Search results for query: gelcoat repair

All my boats have gelcoat, even my legacy WW ones- to me gelcoat is a sacrificial layer and takes most of the beating instead of the kevlar itself getting gouged and fuzzed up. I'd say 90% of the damage to most WW or moving water canoes is from grinding over or along rocks, not hard impacts...

Heck, my Swift P14 got cracked Gelcoat around the stem up to the gunnel just riding on my roof rack on a windy day crossing Illinois. Might be ok in South Florida mangroves, but I’d rather repair WW bumps on IXP or Black Steel than Gelcoat.

Thank you! I saw that one, but it’s a higher price than I’d like to spend for the condition it’s in…if it didn’t have all that gelcoat repair I’d consider it… There are two others on FB I have seen as well, but the sellers don’t seem to respond…

I am sick and tired of gelcoat damage on a nova craft, successful with repairing oxblood deep red gelcoat. I plan to run a layer of dynel skid plate all along the whole center bottom hull ridge line about +/- 3 inches either side. Will dynel wet well with WEST SYSTEMS 650? Anyone know if I...

I’m done with Gelcoat. Heavy, impossible to repair. I saw that swift is using something different on top of their expedition Kevlar, more like what you describe, I think. I’d be interested in that because the E-kev is a solid hull material for streams, just needs something besides GC on top.

Not sure where this crack came from, but it looks like it could be from hauling in wind, which I’ve done plenty recently. Any reason to worry about this? Any repair advice? I was thinking of sanding and recoating the bottom, but I’m not familiar with Gelcoat.

As far as I can tell, it's not peeling up, just cracks/splits. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction for repair.

...polyester) resin layup, which isn't truly waterproof. Is the stuff still firmly adhered to the underlying glass, or are bits of it peeling up? There will probably be others dropping by soon enough, but you can get an overview of some options by searching "gelcoat repair" here on the forums.

...could get nasty. There's a product called Captain Tolley's that's made to seep into cracks and seal them. I'd at least do that...should be easy. Best thing might be to give it a quick sanding and paint it since paint will make it waterproof. Gelcoat repairs would work fine too but take longer.

Most of us use thickened epoxy for that type of repair. Gflex should do the trick. A quick search of this site finds many such threads about repair gel coat and scratches. You should be able to find all you need to know: https://www.canoetripping.net/search/286514/?q=gelcoat+repair&o=relevance...

After getting my Dragonfly on the water this spring, I have realized it is now beyond my balance and flexibility capabilities going on 77 years old. It was bought new in 1988 by new, but was built in 1977 apparently shortly after Dave Curtis sold Curtis Canoes. The layup is expedition kevlar...

Erica, the reason I'd lean towards epoxy vs gelcoat is that gelcoat is much thinner so you may have a really hard time filling the damaged areas since gravity will make the gelcoat run. For aesthetics I'd say if you use tinted gelcoat just leave it and don't try to make it perfect. If you use...

...if I had spiderweb cracks without any loose gelcoat chips. Placid Boatworks used to have a video on their website that showed gelcoat repair, first removing gelcoat along the cracks like Tryin' suggests. I tried following the video's directions on my Placid Flashfire and eventually ended...

finally got the warm weather and free time that i needed, and made my repairs. they're inexpert and not particularly pretty, but adequate (which i'll take, being my first time working with both fiberglass and gelcoat). thanks to all who chimed in to help me out.

In 45 years of repairing all kinds of canoes I have used marine epoxy. Any zones of weakness get fiberglass or kevlar cloth and epoxy. I cannot remember ever repairing gelcoat. But I have never had any fancy late model canoes with pretty gel coat. I like Alan Gage's before and after photos...

I have had 4 Swift Canoes and 3 kayaks in either Kevlar or Carbon Fusion over the years, and as much as I value the quality of their build, I must admit their composite hulls seem to be more susceptible to spider cracking from minor impacts. Most of the time, it is better to leave them alone...

I used to build sailboats and never liked gelcoat. When I repair canoes I just paint em. Epoxy paint is over rated.

There have been discussions about moving to lighter weight canoes as we age but that tends to mean more fragile construction. I want a canoe that is both light weight and robust! The Flashfire is one of my favorite canoes. I had a Bell Flashfire that weighed about 36 pounds and then when a...

I have too, but I don’t think they have green. I could be wrong. Bob

The first layer went well. I managed to get it squeegeed and bubble free before the resin kicked - but at 80° in the shop, there was little time to spare. Now I have to say something good about Wenonah's vintage '95 build. The gelcoat is faded and has countless scratches all over. But I have...