Gel Coat won't set -Up

N

Noreaster

New member
I was trying to repair a chip in my gel coat and am having trouble getting the gel coat to kick. I got a repair kit from a dealer in the midwest. They didn't want to ship me accelerator to avoid hazardous shipping cost. I was told peroxide accelerator would work but after 3 hours the mix hadn't kicked and was still tacky the next day. I've done plenty of small repairs on other boats over the years and never had any problems. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
Question:

Does your gelcoat have wax included ... if not you may only need to cover the repair with cellophane to prevent air reaching the repair and while curing takes place.
 
The normal accelerant is Methal ethyl keytone peroxide... if it is not creating enough heat to cause the gelcoat to kickover.... try putting heat lamps on it....

Joel
SEA3PO
 
You can cover with occlusive film, or often it is sprayed with Poly vinly alcohol, which has wax in it--a green compound. Most professionals use PVA over the gel coat repair. Also 2 to 3% catalyst is required for gel coat (about 50 to 100% more than plain resin)

Some gel coats are waxed--but most are not. Air must be occluded. If this is not going off, you may want to remove and start over, with proper application. A simple article on Gel coat repair by Casey is at:
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/02.htm
 
Just don't sniff MEK. Otherwise the biggest mistake is using too much in the mix. Use too much and it won't set either. In using hardeners, less is more. I rarely use more than a small drop or three in a hefty tablespoon of resin.

Don
 
Is the gelcoat application being done over an epoxy substrate repair? If so it may not set up do to a reaction with the epoxy (which apparently can draw the hardener out of the gelcoat) and you may need a barrier between the two, or just use poly paint if it's cosmetically acceptable. I've had this happen before myself. Good luck, Mike.
 
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