Fiberglass damage, fixed with pictures.

[oldtimer57]

Go to Birmingham boat repair. Guy there is as good as I have seen. Matching gel coat. Getting bottom perfectly flat where it is supposed to do, etc. Have not used them in years, but Tony as as good as I have ever seen on all things fiberglass…

[Redngoo]

oldtimer57 wrote:

Go to Birmingham boat repair.  Guy there is as good as I have seen.  Matching gel coat.  Getting bottom perfectly flat where it is supposed to do, etc.   Have not used them in years, but Tony as as good as I have ever seen on all things fiberglass…

Used to back ago before I22 i would pass by his place if your talking about the place at arkedelpha. I thought that place was out of business. And yes i had heard good things about BBR. Also another place around Hueytown(not sure of the name). I do have a 2 places about the size of a pencil eraser under the bottom. Nothing major for sure. One was thier when i purchased the boat. Obivously the warrior is the blame of the other. I had a few (touch) ups done on my old cat around 2000 from a guy in winfeild al. I heard that guy passed away sevral yrs back though. As stated i just like to visually see places that were repaired 4 or 5 yrs after the repair. The 2 places i have know are just cosmetic features that i kno are their and been thinking i might have them fixed. Hadnt really looked around for no body but when read Bamas post it just peaked my interest.

[oldtimer57]

Have not been there since I-22 work, and yes that was the place. They still have an active web page. I had a neighbor about 25 years ago (moved away several years ago) with a Stratos. He cleaned it up, waxed the bottom, and went down to Beeswax with me and my son (we took my old astro). He unhooked the winch strap at the top of the ramp and proceeded to back down the ramp, and the boat slid right off the trailer and down the ramp. Really chewed the bottom up. Took it to Tony’s shop and it looked better when he had finished the repair than it did before the incident. Saw a few others, including an Ally XR hull that hit a light pole that was floating just under the surface, with lots of spikes in it. Another amazing fix.

[bwp777]

makes me wonder what is under the bunk boards

[smbass77]

i had a similar gouge and did the repair myself.  Got the flake from BCB and a repair kit online, think I spent $50 in total.  It wasn’t difficult (my first time doing it) and I would certainly try it again.

Here’s a step by step I did:  how-i-fixed-my-gelcoat-t35819.html

[Gasbasser]

smbass77 wrote:

i had a similar gouge and did the repair myself.  Got the flake from BCB and a repair kit online, think I spent $50 in total.  It wasn’t difficult (my first time doing it) and I would certainly try it again.

Here’s a step by step I did:  how-i-fixed-my-gelcoat-t35819.html

 

So, if I did this myself, should I just go with the solid grey, as that is where the most damage is.  It appears the solid grey is on top of the silver.
Britt

[muddywaters]

Duct tape, set bilge pumps to auto and go fishing. Ha ha! I am just as bad about my boat, scuffs get polished out almost immediately, Luckily “Knock on Wood” My boat has not suffered any gel chips or similar damage. But if it does I will be looking to have it fixed quickly.

[smbass77]

Gasbasser wrote:

smbass77 wrote:

i had a similar gouge and did the repair myself.  Got the flake from BCB and a repair kit online, think I spent $50 in total.  It wasn’t difficult (my first time doing it) and I would certainly try it again.

Here’s a step by step I did:  how-i-fixed-my-gelcoat-t35819.html

So, if I did this myself, should I just go with the solid grey, as that is where the most damage is.  It appears the solid grey is on top of the silver.
Britt

 

yea I would just do it in solid grey

[smbass77]

smbass77, I got my gelcoat kit in like yours, waiting on grey gelcoat from Basscat. Once gel coat is on and sanded, what did you polish/ wax with? Polish first then wax?

Britt

[smbass77]

You shouldn’t need the grey gelcoat from BCB…..just the flake, which looks like you don’t have any flake in that grey part of your boat. The gelcoat kit you bought should be all you need, it has the coloring to mix with the clear gelcoat to match the color. It may take you a few times to match it. Use VERY little coloring at a time or you will get black mud. Good thing is that kit gives enough to make 5-8 batches.

After I sanded it, I applied the polish and then the wax.

[Gasbasser]

Well, I had already ordered the grey. They are supposed to have it match my hull color. Oh, well. What polish? I have no problem picking a wax, I have never had to polish the boat before. Any suggestions?

[oldtimer57]

You are probably going to want to sand. #400, then #800, then #1600, then #3000. Finish up with a really fine polish to buff it to a good shine.

[Gasbasser]

Doing my gelcoat repair this week. What exactly goes on top of the new gel coat when I am done? Wax or Polish? or something else? I read where wax protects but polish removes imperfections.

Britt

[Gasbasser]

1st coat of Gelcoat is on. This is a pain because it is not just a flat surface but 2 different planes and one is rounding, also trying to stay out of flake on the side which is a 3rd plane. Also doesn’t help father gravity is pulling everything down! Probably should have taken it to someone, but to late now. I’ll post some pictures when done. On a positive note, this is my first experience wet sanding, that works nicely. Thanks to everyone that offered information, especially smbass77’s tutorial.

Britt

[Gasbasser]

So, is all liquid hardner the same? I have some that came with the same kit smbass77 used, but is not even remotely getting hard a 15 minutes. I measured out exactly how much gel coat and followed the instructions. The first coat did get hard, after several hours. Not sure the shelf life on the liquid hardner. Local auto parts stores have liquid hardner but is says for fiberglass. Is this the same? disclaimer, I am using Bass Cat’s gelcoat and not the gel coat that came in the kit.

Thanks

[Author]

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