Evercoat Marine Gel Coat Scratch Patch - any good?

[jarcher]

Hi All...

I picked up two tubes of Evercoat Marine Gel Coat Scratch Patch today at Boater's World, one in white and the other in Buff/beige. I'm not sure which will match my hull better and if I try this stuff I'll start on an inconspicuous area. I could mix it as well for better color match.

The package says "No catalysts, long lasting, no sanding, blah blah blah"

To apply, it basically says you just fill the chip or scratch with a little extra, wait 15 minutes, use the included plastic knife to smooth it level, then let it dry for 30 more minutes. Then wax.

Seems too good to be true and I expect there is a trade off somewhere.

Does anyone have any comments?

Thanks...

[dbruce85]

I purchased a Evercote Gelcote repair kit. Which was a tube of clear gelcote, hardner and some color tubes.
I fixed about 8 or 10 chips, some about the size of a dime.
All turned out ok, some you cannot see unless you knew where they were and looked very close, others are a little more apparent, but then other than trying to follow instructions, I didn't know what I was doing.
The hardest part was matching the color, white is not white. The smallest amount of color made a huge difference.
I cleaned the areas with acetone before I started, sealed with wax paper to cure and sanded as per instructions. Last sanding was wet with 2000 grit.
Had I paid to have them professionaly done, I am sure they would have been perfect. Then again I have a 33 year old boat not a new one

[jarcher]

Thanks for the info. I guess the thing to do is give it a try. I'm glad to hear you got good results with no experience, because I'm in the same boat

I looked again at my chips today and they were deeper than I remembered. I think I'll cut them back a bit, fill with epoxy and then gel over that. I'll start with the sink.

I'm also thinking these repairs are good winter projects, or early spring once the temp is over 60 deg. We're supposed to have a very nice weekend, so once I get to the boat I won't be doing repairs!

[solar]

I purchased a tube of this stuff at Bass Pro (white) and another at West Marine (buff) to repair one scratch about 4" long on my powerboat. I scratched the crack as indicated in their video at Jamestown brother, including feathering the edge with 150 grit. I applied the stuff and waited 15 mins. The stuff came off with the scraper all still wet. Did it again and waited 30 mins. This time it did not all come off but it was still wet and left the scar showing. The stuff refuses to harden even in direct sunlight. I tried again, placed a lil too much on one side so I could test it, this time waited two days and tested the patch. It was still not dry. Gonna give it another day.

Day 3 and the stuff is still wet out in the sun.

Day 4 the stuff is now goey but not dry.

Day 5 Ripped the junk off and used bondo. Bondo dried and then I sanded and it looks good. Now I need to paint it with MinCraft OEM gel coat spray and it will be all done.

Suggestion: Don't buy this stuff. It has a shelf life and is way past shelf life at all boating store. It will never harden.. Get the bondo and don't listent to all the boating experts that work for Evercoat and don't disclose it.

If you don't like bondo try Marine Tex.

[14432]

I second the use of Marine Tex for repairing gelcoat. Have used it with the Evercoat color stuff and it worked fine. Color matching was a challenge and caused right much waste but I finally got it close enough - "off white".

My experience shows that both Marine Tex and the Evercoat repair gelcoat tend to yellow faster than original gelcoat.

[sailingdog]

IIRC, MarineTex will yellow because it is a non-uv tolerant epoxy. It really needs to be painted or gelcoated and isn't meant to be used unprotected IIRC.

Originally Posted by 14432

I second the use of Marine Tex for repairing gelcoat. Have used it with the Evercoat color stuff and it worked fine. Color matching was a challenge and caused right much waste but I finally got it close enough - "off white".

My experience shows that both Marine Tex and the Evercoat repair gelcoat tend to yellow faster than original gelcoat.