so i’ve got a new boat with an uncommon gel coat colour. i’ve already damaged said boat and would like not to put white gel coat on the green hull. i can’t get the gel coat from the manufacturer, too far away, too complicated. is this something that can be mixed and matched? i don’t know what RAL stands for, but i know the RAL number of the colour.
thanks.
pigments…
You can buy pigments and mix your own color to match.
acrylic paint pigments? also Sweet Comps
I have heard of using acrylic paint pigments to tint, but I’m not sure how UV resistant that will be.
Sweet composites carries some pigments for tinting resins, including a green:
http://sweetcomposites.com/Resins.html
You may be able to color match. But you can’t mix on the go, because it can cure to a different shade. So some test batches are in order.
mix into white?
and do i do it, or does a shop do it. you are right Grayhawk, Industrial Plastics is the place, and i should just ask them tomorrow, but i cracked my boat today, and i’m a bit wound up about it!
Tell them your story…
Chances are they will know someone that can do the job if you don’t want to tackle it.
Great thing about FG is that it can be fixed and you will never know it was broke.
it’s only the gel
thank god. i can do repairs no prob, just finding that colour is my concern. it’s a custom colour from NDK, i hope i can find a close enough match. if not, oh well!
If it’s not though to the glass…
It’s possible to lightly sand and buff the area back without having to add to it.
There is a lot of gel coat on a NDK to work with.
LOL on above … yep just sand it down,
a couple mils, collect the dust and do your repair …
This thread was just in a while back … good info on there …
"custom’ = mixed from two or more ‘cans’ or a off the chart color you picked that they just don’t use ?
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=759497
RAL
– Last Updated: Dec-03-07 8:18 AM EST –
Is an international colour standard developed originally in Germany.
Click on the link below then on the external link to RAL colour charts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAL_(color_space_system)
Colour Matching of Paints etc
Is a skill that requires a great deal of practise to do it consistently.
One of the problems of course as stated earlier in this thread is that the colour may be different once the film has dried (or cured)
A method used by colour matchers in the paint industry is as follows.
Get as close a match as you can in the wet to the colour you require.
Apply a small quantity onto a test panel & allow to dry.
Compare the dry match to the colour you require on the kayak & decide what change is needed.
Remove a small quantity of the original match & tint the rest accordingly.
Compare the original wet colour to the new wet colour whilst looking at the dry test panel against the kayak.
If the difference between the two wet materials is similar to the difference between the two dry materials the match should be pretty close.
Several tinting attempts may be needed to get a spot on match.
West Marine…
Sells a very affordable gel coat mixing kit (everything included and intructions on how to).
It’s pretty simple if you’re willing to do the work yourself.
Rob
Above tedium can even be compounded
by not mixing with the same amount of catylist too …
Signed,
I guy who has had the boat owner looking over his shoulder.
think i’ll just put some
Solarez on it and call it a day!
Very True
Another problem in the long run would be the different weathering characteristics of the repair material but that is another subject.
Including current state of surrounding
area too … stay small ? or go big since I got the match perfect and really impress …
How about repairing an already repaired area : 0 ! ?
LOL
My ‘secret weapon’ was an old jar of gold that always worked magically.
One of the areas I worked in was
Painting cars. Even where there was a defined break point such as a panel edge colour matching became a problem.
In that case a complete respray was required.
I suppose an alternative is to have a two tone kayak/canoe.
Don’t use white…
…unless your boat is a pastel color. If it’s an dark or rich color, you should start with clear gelcoat.