxy to smooth the repair area and wet sanded with 600 grit paper.

Just an alternative suggestion.

 

[Ron in BC]

If they decide to pursue the repair I'll walk them through cello finishing. With a little practice it creates an almost follow up free repair.

No need to use epoxy on polyester. Polyester on polyester does a perfect job and doesn't burn any bridges for any down the road repairs.

Ron

 

[HABBERDABBER]

For what it's worth, here's some info on gel coat repair utilizing one brand of 2 part epoxy.

Repairing Gelcoat Stress Cracks

Gelcoat stress cracks and crazing are an unfortunate reality of fiberglass boats, but you can fix them yourself. Terry Monville shows you how.

www.epoxyworks.com

 

[Ron in BC]

The thing about using epoxy is if you have to do another repair you have to use epoxy again. You can't use polyester over epoxy.

The thing about that article is the first part is filling with epoxy and then using gelcoat or paint to top coat and finish. Completely unnecessary. Unless there's major underlying structural considerations stress cracks only require gel coat for the complete repair.

Ron

 

[iamunique127]

FWIW I'd follow Ron's advice. He has years of experience with gelcoat repair.

 

[JG_OR]

Hi Ron- Thanks for sharing your on expertise regarding the color match. I’m sure you’re right, that any white gelcoat would blend well enough, especially on the roof where these spider cracks are located.

With the extent of all these hairline cracks (see pics below), would we have to dremel out every crack to do the gelcoat repair, or are these cracks something that could be completely sanded out instead, before the new gelcoat is applied?

I understand the process that most folks would follow to repair a small area of spider cracking. However, with this number of fine cracks it seams a bit daunting to dremel out every single crack for the repair. I’m just wondering if you know of another way that would simplify the process?

Thank you - Jeff

 

[Ron in BC]

I've never used a dremmel tool and for your situation I'd call it more than daunting.

On wider cracks just holding folded sandpaper on edge and opening up the width of the crack is enough.

For your type of fine hairline cracks I use this tool. It's actually meant to score arborite for snapping apart but is ideal to Vee out fine cracks. But any pointed tool, like an awl would do the same.

I had similar hairline cracks in the side of a boat that looked like a spider web 2 feet in diameter. The repair went quite quickly and was invisible when done. The boat was about 20 years old and made in Europe. The white gelcoat was purchased locally and the repair was pretty invisible.

For your situation I'd say the first steps are:

1. Scratch the cracks with a sharp tool so there's actually a crack. You can't force gelcoat into that type of hairline crack.

2. Hold sandpaper almost flat and put a very small taper at the top of the crack. This relieves a high stress point at the transition and helps blend in the old and the new.

Sounds like a lot of work but it goes really quickly. If you get that far let me know and I'll post some photos on how to cello finish. That's leave the area almost finished with only a small amount of finishing required.

Ron

 

[JG_OR]

Thanks Ron! I actually have one of those tools on hand, and will try using it. I'll probably have to wait until the weather warms this spring before doing the repair. I'll be sure to get a hold of you then for further instructions on completing the process. Thanks again for your help with this!

Jeff

 

[Ron in BC]

You're welcome. Here's some homework to do that's not weather dependent. Better to do a run through of the process before you have gelcoat with a limited working time.

For this mockup of the process I used a piece of particle board and latex paint. They do not act as gelcoat on gelcoat would as particle board wants to quickly absorb the paint. But the process is the same.

I used a piece of mylar for clarity but heavy poly works well. Heavy as in the kind used as vapor barrier, not dry cleaner bags. Tape all round the edges and hinge it down. After the gelcoat is dapped in the crack you put your finger on it and roll it upwards expelling any air.

You can see one of the cracks widened out and the top edge rounded off a bit.

The secret to an easy and perfect repair is the amount of gelcoat you put in the crack. Too little, #1, and you'll have to give it a second coat, #3 would be usable but the extra amount just takes a bit more wet sanding to make a perfectly flush repair. The center section of #2 is the perfect amount. In many cases when I've had that situation with filling I didn't even have to do anything more, depends on how visible the repair area is.

I've given demos using real trailer f.g. cutouts and real gelcoat and, as I said, paint and hardboard follow the process but don't act the same as gelcoat on gelcoat. The real stuff is easier.

Ron

 

[RossH]

While I understand that this repair is on the roof where it is not noticeable, I do want to point out the fact that Escape's gelcoat color changed in 2017 with the Gen2 trailers and until recently ETI did not know this as current ownership did not produce Gen1 trailers and a fire destroyed previous records they say.

What they use now is a much brighter white than with the Gen1 trailers. I had to have a repair of work that ETI did for me in May on my 2014 21C and LSS I had to have the work redone locally. Tom at Rainbow Marine and Autobody in Paso Robles has the rare combination of experience in automotive paint color matching that he can transpose to gelcoat which evidently doesn't have the same ability to color match. This was a pretty significant job and sufffice to say he nailed it. He gave me a bottle that I used for an additional repair and it is a perfect color match.

 

[JG_OR]

You're welcome. Here's some homework to do that's not weather dependent. Better to do a run through of the process before you have gelcoat with a limited working time.

For this mockup of the process I used a piece of particle board and latex paint. They do not act as gelcoat on gelcoat would as particle board wants to quickly absorb the paint. But the process is the same.

I used a piece of mylar for clarity but heavy poly works well. Heavy as in the kind used as vapor barrier, not dry cleaner bags. Tape all round the edges and hinge it down. After the gelcoat is dapped in the crack you put your finger on it and roll it upwards expelling any air.

You can see one of the cracks widened out and the top edge rounded off a bit.

The secret to an easy and perfect repair is the amount of gelcoat you put in the crack. Too little, #1, and you'll have to give it a second coat, #3 would be usable but the extra amount just takes a bit more wet sanding to make a perfectly flush repair. The center section of #2 is the perfect amount. In many cases when I've had that situation with filling I didn't even have to do anything more, depends on how visible the repair area is.

I've given demos using real trailer f.g. cutouts and real gelcoat and, as I said, paint and hardboard follow the process but don't act the same as gelcoat on gelcoat. The real stuff is easier.

Ron

Thanks for the demo Ron. I'm still debating whether or not to wait until spring and take on the job myself, or try to have it done sooner by a local repair shop. If I do take in on myself, I will definitely do a few practice runs as you've shown before I start on my trailer. Thank you!

 

[JG_OR]

While I understand that this repair is on the roof where it is not noticeable, I do want to point out the fact that Escape's gelcoat color changed in 2017 with the Gen2 trailers and until recently ETI did not know this as current ownership did not produce Gen1 trailers and a fire destroyed previous records they say.

What they use now is a much brighter white than with the Gen1 trailers. I had to have a repair of work that ETI did for me in May on my 2014 21C and LSS I had to have the work redone locally. Tom at Rainbow Marine and Autobody in Paso Robles has the rare combination of experience in automotive paint color matching that he can transpose to gelcoat which evidently doesn't have the same ability to color match. This was a pretty significant job and sufffice to say he nailed it. He gave me a bottle that I used for an additional repair and it is a perfect color match.

Thanks for the information Ross. It sounds like I might be better off finding a qualified repair shop nearby to have the work done. I certainly don't want to have to repair it again, if it doesn't turn out well doing it myself. I'm located in Central Oregon, and wondering if any other owners out there can recommend a reputable shop in the area to have the work done?

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

talk to fiberglass boat owners, see who they would use for hull repairs. someone good is going to be expensive and booked for months. For instance, locally here I've used this guy, Home - Santa Cruz Marine Services and he's repaired some nasty holes and tears so you can't even tell they were done.

 

[Ron in BC]

I should point out that of all the possible types of f.g. damage and repair yours is towards the end of the difficult due to the sheer number of fine cracks. Even some damage that looks really bad is actually easier to repair.

The type of repair that I use for cracks or on big chips etc. is called cello finishing. It works very well for those situations and for folks wanting to DIY. But in your case it's on the labor intensive side.

A professional wouldn't use this technique. They'd basically fill and spray. Gelcoat can be sprayed but I wouldn't recommend that as a DIY technique unless the person has spray gun experience.

Ron