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Which type of gel coat to buy for beach rash

Steve-o

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I would like to repair my beach rash with a thick coat of gel coat (maybe multiple layers). Don't beach that often and when we do we usually coast on and carry up a foot or two. Since you can't really even see the area I'm not too concerned about making it perfect. When I tried to buy white gel coat on Amazon there were 10 different ones.... Some with hardener, fiberglass, etc. which one to buy?
 

Gelcoater

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I would like to repair my beach rash with a thick coat of gel coat (maybe multiple layers). Don't beach that often and when we do we usually coast on and carry up a foot or two. Since you can't really even see the area I'm not too concerned about making it perfect. When I tried to buy white gel coat on Amazon there were 10 different ones.... Some with hardener, fiberglass, etc. which one to buy?

Might help to know what gel is on it now.
What boat do you have?
What year?
As you have found,there are many "white" gels out there.
 

Steve-o

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Thanks for your help!! It is a 2004 magic deck. White
 

Flying_Lavey

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Might help to know what gel is on it now.
What boat do you have?
What year?
As you have found,there are many "white" gels out there.
Also curious about this. I have a '85 Laveycraft Vee. What would you suggest ol' mighty wizard of gel?
 

Gelcoater

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Thanks for your help!! It is a 2004 magic deck. White

Also curious about this. I have a '85 Laveycraft Vee. What would you suggest ol' mighty wizard of gel?

You guys are going to make this challenging:D

Steve...Not sure for you as I was never a part of Magics production.
50/50 chance here they used Valspar or Duratec.There's also a very slim chance they used an off brand like HK or Cook.Maybe send retaocleg here on the forums a pm,he might know.

Lavey...being an 85 I'm pretty confident it was sprayed with Thompson Gel Coat.
Now here's where it gets tricky.
Thompson was bought out by Lilly,some time later Lilly was bought out by Valspar.Valspar was then taken over by the current supplier Lilly/Ram.
As far as I know LillyRam is using that same Valspar formula although it's been tweeked a little to meet AQMD and EPA requirements for low VOCs.
Looking at your boat yourself you need to determine if your white is tinted slightly blue(Cloud white) or slightly yellow/brownish which is probably the ISO white or perhaps the ISO/Ortho blend white which I believe tints slightly gray.

It might not be noticeable which tint it is unless you can put a true white against it to compare.Try a white t shirt next to it.
I hope this can help you and didn't completely confuse the shit out of you.
 

Gelcoater

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Flying_Lavey,

I sent Jeff Camire a text and received confirmation he was using Thompson at that time.
Your best bet is the current LillyRam gelcoat.It may need some slight mods to match just right but should be pretty close.
 

Flying_Lavey

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You guys are going to make this challenging:D

Steve...Not sure for you as I was never a part of Magics production.
50/50 chance here they used Valspar or Duratec.There's also a very slim chance they used an off brand like HK or Cook.Maybe send retaocleg here on the forums a pm,he might know.

Lavey...being an 85 I'm pretty confident it was sprayed with Thompson Gel Coat.
Now here's where it gets tricky.
Thompson was bought out by Lilly,some time later Lilly was bought out by Valspar.Valspar was then taken over by the current supplier Lilly/Ram.
As far as I know LillyRam is using that same Valspar formula although it's been tweeked a little to meet AQMD and EPA requirements for low VOCs.
Looking at your boat yourself you need to determine if your white is tinted slightly blue(Cloud white) or slightly yellow/brownish which is probably the ISO white or perhaps the ISO/Ortho blend white which I believe tints slightly gray.

It might not be noticeable which tint it is unless you can put a true white against it to compare.Try a white t shirt next to it.
I hope this can help you and didn't completely confuse the shit out of you.
Thank you sir. I'm pretty sure it's the brownish tint. So I'll look into it when the time comes.
 

Shortdeck

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Flying_Lavey,

I sent Jeff Camire a text and received confirmation he was using Thompson at that time.
Your best bet is the current LillyRam gelcoat.It may need some slight mods to match just right but should be pretty close.

So gelcoat repair is hinged on the original products used? Or just to get a good color?
 

Gelcoater

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So gelcoat repair is hinged on the original products used? Or just to get a good color?

Knowing what was used sure helps in getting color match.
It doesn't have to be same brand but more tuning may be required if not the same brand.
You'd be surprised how many shades of white there are for example.

Another example,making a darker shade of metallic silver.
It can be common to do.
I mixed some Lilly black with silver once to make a metallic charcoal.
Later in the build we needed to make a couple of small parts to match.
We didn't have the same brand of black in the shop that day and I just couldn't get the color to match.Spent close to an hour.The Dura product had an almost greenish tint when mixed with silver.

In and of itself it looked fine,but next to the original mix it just didn't match.
Sent off for more Lilly and bang,matched it in two minutes.
 

Backlash

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Two minutes?? What took you so long! :D





J/K! You got mad skills Yo! :D
 

rush1

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I was wondering the same thing I've got an 89 commander I need to shoot a spot on the bottom white, to me it looks like a ford Wimbledon white that they used on trucks and vans for forever. Any clue? and where can I buy it?
 

ursusarticus

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I need to repair a keel crack in the keel of my Eliminator daycrusier. I'm going to lay in 3" tape on the inside of the keel after filling the crack from the inside. Do you have any idea what gelcoat would best match what Bob Leach & co. used?
 

Gelcoater

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I was wondering the same thing I've got an 89 commander I need to shoot a spot on the bottom white, to me it looks like a ford Wimbledon white that they used on trucks and vans for forever. Any clue? and where can I buy it?

I need to repair a keel crack in the keel of my Eliminator daycrusier. I'm going to lay in 3" tape on the inside of the keel after filling the crack from the inside. Do you have any idea what gelcoat would best match what Bob Leach & co. used?

I would probably go through LillyRam.
Eliminator would have been using Thompson Gelcoat back then.I think you'll have a bit of tuning to do to get it to match 40 year old gel.Not impossible,but may take some time and patients.
 

3.Slow

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Hey Gelcoater - any thoughts on what product was used by Caliber 1 in '99? Also any recommendations on where to go in the IE for beach rash and spider crack repair?

Thanks
 

Gelcoater

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Hey Gelcoater - any thoughts on what product was used by Caliber 1 in '99? Also any recommendations on where to go in the IE for beach rash and spider crack repair?

Thanks

They were using Lilly at that time.Which became Valspar,which is now Lilly Ram.
For beach rash and spiders,if you don't want to try tackling it yourself you have a number of places in the IE.
Cobra,Eliminator,GT Performance,or Extreme out in Elsinore,Lavey Craft,Martinez,and I'm sure I'm leaving off many.
 

3.Slow

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They were using Lilly at that time.Which became Valspar,which is now Lilly Ram.
For beach rash and spiders,if you don't want to try tackling it yourself you have a number of places in the IE.
Cobra,Eliminator,GT Performance,or Extreme out in Elsinore,Lavey Craft,Martinez,and I'm sure I'm leaving off many.

Thanks for the info, looks like I will be making some phone calls.
 

BDOG

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Maybe you guys could help me also. I have an 04 Carerra and need to redo the bottom from beaching it on the sand. What would be the best brand of gel coat to do this year of boat or does it really matter? My other question is who can color match and will mix a quart in Havasu ? Thanks in advance.
 

CJ_Donahue

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Bumping an old thread because it is a perfect match. Want to fix a 2000 Cole's beach rash this winter. Anyone know what brand gel.they used for DIY or who is doing reasonable prices good repairs these days?
 

CJ_Donahue

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