This article examines Scott Bader’s recommended guidelines for fixing cracked gelcoats and laminates.
Image Credit: Scott Bader Company Ltd.
The guidelines are as follows:
- Inspect the gelcoat and laminate below for damage.
- Remove any damaged material. If the damage has persisted in the laminate, continue to abrade until no further signs of cracking remain.
- Read Scott Bader’s guidelines on the minimum and maximum depths for the repair’s different layers.
- The gelcoat repair must be built up in 300 to 500 µm individual use cases with a wax solution only utilized in the final layer. (2 % Solution MW).
Image Credit: Scott Bader Company Ltd.
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Extra laminate or filler layers should be allowed sufficient time to cure. Overnight cure at temperatures of 20 °C or above is optimal.
Gelcoat use cases may be applied on the same working day. (Apply normal “back up” checks before going ahead with successive layers; tacky but no gelcoat falling off). The last layer will require wax.
Sanding, polishing, or finishing of the new gelcoat surface must be carried out 24 hours after the previous gelcoat layer was applied.
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Scott Bader Company Ltd.
For more information on this source, please visit Scott Bader Company Ltd.