Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Well, it had to happen at some point I guess .. had a senior moment pushing my westy into my garage.. so f**king p****d off at myself, especially as my car is immaculate apart from this Cheer me up guys by posting your own 'battle' scars .. .. I've shown you mine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 that will prob sand out and polish back up again or certainly look a lot better , Gel coat is really thick and its amazing what you can sand out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Thanks Jeff. You could be right .. never done it before however The darker scars are too deep as I can see the resin below it. I've an random orbital sander, but would I need a 'normal' orbital? Who's done this kind of repair before and is there a HowTo..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 just do it by hand it sands really easy, block sand with 1,000 wet and dry (wet with soapy water) till you get the gell down below the scratches then a quick flat with 2,000 then polish up with G3 or a cutting compound, I did an orange car that looked as bad as that and pretty much got it so you couldnt see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearly done Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hmmm lets hope this isnt the start of a epidemic of garage/fibreglass incidents, I have done exactly the same to mine backing in to the garage (avoiding the mountain of dog food). Out with the wet and dry then. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 As JC says or drive down the country lanes get some good old cow s***e on there , you wont see the difference as its the same colour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedditchJay Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 OR GET some yellow gel and hardender..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 As JC says or drive down the country lanes get some good old cow s***e on there , you wont see the difference as its the same colour Oi! Chrome Yellow is THE colour to have .. scraped or unscraped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 OR GET some yellow gel and hardender..... Can you do that? Didn't realise I assume it's something that I pick up from Westfield How is this stuff applied? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetstu Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 OR GET some yellow gel and hardender..... Can you do that? Didn't realise I assume it's something that I pick up from Westfield How is this stuff applied? The factory will send you some gel coat in the post but not the hardener. If you ask on here someone will tell you where to get that. A search on the past posts will tell you how to do it! It's not difficult and there is no need for power tools. Just very fine sand paper / wet n dry, some time and a good plosh will see it sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsy Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Stu is 100% on that, as they are too deep to flat out, all you'll do is wear the surrounding gelcoat down too much and potentially finish up with a real problem. A friend of mine has worked in fibreglass for nearly 30yrs, and I've seen him repair torn apart TVRs and boats so you can't see even a blemish. The scrapes you have, although incredibly annoying, will disappear without trace, supprisingly easily and quickly. You're car looks very new, so fading isn't a problem, just remember that unlike paint, gelcoat doesn't change colour as it dries. Good luck, or if you're near Essex/Colchester I'll give you his number if it'd help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedditchJay Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 OR GET some yellow gel and hardender..... Can you do that? Didn't realise I assume it's something that I pick up from Westfield How is this stuff applied? I had a similar issue ages ago with my yellow westy... same as you caught a shelf in the garage flat down as Jeff C says with 1000grit wet/dry / 2000 grit wet dry..... leave for a couple of days Buy some Yellow Gel from Westfield {they will sell it to you} then you need Organic Peroxide from a boat builder or fibreglass specialist.... {NASTY STUFF...GLOVES AND GOGGLES} once mixed apply like a filler, ensure it has a key to grip to, I used selotape then over the top to hold in place and stop air and dampness getting in.... a few days later remove tape and then 48hrs later sand down very careful........... scratches gone..... all I see on mine is a very, very faint line because I sanded down too much.... i could re do it but its fine for now...... HOPE THIS HELPS ............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab (bombero) Reid Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi bobsy, thanks for the advice. I was just on my way out to get sanding .. might still do it, concentrating on the lightest scatches only. Then fill the worst with 'fresh' gelcoat. Unfortunately, I'm not in that area (but thanks for the offer) but I'm near Edinburgh and I know of a couple of ships chandlers on the Forth that might point me in the right direction of a repair shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
combatsapph Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hmmm lets hope this isnt the start of a epidemic of garage/fibreglass incidents, I have done exactly the same to mine backing in to the garage (avoiding the mountain of dog food). Out with the wet and dry then. Cheers. Me too :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsy Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 If you start sanding and can't quite get them out before going through, there won't be enough scratch depth left for the gelcoat to sucessfully grip into. Raking it out to a decent "V" so that it can grip, will then not result in as nicer job. If you had an old or well used track car etc, I'd say give the sanding/flatting a go, but not on something as nice as yours looks to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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