swtribal

I know there have been some threads on hull repair but most of those deal with either minor scratching or holes all the way through. My problem is a few gashes that have penetrated the gelcoat/plastic and then part way into the fiberglass. Would I be better of filling this with something like MarineTex and then sanding it or getting a fiberglass repair kit? If I do go with the kit could I just cut the mat/cloth pieces a little bigger then the gashes, press them into it in layers, and then sand down the excess a little? I assume you don't want to sand it all the way flush with the rest of the hull or it might expose some of the original damage.

swtribal

Anyone have any ideas?

bmwbirdman

It looks like you have no gel coat left in a huge area so you will want to buy some white gel coat for sure. You mix it up with the hardner and apply with a squeegie which is just a plastic applicator you can buy at any parts store. You will want to spread a layer on the sections as evenly as you can and after it dries about 24 hours you can sand it smooth by wet sanding and buffing if you have a buffer. For the deeper gouges you may want to dry a product you can buy at the parts stores called angel hair. It is basically fiberglass matting material in fine strands in a fiberglass resin base. Again you just smooth it on as best you can with a squeegie. It is some nasty sticky stuff and make sure you wear some rubber gloves because you don't want to get this crap on your skin. If you could flip the boat over to apply it would be best because the stuff will try to drip off otherwise.