Ballad Exchange

I tried too, but eventually had to have a pot of gelcoat toned (mixed with color paste) at a painters shop. He used an electronic color measure instrument to decide the color. And then added ordinary color paste in his machine, and it was then vibrated together. Just like wall paint. Toning pastes especially made for gelcoat should be available, I just could wait. For me the ordinary worked fine. The best I could get. Beware of fading on your boat causing it to not have the same color all over. At least on deck.

 

Jesper Milling

 I find gel coat difficult to match and even harder to work with as it is designed to cure anaerobicly inside the mold. And thus repair gel has a wax in it to help it cure but which himders color matching as the wax "tints" the gel coat when mixed.

The new catalized paints are tougher than the original gel-coat, easier to match, easier to work with and have a much longer shelf life for later touch up.

Vagabond Dreamer has been completely redone in paint (using "awl grip" brand)  which will hold up much better than gel coat.

Good luck with your repairs and best wishes.

Mark Smith
"The Vaga
bond Dreamer"