Colour matching gel coat

[john m]

I've got a few small areas I would like to fill with gelcoat where do I go to get a colour match

 

[Rigger Mortice]

If your boat is newish you may be able to get a colour reference from the builder but, beyond that, I think you'll be unlikely to get a good colour match without getting somebody in to match it on site. It's skilled work to get a good match.

 

[wazza]

The thing is if your boat is old as ours is (from 1981) even if you get the correct colour the problem is marrying it up with the sun bleached rest of the boat..
It's just trial and error, and is it a big deal if there is a slight difference??
Only you can decide.

 

[Tranona]

On my Bavaria Plastic Padding Gel coat filler in white is a pretty good match for minor dings and scrapes. Just done some on the bow and difficult to spot once the boat is on the water.

 

[Marine Reflections]

I've got a few small areas I would like to fill with gelcoat where do I go to get a colour match

I would start with a gel coat supplier, East Coast Fibreglass are very good.

They will be able to supply you with a close match base gel coat and all the consumables you may need.
You can also purchase pigments, that when added in very small amounts to the base, a perfect match can be found - experience improves results and a full palette of different pigments helps.

Just to mention:
Experimenting with various gel coats / pigments and catalysts, thinning agents, accelerators etc should be done (IMHO) with a full face mask, protecting the eyes and breathing, one with specific gas & vapour cartridges, not normal particle filter masks. 3M full face are ideal.

It is no big hassle to clean out any 'temporary filler' when it comes to having the repairs dealt with correctly, a colour match is secondary to having the surface filled and protecting the glass fibres from water and dirt.
So a handy tube of filler that is easy to apply, soon after the damage takes place is perfect.
Replacing it with gel coat would be the best as temporary repairs have a habit of becoming permanent.

If it is not possible to purchase the correct gel coat from the boat manufacturer, a spot on colour match ideally needs to be done on site against the surface.
There is a bit of a knack to the process (inc colour) but it is no harder than an artist finding the colour of the sky.
Once the correct pigment / shade is found you can store for future use.

 

[maxi]

My solution, bearing in mind that I have an old Swedish boat with decidedly odd coloured gel coat, was to get a local artist to mix gel coat resin & pigments to achieve the correct colouration. Artists (good ones) understand colours & shades.

For me , the outcome has been excellent.

 

[oldsaltoz]

You can reduce the effect of new gelcoat changing over a short time by saving the material you sand off and adding it to the new mix.

This means old exposed gelcoat will continue to age at the same rate as the existing material.

It will eventually look lighter but it will take longer.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[Burnham Bob]

down here we have a motor factors who will mix paint to a standrad colour chart and supply an aerosol for £9.99 which is more than enough to touch in the patches that need it. You can get a colour chart mail order from here
http://www.fiberglasssupplies.co.uk/acatalog/Pigments.html
or probably lots of other places. there are three whites so it's a matter of getting the closest if your boat is white but a coloured gelcoat should be easier to match as i am informed they are all standard colours.
just ask around - there will be someone who mixes paints for the autootive trade near you.

 

[OGITD]

On the West Coast of Scotland

The place to go is:

http://www.allscotltd.co.uk/

 

[Piers]

I've got a few small areas I would like to fill with gelcoat where do I go to get a colour match

I had a number of GRTP defects which I wanted repaired last year. I used GRP Repairs which guaranteed to have a 100% colour match to my 10 year old boat. Perfect. Julian Willmot on 07774 141913.

Piers

 

[rotrax]

I have mixed acrilic paint with the white gelcoat filler with good results. Only a year on but still OK. I got the acrilic paint pots from a pound shop-in the toy section.

 

[john m]

Thanks for the advice

 

[Superaquarama]

I have mixed acrilic paint with the white gelcoat filler with good results. Only a year on but still OK. I got the acrilic paint pots from a pound shop-in the toy section.

Good tip re the acrylic paints for mixing with gelcoat ! Is it still looking good ?

Yes, you can buy pigment but it's about £7 for250ml and you'll presumably need several to achieve the right colour, so it's a bit expensive if you only have about 1" sq to repair !

 

[rotrax]

Pound shop kiddies acrilic paints have worked for me too.

 

[PCUK]

That's a great tip! I was going to asked if any GRP suppliers supplied pigment in match-pot sizes, but that is now irrelevant. Are the acrylic paints the same as modellers use - Humbrol for instance?

Just looked on the Humbrol website and they do both enamel and acrylic and mail order! At 1.60 a pot I can afford to experiment a bit!