Most vessels made these days are made of fiberglass. A fiberglass boat is composed of resins and synthetic glass plastic matting fused together to give it strength. The exterior vessel areas are made of layers of colored resins known as gel coat. Gel coat is the substance utilized to provide the top-quality appearance on the visible surface of the reinforced material beneath.

What's gel coat? The most prevalent gel coats used with today's yachts are structured on polyester resin chemistry. Gel coats are resins that are sprayed into molds in a liquid. The constructed module, when satisfactorily cured and detached from the mold, makes the gel coated topsides. After some time, the gel coated surfaces can be damaged and dinged from age. The sun can also create small scratches, but they can be fixed.

This is how I do this. Topside gel coat scratches can be rubbed out of a gel coat surface with auto polishing compound and good ole elbow grease, but multi-layered scratches must be filled. Excluding shade matching, gel coat fixes are fairly effortless and uncomplicated.

If cracks are deep, I normally prepare them for repair by additional grinding to the area with a Dremel device. This affords suitable bedding for the resin. I prefer to use the West System epoxy for doing my alterations. The success of the repair depends not only on the ability of the epoxy's potency, but also on how satisfactorily the epoxy adheres to the facade being put on. Except when you are bonding to partly aged epoxy, the strength of the union depends on the epoxy's ability to "stick " to the topsides. The following three tips of exterior prep work are an essential step of any epoxy gel coat fix.

For high-quality bonding, all facades have to be:

1. Spotless - All topsides to be repaired must be free of all impurities such as silicone, grease, oil or wax. Rub all surfaces with a clean cloth moistened with acetone or lacquer thinner. Rub the exterior ahead of the solvent drying. Clean the whole surface before sanding or grinding with a Dremel tool to circumvent driving the pollutant into the current fiberglass surface.

2. Dry - Every surface should be as dried out as possible for high quality bonding. If needed, accelerate the drying by heating the topsides with a hair dryer. As previously stated, epoxy will not stick to damp surfaces.

3. Sanded - Sand smooth all topsides- carefully abrading every surface. Get rid of all chalking, flaking, blistering, or previous paint layers prior to sanding. Eliminate all particles subsequent to sanding with a rag dampened with solvent.

Fairing refers to the stuffing and contouring of ground out areas so they merge with the adjoining surfaces and appear "fair" both to the touch and eye. Prepare the topsides the same as you would for bonding. Sand away all bumps and ridges on the surface and do away with all dust from the area to be faired afterwards. Combine resin/hardener and fairing filler to a putty-like thickness according to the manufacturer's instructions.

At all times combine fillers in a two-step process:

1. Mix the preferred amount of resin and hardener thoroughly before adding fillers.

2. Blend in little amounts of the appropriate filler until the preferred thickness is reached; be careful not to put in too much.

Be sure all of the filler is totally blended before the mixture is applied. Spread the mixture into a thin layer in the mixing cup to extend its effective time; heavy blended resin will become hard rapidly.

The epoxy blend can now be applied with a plastic squeegee, pushing it into all cracks. Level the mixture to the preferred shape, but leaving the epoxy a bit more elevated than the adjacent surface. Eliminate any spare thickened epoxy prior to it beginning to cure. Additionally, if any voids are greater than ½" deep, spread the epoxy mixture in several applications.

Let the final thickened epoxy application cure completely. Aging will last at least an hour, maybe more. Sand the applied fairing matter to join with the adjacent contour; heavier grit sandpaper will remove more matter as you sand. Conclude with smaller grit sandpaper when you are near the final contour. To finish the job, I prefer to paint the mended area.