Fiberglass Care

Advice
#1

I have a Canadienne that I unfortunately have had to keep outdoors.

The red gel coat is starting to whiten.

What is the best way to restorer/refinish and then protect the gel coat? What has anyone used that is the best?



I also have some gouges from oyster beds that have scraped the bottom. Does anyone know the best way to fill and repair these gouges that are about 1/8" deep?



Thanks for any help.

#2

I saw this after a search. Plus my ideas
How To Restore Like New Color & Shine to Fiberglass Gelcoat on Boats And Filon Fiberglass Panels on RV’s



http://www.vivilon.com/recrepics.html



Don’t know if it works personally.



Here’s another form.

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/technical-discussion/200-restoring-faded-gelcoat.html



Here is an owner of a gelcoat company:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/40691-different-perspective-onn-faded-gelcoat-restoration.html



I would fill the scratches with a somewhat flexible 2 part epoxy from the hardware store. That’s how I have fixed clear coat kevlar for years. I have also used a repair kit epoxy from Chicago Canoe Base that worked well. I have used a waterproof 2 part puddy to fix my royalx canoe. I cant see why it wouldn’t work even better on fiberglass.

#3

Not as cheap, but West G-flex epoxy
costs about $16 for the two 4 oz component bottles, mixes 1:1. The main advantage of G-flex is that it will stick better to existing surfaces than other epoxies, and that’s saying a lot.