How To Repair Scratches On A Fiberglass Boat Hull

There's naught that looks quite like a brand-new boat. The
hull is smooth, the upholstery is fresh, and there'due south no uncertainty that information technology'southward ready
to accept on the water. But the reality of marine life is that you'll have to
bargain with a scratch on your boat's fiberglass sooner or later. It pays to know how
to bargain with these scratches and what materials to have on paw. Nosotros've got you
covered with our fiberglass boat scratch repair guide.

Agreement
Fiberglass

Information technology starts with a bones understanding of the textile that
makes upward your hull: fiberglass. Fiberglass is a versatile and durable
substance, simply it's important to understand its human relationship to the gel glaze. A gel glaze is substantially a
finish on the fiberglass. It'due south very thin, but it can help protect the
fiberglass and the boat itself from the marine environment. If your fiberglass
gets scratched, that means at that place'southward been damage to the gel coat too.

That'due south why it'due south important to understand the coaction of
these two basic parts: when you lot repair a scratch, you may actually merely have to
repair the gel coat itself. But since the gel glaze is a somewhat complicated
resin on the outer layer of the fiberglass, information technology's important to use the correct
steps as y'all become.

How to Repair Damage
to Your Fiberglass Boat

There are two essential types of scratches you'll encounter
with fiberglass:

• A lite, surface-level scratch
• A deeper, penetrating scratch

In the case of the surface-level scratch, your mission
should be to repair the gel coat. Using a polishing compound similar
PolyShine, you should be able to vitrify this out and even out the
area, giving y'all the appearance of the original gel glaze—or close to it.

For deeper, penetrating scratches, you may have to make full in
the gel glaze itself. That ways picking upward some gel coat paste. One reason
white gunkhole hulls are and then popular is that they brand these sorts of repairs much
easier. Otherwise, when you lot fill up in an area of gel coat on fiberglass, you may
have to practise some color matching.

Applying Gel Coat
Paste

BoatUS.com
recommends outset preparing the area in need of repairs by opening the scratch
into a 5-shape. A adept manner to practise this is to use the corner of the scraper. Using
a plastic spreader, utilize an even level of the gel coat paste and scrape away
the excess.

Before taking any action, be sure to read the label of your
gel coat paste. Following each individual product'south instructions can give you
the specific tips you need to avoid doing any damage to your fiberglass.

Long-Term Boat
Fiberglass Maintenance

If you desire to maintain that "like new" look on your hull,
it helps to know a few things well-nigh properly maintaining and cleaning your
fiberglass afterward repairing a scratch.

We recommend using Fiberglass
Rubbing Chemical compound for your future cleaning needs. This formula is
great at minimizing the loss of the gel coat surface, which helps keep your
fiberglass's overall structure stiff. And don't forget to keep browsing the full
range of boat
cleaning and maintenance products here at BoatLIFE!

Source: https://www.boatlife.com/boatlife-blog/fiberglass-boat-scratch-repair/

Posted by: welchercland1951.blogspot.com

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