Matching gelcoat colour

[GrandadPig]

My ‘new to me’ Skanner 19 has a nasty little dig out of the gelcoat, only about 2cm wide but fairly deep. I have epoxy resin and filler to hand but am stuck with the colour. The hull dark green gelcoat. How do people match the colour? I presume I buy some green dye and mix it in, but a, I have no idea where to buy it and b no idea how to achieve a reasonable colour match.

Any suggestions as to suppliers and pointers on how to do it would be much appreciated

thanks in advance

Steve

 

[AngusMcDoon]

This lot have everything you need and will answer questions if you call them...

ECF - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

Pigments here...

Pigments - Polyester, Epoxy, Polyurethane

Pre-pigmented flowcoats here which are easier to use...

Buy Polyester Flowcoat - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

You can't easily put polyester gelcoat on top of epoxy anything, or use a polyester compatible pigment in an epoxy gelcoat. There are many more polyester compatible pigments than epoxy ones, so best to use polyester for everything.

If the surface you are doing the filling on is not horizontal then the gel/flowcoat will slump after you apply it before it cures. You need to cover it with something that it won't adhere to. You can use standard kitchen foil if you are careful to keep it absolutely crinkle free, or you can use this stuff...

Buy Polyester release films - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

You also need acetone to clean and degrease the area. You can get it from ECF but it's cheaper for a small amount on ebay.

You will need different grit sandpaper up to 1200 grit, cork sanding block, and if you want to get it shiny then a polishing compound like this...

Farecla Profile Select liquid compound

Before you fill the damage you will need a Dremel with a round grinding bit to grind out the area to be filled and chamfer the edges...

10pcs Ceramic Stone Polishing Grinding Dremel Rotary Die Grinder Drill Bit Tool | eBay

 

[ghostlymoron]

I would think for a blemish of that size, gelcoat filler is the stuff. Colour matching is a black art so you'll need a whole pallette of colours to get an exact match. The technique is to add small amounts of pigment to un catalysed filler until the colour is a match then add catalyst and fill.
In practice it's not easy and the only way to get an exact match is to get it done professionally.

 

[GrandadPig]

This lot have everything you need and will answer questions if you call them...

ECF - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

Pigments here...

Pigments - Polyester, Epoxy, Polyurethane

Pre-pigmented flowcoats here which are easier to use...

Buy Polyester Flowcoat - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

You can't easily put polyester gelcoat on top of epoxy anything, or use a polyester compatible pigment in an epoxy gelcoat. There are many more polyester compatible pigments than epoxy ones, so best to use polyester for everything.

If the surface you are doing the filling on is not horizontal then the gel/flowcoat will slump after you apply it before it cures. You need to cover it with something that it won't adhere to. You can use standard kitchen foil if you are careful to keep it absolutely crinkle free, or you can use this stuff...

Buy Polyester release films - East Coast Fibreglass Supplies

You also need acetone to clean and degrease the area. You can get it from ECF but it's cheaper for a small amount on ebay.

You will need different grit sandpaper up to 1200 grit, cork sanding block, and if you want to get it shiny then a polishing compound like this...

Farecla Profile Select liquid compound

Before you fill the damage you will need a Dremel with a round grinding bit to grind out the area to be filled and chamfer the edges...

10pcs Ceramic Stone Polishing Grinding Dremel Rotary Die Grinder Drill Bit Tool | eBay

Thank you. What a comprehensive answer. Very much appreciated

 

[GrandadPig]

I would think for a blemish of that size, gelcoat filler is the stuff. Colour matching is a black art so you'll need a whole pallette of colours to get an exact match. The technique is to add small amounts of pigment to un catalysed filler until the colour is a match then add catalyst and fill.
In practice it's not easy and the only way to get an exact match is to get it done professionally.

. Thank you. Might get the missus to do the mixing!

 

[BobnLesley]

I discovered - accidentally - that the perfect match for our Albin Vega was to add two drips of yellow dye, one of black and about a half-inch of cigarette ash; during a short period I was off the fags, I completed one repair using ash scrounged from a passing and somewhat bemused Italian.

 

[tjbrace]

This video may help .
Gelcoat Color Matching Part 2 | Boatworks Today

 

[GrandadPig]

This video may help .
Gelcoat Color Matching Part 2 | Boatworks Today

Very informative. Thank you

 

[eilerts]

I looked at some green scanner 19 on the net.
There is a product called "MagicEzy 9 second chip fix". They have a colour they call "forrest green", that at least on my screen look close. Check it out.
If the green does not match, I guess you get closer by adding black - if you can mix it and apply it in 9 sec, I presume.
The colour on the Skanner looks similar to the one used on Fischer motorsailers. I repaired one last year. Started with green Ral 6001 and added quite a lot of black and some less of dark blue. I was surprised how much black I needed to add.

 

[GrandadPig]

I looked at some green scanner 19 on the net.
There is a product called "MagicEzy 9 second chip fix". They have a colour they call "forrest green", that at least on my screen look close. Check it out.
If the green does not match, I guess you get closer by adding black - if you can mix it and apply it in 9 sec, I presume.
The colour on the Skanner looks similar to the one used on Fischer motorsailers. I repaired one last year. Started with green Ral 6001 and added quite a lot of black and some less of dark blue. I was surprised how much black I needed to add.

Brilliant. Thank you

 

[tross]

Find some Pantel clour charts and match your hull colour ( polish it back a bit ) and ask one of the gelcoat suppliers to supply to that spec - easier than guessing.

 

[GrandadPig]

Find some Pantel clour charts and match your hull colour ( polish it back a bit ) and ask one of the gelcoat suppliers to supply to that spec - easier than guessing.

Thank you. Good idea. I’m sure it’s a standard colour.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Thank you. Good idea. I’m sure it’s a standard colour.

It probably WAS a standard colour when new. It will have faded, and done so differentially from place to place on the boat.

A word of warning - never try and match from a photograph on a screen. EVen if you have professional colour matching equipment, the relationship between the screen's emissive colour gamut and pigment's reflective colour gamut won't be very close. It's very much a black art - I had to do it for professional reasons, and even with high quality monitors and printers, it was never particularly good - good enough to see how it would turn out, but not exact.

 

[Praxinoscope]

I managed to create a perfect colour match by gradually mixing two GRP pigments (light blue and white )in a small container until they matched the colour of the hull, then added this to topcoat to effect the repair.
I have kept the remaining unused mixed pigment in case it’s needed again.
Have attached before and after pics.

 

[GrandadPig]

I managed to create a perfect colour match by gradually mixing two GRP pigments (light blue and white )in a small container until they matched the colour of the hull, then added this to topcoat to effect the repair.
I have kept the remaining unused mixed pigment in case it’s needed again.
Have attached before and after pics.
View attachment 139344 View attachment 139345

Thank you. Give me hope at least. Or just paint the topsides black!

 

[Praxinoscope]

CFS glass fibre supplies stock range of grp pigments, there may be one which matches or you may be into either mixing it to get it lighter or darker to match.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Find some Pantel clour charts and match your hull colour ( polish it back a bit ) and ask one of the gelcoat suppliers to supply to that spec - easier than guessing.

That’s what I did when colour matching the gel coat on our daughters Pandora.

Find someone to borrow the colour swatches off as they are hugely expensive to buy for a one-off job. I found one of the colour cards matched perfectly and east coast supplies had that very gelcoat in stock.

 

[Daverw]

The really anouying things is that I’ve cut various holes in the gel coat over the last few years but I’ve never though about keeping the cut out bit to help getting a match in the future, would make is so easy

 

[Restoration man]

Look on eBay for a ral colour chart find what’s the closest match and goto east coast fiberglass and order some gelcote of the closest colour match you can get “well technically you need flowcoat or add wax to gelcote “ I think they also sell pre thickened gelcote that would be lot easier to use for a first time repair ,

 

[GrandadPig]

Look on eBay for a ral colour chart find what’s the closest match and goto east coast fiberglass and order some gelcote of the closest colour match you can get “well technically you need flowcoat or add wax to gelcote “ I think they also sell pre thickened gelcote that would be lot easier to use for a first time repair ,

Thank you. I will do as you suggest.