You may think that all boats are created equal. This is not true. Ask any diehard marine enthusiast and they will tell you the same thing. There are big boats, little boats, ships, canoes, and more. They also come in a variety of colors that may appear to be a rainbow spread across the water if you visit that dock on a bright, sunny day when reflections can shimmer in the water below each boat. With all these different styles and colors, you have to ask, what happens if one of these fabulous vessels becomes damaged? The simplest answer is that repairs are often tackled with colored fiberglass repair.
Not All Boats are Created the Same
After you take that trip to the boat dock, you will be left in little doubt that not all boats come in white or wood grain. They can be bold and bright in color or calming in their overall color appearance. Considering how much sun damage happens or what happens if the boat rubs the dock wrong, the nicest boat owners will want repairs quickly.
This can pose a problem for some DIY boat owners. The boats with color are coated with fiberglass, resin, and colors that will have to be matched perfectly if you want to truly hide the damages. How is this possible and is it something you can do on your own. It is possible, but it will take a little effort.
How to Match Up Fiberglass and Color
The good news for boat repairs is that you do not need to have an absolutely perfect color tone to have a good repair. In fact, doing so will be practically impossible anyway, even if you have the right color of gel-coat. However, it does require you put in a little bit of effort.
Our recommendation, get the epoxy resin color pigment that is closest to your boat’s color and mix it with a little fiberglass or resin on a piece of plastic wrap if the repair is small. Mix in a little color and see how far off you are from the color that is on your boat. When you find a close match, apply it and watch the damaged area disappear. You can then apply a clear coat to protect your repair.
Why Is It So Complicated?
You may be asking yourself how can it be so difficult? The truth is, there are several things that may impact color on your boat. Every batch of gel-coat is slightly different. Therefore, unless you can get a batch that was used on your boat at its creation, you are already looking at a different mixture. Things like age, temperature, and even the time of day that you apply it can also impact how closely your color matches what may be there currently.
If you look at your boat, you will see that the level surface areas have one color, while shadowy areas appear different. This proves that in every paint scheme, you may have a color variance of two or three shades at least. No one will notice a patch if you try to match it up.