Color matching a repair?

I am going to attempt to match the red color on my board when I repair a ding on it. Does pigmented resin usually dry lighter or darker than when it is wet? Also, I am matching a airbrush spray but I dont have an airbrush to spray color on so I am using pigmented resin. Is there something else I can do to spray on color. I hear spray paint will effect the bond of the resin if I laminate over it. Will q-cell look pink if I pigment it with red?

I do this all the time. On a tinted or painted foam board, it will match better if you pigment the filler and go clear over it. Pigmented hotcoat will slightly darken when cured and also with a clear coat over it. Filler will lighten the color of the resin mixture. I normally use only sil-cell for filler except for deep fills and then I cut it with cabosil. Cabosil doesn’t have a good surface after sanding (lots of pin holes). To color the filler, put some sanding resin in a cup and add sil-cell or Q-cell to get the consistency of yogurt. Add pigment in small amounts until you get roughly the color. Put a dab on the board and check for a match (try and do this in sunlight). Adjust the color by adding more or other colored pigments. This may take some time, so have patience. You want to always be on the lighter side as you adjust the color since it’s easier to darken the mixture rather than lighten it. When you’ve got the color right, save some of the the mix for other repairs if you have them. Catalyze the amount you need and apply the filler. Sand it flush with the adject areas, cloth and hotcoat clear. If the ding isn’t too big, you can fill it without color. After sanding the filler, acrylic brush paint the filler the color you want then cloth and hotcoat clear. Make sure the paint has dried for at least 24 hrs. before glassing. Good polishing of the repair will blend it even better.

Just to add a little to what Pete had to say-

Something I try to do is preserve/save as much of the original glass ( crushed or not ) as possible and fill behind it rather than cutting it out and throwing it away. Cut a bit if ya have to, but only to get access so ya can pull it back out to the original shape. So many go cut-happy, slicing out big areas that don’t need it and just making themselves more work.

See, the airbrush-on-foam sticks to the underside of the original glass, maybe a fat 1/16" thick. If ya fill behind that, it really minimises how much color you’ll need to match and the resin will seep into the old cloth pretty well. If you really do a good job of saving the old cloth, then the narrow crack of exposed filler is maybe acceptable in appearance with no color at all. Then, go clear with your cloth and hotcoat, etc.

hope that’s of use

doc…

I’ve already filled the dings with Q-cell on my board without using pigment. Do I have to add pigment to a thin layer of filler to match the color before I laminate ,or can I just spraypaint over the Q-cell. Will this last option cause the cloth to not stick?

How about  spray painting under the hotcoat?

Looking at what you have there I would say that you would be better off to paint the filled areas.  Tape off the straight lines at the red and yellow to make sure that you don't get any yellow on the red and vice versa.   Make sure you dont have a bunch of pin holes in your filler.  Sand the surrounding area where you filled  Use a cup gun and compressor.  Fog a light coat of paint over the filled area.  Might take two coats to cover and blend the filler.  Do the yellow.  Then do the red.  Make sure it is dry.  At least overnite at room temp.  Lam over it with a layer of 4 oz. hotcoat and polish etc.  The trick will be getting a paint that will come close enough to the existing to not be noticeable.   Here's a tip;  Most paints used on well know brands of surfboards come from the same sources ie;  Fiberglass Hawaii, Foam EZ, Rev-Chem,Surf Supply, Fiberglass Supply etc.

Thanks Mick. Can’t wait to get this baby in the water.

If ----- by your picture and with that many little dings in a general area;  I would consider scuffing up that whole area and  using one peice of 4 oz.  If you do a bunch of little patches over all those little dings some of them will probably fail.  If you hit the whole area with the sander (before you paint of course) and put one continuous piece of 4 oz. I think you will be better off. Take it to the rail edge or wrap if you need to, as some of those dings may be below the rail line.(apex as they call it around here).  The weight gain of one layer of 4 oz. is negligible.(ie. nada).

Looking at the extent of repairs, what about scuffing the entire bottom, painting the entire bottom color matching the red as best you can and then a whole layer of 4oz.? With the blend between the new/old red being at the rails it would minimize the noticeable difference if there is any.

I would definitely paint under another layer of glass rather than try and hot coat over your paint job. Rough up is crucial to adherence.