Fiberglass repair help

[Special-K]

I removed several old/unused transducer wires which ran up the transom and into the splashwell. I epoxied the screw holds and two 2" diameter holes where the transducer cables went through the splashwell. The instructions on the West Marine gelcoat say it will not adhere to epoxy. After sanding the new epoxy surfaces, what should I do to prepair the surface to accept the gelcoat?

_Scott

[gd]

You did it, Just scuff it up with some 320 or so sandpaper and gelcoat it, it'll be fine. Below the waterline is where you might run into problems with it lifting after awhile.

[Special-K]

Thanks GD. Below the water line i plan to scuff, prime, and paint. Above the water line and in the splashwell (very wet area) I am going to gel-coat. You think it will adhere to the roughened surface, the product literature says it wont?

Over-obcessing,
Scott

[Special-K]

Another thought - when they are fabricating a boat, they spray gelcoat into the mold first and then lay up the epoxy/glass cloth. How does the epoxy adhere to the gelcoat when the manufacturers do it?

-Scott

[cclancer]

Special K:
Probably 90% of the productions boats built in this country is made with polyester resin and fiberglass. A total Epoxy boat would be so expensive people would be staggered. Polyester resin wholesale is app. 1/4 the cost of epoxy. And last week my supplier went from $55.00 for 5 gal to 75.00. Epoxy is costing me about 40.00 per gal.

Like "gd" said , sand it down till you have the dot of epoxy exposed, then put the gel-coat on. Now are you going to seal the gelcoat with PVA or wax?

[Special-K]

cclancer -

I was going to use the PVA gel stuff to seal of the gelcoat. But there is more than a dot of epoxy. There is approximately a 2" diameter hole filled with it.

-Scott

[cjenkins]

First of all, use gelcoat with wax in it already. This way you do not have to worry about sealing it. Make sure after sanding the epoxy, you also wipe it down with acetone to get rid of any residual oils that may be left behind. I would personally feather into existing gel before reapplying new gel coat. After gel is dry, wet sand and buff and it will look brand new.