PSA Laser 201xxx gelcoat colour?

ClaVaPa1

ClaVaPa1

New Member
So I am a proud owner of a PSA (Australian) Laser, Hull No. 201xxx. It's a great boat from 2013, it's a winning boat, it's stiff and performs great.
Over the years however, I had the occasional ding and scratch, so would like to repair it.

Problem is... I can't find the same gelcoat colour. I contacted PSA, but they either won't answer or said that they no longer make / can't ship the gelcoat (I think they want me to buy a new boat, understandable).

Anyone experience with this?

PS. I understand that my gelcoat might have lost some shine and could've changed due to sun exposure, but I have always kept her covered and I swear she looks like new, everyone compliments me about her looks.
 
Only the end user could possibly mix gelcoat to match a gelcoat that is that old. As cured gelcoat ages it changes color. In fact one side of the boat will be a different color than the other side in most cases. If you want a color match pick something close to start with and tint accordingly. There are many good YouTube videos showing how this is done. It is not a science rather a difficult to learn art.
 
I was expecting this reply, and to be fair, I can tell you that the boat hasn't almost yellowed, it's whiter than new ILCAs.
Also, the new gelcoat would match colour after some time.

Plus, for tinting, having the original g.coat colour would be a better starting point than randomly buying / choosing gelcoat around
 
You are correct that over time "new" gelcoat may match over time. People that are good at repairing gelcoat have this dilemma all the time. Does one match todays color or anticipate the color change in "new" gelcoat over the next three or so years. The dilemma being the customer will say you did a poor job because it doesn't match today but three years down the road it will mellow and look fine or do you match today and three years down the road it looks bad. The customer seldom understands and three years from now they tell everybody and their brother you suck at gelcoat.
As gel coat chalks it always looks lighter. Another dilemma as we will often buff out a spot to get a true color match and repair but the rest of the boat is poorly maintained and that makes the repair look bad. Something as simple as old wax changes the color immensely but who is paying to remove old wax on a 40 footer? Not me... Good luck.
You do realize the cost of gelcoat is well north of $100 for a small amount?
 
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