This week I was fishing a shallow windy flat and was blown into a rock I couldn't see. It chipped some of the clear coat on the hull off and I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a repair method?

Here's some pictures of the damage.

Marine Tex may work for you if you can find it.

Marine Tex will work, but, after you fill the dings, then sand it to shape, I'm not sure if it will buff out to a gloss that matches the hull.

However, since that is not a highly visible area, a slight mismatch of color or shine isn't the critical concern. I had some similar dings on my boat and I used gel coat. But, I have it readily available since I work with fiberglass. It's also trickier to work with unless you flip the boat upside down, since it isn't as thick as the putty.

Here's how I'd fix it using the putty.

First, clean and apply several coats of wax to the area surrounding the dings. Then, using a dremel or small grinding bit in a drill, scuff up the dings. This does two things. It removes the wax and gives you a rough surface for a good bond. Get a bondo spreader and some wax paper.

Catalyze enough putty to fill the dings and match the shape to the hull and the ridges. Make sure you put a little extra putty so you can adequately fill and restore the damaged ridge. Put enough putty on the dings so it is slightly higher than the surrounding area.

Then put a piece of wax paper, about six inches square, over the putty. Then using the spreader, work the putty into shape, letting the excess spread over the undamaged area by an inch or so. Then, leave it alone with the wax paper staying in place until the putty cures.

Once cured, peel off the wax paper. The excess putty that spread beyond the dings should be able to be scraped off using your fingernail. This excess should be a thin layer. If it's thick when you work it, remove some of the excess. Once you remove the excess your filled areas should be slightly higher than the surrounding surface. Use very fine 600 wet or dry sandpaper to start and finish with 1200.

You may sand a bit of the surface around the dings, but that's not a problem. Get some buffing compound and a buffing pad for a drill, or borrow a buffer from a friend if you don't have one.

Apply a thin film of buffing compound over the sanded area and buff to a gloss. Don't apply a lot of compound during this process. The buffing pad will spray it everywhere.

The pad may get caked with compound. Don't clean the pad. Use a spray bottle and mist the area with water and buff.

This does two things. It cools and lubricates the surface and, during the process, the buffing compound breaks down and becomes less aggressive, giving you a better shine.

Take your time, and be careful. Unless the color of the putty is way off, you'll have a repair that no one will notice at a casual glance.

Here's the Marine Tex.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2088&engine=msn&keyword=marine_tex_epoxy_putty