Need help selecting the right Gel Coat Color

[tbodine88]

I picked the wrong Gel Coat color.


I need help selecting properly. The vendor will not help.


If it was house paint I could go to the Local hardware store. But in Austin TX I am unsure of where to get help.





Any suggestions appreciated
thanks

[Striker]

Green.

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by Striker

Green.

If only it was that simple!



https://i.pinimg.com/originals/eb/08...2c2c6ddb13.jpg


On this chart there are 15 greens.

[hugosalt]

Years ago I needed to "touch up" some issues on my boat that I had to match up.
I bought boat new with a beige deck and hull, better on my eyes than white.
I removed my anchor locker hatch cover and sent it to Spectrum Color in Auburn, Washington (from NY) they did a great job matching color.
Also from my time in printing/ad world.
There is a widely used color matching system called PMS color matching system used again in printing, advertising industries to standardizing color matching, sl. different but same company has for designers.
PMS stands for Pantone Matching System.
Point of info when ordering custom gelcoat color they will have a minimum, take it in small (quart?) cans. Keep cool and even then will have a very short shelf life. (6 months?)

[OldGreyB]

See these older threads on this subject:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ng-185091.html

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ng-257691.html

Note that apart from mentioned commercial colour matching tools in one thread, colour matching APPs are readily available for your smart phone now. A few attempts on your boat with different lighting and you will get consistent HSV / HSB numbers you can then take to your local paint shop or automotive paint refinisher supplier to tint a neutral or white gel coat to the colour you need.

What does HSV /HSB / HSL mean in respect to colors?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSL_and_HSV

[hugosalt]

Just noticed your boat is a wonderful West Wight Potter...
Just a suggestion..
Paint the hull.
A few friends helped our friend paint his Pearson 26 Commanders hull last summer.
Roll and tip, (much info on CF and on line) went fast and came out great.

[Greatest Lakes]

Matching gelcoat color is a bit of a black art. If you know someone who is an artist, they can often mix the base colors into what you need. Women are better at this, their eyes see more shades.

[Wheelguns]

Do you still have gelcoat left? You can get a tinting kit. These consist of small tubes of pigment, and with these, you can get it much closer than what you have now. There are also companies that sell factory gel coats. I think this would be a longshot for you, because your boat is not a mainstream brand.

[tronic72]

Do some searches for “boatworks today” Andy has some great videos on tinting. If you want to get it right I’d by some small pots of a few different colours. The way we tested them at work was to simply dab the mixed colour on the original Gelcoat . Then spend time tinting.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you’ll almost certainly have to suck it and see.

Even when we get colours from the boat manufacturers there still often some tinting involved.

Watch Andy’s video and you’ll see the process but I can tell you it’s almost certainly not gonna be an off the shelf experience. Even whites are all over the place. Colours are even more complicated.

Sorry