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Posts: 400
Location: North/Central WI | A couple questions for those who know a lot about fiberglass boats... I have a 2008 618vs and there is one small area where the gelcoat has a bubble and has started to flake off. It doesn't bother me too much the way it is but don't want it to get any worse. Is there any way to prevent that from happening? Would it be relatively simple to repair? Is this something that the factory would have to fix? I plan on contacting Ranger about it but wanted to see what others had to say. |
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Posts: 1088
Location: Hayward, WI | Call Jeff at Five Star in Mondovi, he is a fiberglass guru. He will be able to help you out. He can do it if warranty or if out of pocket. |
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Posts: 32802
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Probably an area where the gel and laminate didn't bond for any one of a number of reasons. it can be fixed, but needs to be done by someone who regularly works with polyflake repair. |
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Posts: 297
Location: Not where I want to be! | Your boat came with a three year waranty, so you are probably out of luck there. The Fountain of Youth in southeast Wi. is really good with metalflake gels. |
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| buy a new one! CHAMP!  fountain of youth is very good with this type of repair. |
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| Make sure the gel coat gets repaired proprely. Alot of the times it is the polyflake that has defects. The gel coat easy to repair. If it is a surface issue. I speak from expierence when it comes to this from dealing with one of the other brands. It was an issue off the laminate process. Air pockets. That shoudnt be the issue with your ranger. |
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Posts: 32802
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | It happens with all glass boats. The gel coat finish IS the polyflake. Process is clear, a few mils, first. Then polyflake mixed with gel resin, then back up gel. All a few mils thick. Could be an exotherm, could be a little dry, could be alot of things. The bubble indicates a delamination between the gel and first layer of fiberglass. |
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| Talked to a friend who works at a marina in Mani Waters and is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to boats. He had the same issue on his 05 618vs. He took his to Advantage Restorations in St. Germain...he said they do lots of fiberglass work for boat dealers in the area. His took about 3 days and only cost a few hundred. Everything was matched perfect and it looks like new now. Thanks for the responses...will probably have mine done by Advantage since their location is convenient and it sounds like they do good work. |
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