I found a good product for repairing gelcoat damage. I had several gouges on the keel of my Compac 16 that were down to the fiberglass. I repaired the damage with a product called Evercoat Marine Match and Patch from West Marine.
It comes with gelcoat and colors to mix to match the gelcoat color of your boat. The instructions included a chart on how to mix different colors for the desired match, but it wasnt guite that easy. I was trying to match a beige color and my first batch came out pink following the color chart. :D Tried again mixing white, yellow and brown and it came out okay.
The instructions also say gelcoat is dry in an hour. They did not mention environmental temperature, but the temperature was 72 degrees here and it was not dry in an hour. Waited overnight for the best results. Sanded with 800 grit wet sandpaper.
Your repair looks terrific! Good information to have on this material. Thanks for sharing.
I concur excellent job. And thanks for the product evaluation.
Craig [skip] Weis.
searched for 'gelcoat' intending the same repair described.
thanks for posting this, dgholmes! wherever you are
Newbie question:
I had a bit of a demasting incident that ripped the mast step off the roof of the cabin. No structural damage other than stripped screw holes that I'm repairing with epoxy, but the layer of gel coat over that area basically shattered and the heavy fiberglass plate under it (tabernacle?) is exposed. The description of the Evercoat product says for "minor" repairs and I'm wondering if this would be the way to go.