| Do
it yourself Boat Repair Tips
Many customers contact me to get advice on how they can do a boat repair themselves. While I always offer free advice,
at times it's not cost effective for me to check out everyone's boat in person or providing an explanation to customers over the phone on how to do this repair during my busy time of year, since I work by myself.
In this section of the website I will show you the weekend warriors or the budget minded people on how to take care of the small problems on their boats without spending a fortune. It's a quick glance at the process that anyone can do.
Also in this section I'll be testing out affordable tools for you. I've seen many customers use the wrong type of buffers
to compound their boats. This will include Buffers, Sanders, and all the supplies that you need to do the job the right. As a boat owner you'll be using that tool maybe once or twice a season. Me as a professional I need better tools that are way more expensive and hold up better to every day use.
I hope this section helps you out. I'll be adding more subjects & content to this section time permitting from my busy schedule.
If you have any comments or would like to see some type of repair listed here let me know by e-mailing me back.
Gel-Coat Void Repair
If your a boat owner then you probably have these on your boat, If not now then probably later. These Voids can show up right away when the boat is brand new, or It may take a couple years for them to show up later.
When the Gel-Coat ages it gets more brittle. Then the fiberglass goes thru the shock of the Summer & Winter cycles and all of a sudden these voids just pop up.
Many customers see these voids on their boats and worry about their boat sinking. From all the voids that I repaired over the years that won't happen.
Voids are air bubbles in between the Gel-Coat & Fiberglass layers where the factory did a sloppy job in rolling out the fiberglass when they laid the hull up. Theirs really nothing to worry about. It's mostly a cosmetic thing. The area of the void has the same amount of fiberglass as in the rest of the hull.
Photo's 1 & 2 is the typical Gel-Coat Void that you'll see on a boat hull. Most of the time you'll see them on the inside or outside corners of a contour shape of the hull. These areas are harder to roll out smooth. Very rarely you'll see them on a flat surface of the hull. But you can still get them their too.
Note: The below repair procedure is for the do it yourself type person. I will not do a repair this way. The professional way to fix this
problem is to spray the surrounding area in so you don't see where the spot was. When you repair it yourself you will see the repair
area, but it will look a lot better then seeing the void.
|
| Typical outside corner Gel Coat Void. |
|
Typical inside corner
Gel Coat Void.
|
|
|
|
|
| This is what a Void looks like after its broken open & cleaned.
|
|
Lay masking tape over the area, follow the outline of void with a razor.
|
|
Remove the masking tape in the void area. |
|
|
| This is what it will look like if done right. |
|
Rough up the area with the edge of the razor.
|
|
Mix up the gel-coat and fill in the area. You can get the gel-coat from the factory in paste form.
|
|
|
| Level off area with the razor edge. |
|
Level it off to the top of the masking tape. Cover it with plastic.
|
|
Let it dry for a couple of hours. Peel the masking tape off the boat,sand the area smooth with 320 wet sandpaper follow up to 800 grit.
|
|
 
|
|
  Buff up area to a nice shine. |
|
< Back to the Home Page
|
