[Paddlewise] While we're on the subject of gelcoat... :-)

Dear List,

I have a fiberglass boat (Current Designs Solstice GT) that is orange all 
over (deck & hull).  The boat is 7 years old, so naturally the orange is a 
bit faded.  Along my keel line, I have the usual collection of scrapes, 
dings and gelcoat chipout.  Some spots are getting a little thin and are 
turning on my worry light.  I have put duct tape on the inside of the hull 
in these spots, but I'm now ready to attempt a more reliable repair.

As I said, the boat is all orange except for the deck lines, fittings and 
rear hatch cover, which are black.  The moulding that divides the deck and 
hull is also black.  I thought the best way to do an "aesthetic" repair 
would be the following:

1.   Use masking tape to create a one inch wide zone along the keel 
line.  Actually the width of the zone would match the width of the side 
moulding, which is a little more than an inch.
2.   Clean the area in the zone with an abrasive, alcohol and acetone.
3.   Paint or trowel on a layer of magic keel repair sauce, perhaps topping 
with Saran wrap to give it a smooth surface and minimize postcure sanding.

Now, the problem I need help with is identifying the magic keel repair 
sauce.  I'm thinking that I probably need some kind of gelcoat repair 
material, however I'm afraid that all I could get would be white stuff.  I 
want my new keel stripe to be black.  So:

A.   Is gelcoat repair material available in black or can gelcoat repair be 
colored  black?
B.   Is there any other materials I can consider for the magic keel repair 
sauce the are:	
	i.   Black
	ii.  As abrasion resistive as gelcoat or better
	iii. Easier to work with than gelcoat
	iv.  Cheaper than gelcoat

I'd appreciate your ideas.

Thanks,

Bill Leonhardt

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