discolored repair

[1stchunt]

Had a delivery truck back into the side of the boat when it was new 5 years ago. Damage broke the gelcoat but did not hole the hull. Insurance paid for the repair which, until recently, was totally invisible. Over the last few months the repair, about the size of a dinner plate, has darkened in comparison to the rest of the hull.

Any thoughts/tricks that will allow me to rematch the repair with the hull color?

[Raybo Marine NY]

refinish the side of the hull, I know it sounds drastic but that is the only way.
Post a photo of the area, what color is the hull and how do you care for it?

You can repair that section again, and it will blend in better, but as you have already witnessed it will only last so long before showing up again.

[BoatHaus]

It also depends on what was added to the gel before it was sprayed. Any additives such as styrene, acetone, wax or too much mekp will alter the color. We try to spray straight gel through a pressure pot then spray PVA over the top, this usually will last even in the Florida sun.

[ken2]

If it matched for a while and has slowly darkend.

Get some "On Off" or some muratic acid and wipe the dark area down.
Let it sit for a minute and do it again. Then wash it with soapy water.
It will probably make that spot white again.

Once you do this, you need to polish and wax the area.


If they never waxed the spot after the initial repair, that spot may stain easier then the rest of the hull which presumably has been waxed before.

[1stchunt]

Thanks for the help everyone. As you might imagine, I think I'll try the "On/Off" thing first. In fact I did try that with just a little q-tip full to see if it would make a difference and it didn't seem to work. But I can certainly give it the full treatment and see what happens. I do keep the boat waxed with Collonite and washed with either straight water or Orpine.

And as you probably figured out, the boat was on the trailer when the truck backed into it!

Thanks again