Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 6:48 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Gel Coat Repair Method
PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 11:12 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:36 pm
Posts: 55
Location: Anderson, SC
This is my gel coat repair project video that resulted from some conversation over in the Hobie 16 forum. I decided it might be useful to post it in the repair section. Maybe this will be helpful to some others:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwrjmyBR7c8[/youtube]

_________________
Anderson, SC
1987 Hobie 16
Learning to sail.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 11:43 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:50 am
Posts: 207
Location: Lititz, PA/Somers Point, NJ
If I didn't know any better i would have thought that was a surf city cat video. Nice work looks like it turned out perfect.

_________________
'73 hobie 16 restored 2011
'00 Seaswirl fishin boat


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 1:15 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:29 am
Posts: 34
Location: Boise, Idaho
Yeah! Very nice video. It will help a lot of people...

Ed

_________________
'76 Hobie 16


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2011 2:25 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:36 pm
Posts: 55
Location: Anderson, SC
Make sure you buy "finish gel coat" if you are going to try this method. It contain wax additives. If you buy regular gel coat, you will likely get a tacky surface that will not sand well. I used a lot of the advice offered by Jeremy from Surf City :D . If I were doing an area much larger, I would have to use a different mixture & a sprayer.

_________________
Anderson, SC
1987 Hobie 16
Learning to sail.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:47 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 10:02 pm
Posts: 177
Location: Hanover, PA
Thanks for posting the video, looking for ideas myself on how to fix a 4 inch crack I have on the bottom of a hull.

_________________
'95 H16 sail #101148
'89 H18 SX/ sail #1053 w/ Yellow hulls


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:47 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
annacat wrote:
Make sure you buy "finish gel coat" if you are going to try this method.


Or you can just buy "surfacing agent" (basically liquid wax) and add it to the gelcoat when you mix the hardener in your final coat. "Finish gelcoat" is just regular gelcoat with the surfacing agent already mixed in. The downside to using finish gelcoat is that you must sand it between each application.

sm


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:24 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:51 am
Posts: 87
Location: Atlanta, GA
Or you can spray the freshly applied gelcoat with PVA which will form an airtight seal over the gelcoat so it can harden properly.
The advantage of using PVA and an unwaxed gelcoat is that you can spray multiple coats of gelcoat. With waxed gelcoat, you need to let it cure then sand it before you can add an additional coat. By using PVA, you can spray a coat of gelcoat, then mix and apply another coat within an hour or so. Then spray PVA over the repair and it will all harden nicely.
I just finished a bottom job on my cat after landing on an oyster bed. It turned out perfectly.

_________________
Eric Weller
2006 F18 Capricorn
1980 H16
Keep the pointy side up!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2012 11:44 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:31 pm
Posts: 24
Location: Colchester, VT
Great video, thanks for posting! What grit sand paper did you use for the different sanding stages? What kind of epoxy did you use?

_________________
1979 Hobie 16


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2012 8:28 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:06 am
Posts: 277
Location: Charlotte, NC
great resource, I guess the can of Bud is applied liberally throughout the entire process? :D

Did you thicken the gelcoat with silica or ? how much hardener did you shoot for?

_________________
Jonathan
'85 H16 __/) 87468 Tidal Wave
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 9 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group