J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Matching deck gelcoat color/pattern

I'm sure this has been covered but couldnt seem to find anything. I'm replacing old deck gear and want to blend/hide the hold holes as well as possible.

The decks on my 1982 have a offwhite/cream color and have the standard gelcoat nonskit pattern.

For the color - I assume I will have to mix using a repair kit, but I dont have any idea where to start to get that cream color. Anying have any pointers?

For the pattern - I've read articles about making a mold from another place on the nonskid and using it to match the pattern with a piece of saran wrap between the mold and the repair - but I just cant see that working. Any other slick ways to do this or should I just make it smooth.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks - Dan

Last summer someone else's insurance co. had to pay to redo a decent piece of starboard deck ... The repair guy ... who also happened to work on Js at TPI in the early 80s ... said it would be impractical to duplicate ... The gelcoat has to be sprayed into the mold to get that pattern sharp.
So I believed him and ended up with a nice square patch in standard non skid epoxy. He also had a problem trying to match the faded gray deck color as the color seems to cure a bit different.
Vic #505

There's a company called Gibco Flex Mold that manufactures the non-skid mold for a number of manufacturers, including J/Boats. The mold is a flexible sheet that contains a non-skid pattern. You pour gelcoat onto the area and press the sheet into place. As the gelcoat cures, it takes the shape of the mold.

I called to inquire and they send me a free sample pack. Part of the pack was a business card-sized piece of mold that precisely matches the basket weave pattern of J/30 decks.

I do not know the price of the mold, but it's worth looking into.

There are also ways to make your own mold using a section of good deck as a pattern, though I've no experience with that method.

Here's the link: http://www.gibcoflexmold.com/

[This message has been edited by Jason King (edited 04-29-2008).]