Gel coat restore advice needed

breghall

hi,

I'm going to have to look at touching up the gelcoat on my small little 14ft speedboat soon due to scrapes from beaching, trailering, and it's faded to a yellowish tint from age also..

What is the best way to do this ?? Will i reshoot gel coat over it and if so how? Or can I buy a paint that will do just as good??

When i'm at it I'll probably repaint the whole boat so I'm thinking white below the water line and maybe blue and a touch of yellow above, but what paints and primers do i use for above??

Can anybody give me advice on the best way to go about this please.

fergal.b

Hi breghall, you can buy gelcoat repair kits http://www.marineparts.ie/paint-and-maintenance/epoxy-repair-kits/plastic-padding-gelcoat-filler.html

Here is a little video on how to do it and there are a lot more on the net that will help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhtzBQBMKmA

Before you think about painting try a bit of rubbing compound on a small spot and see how it comes out a lot of the time you can bring it back to white.

When painting fiberglass I use 2-pack international primer and then toplac paint you will have to wash the boat to remove any wax or polish then sand with 80 grit wet "not a fun job":) when painting I use the roll and tip method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTVVjzbA72U and then sand with 800 - 1000 - 1500 or even 2000 and then rubbing compound, you can end up with a finish as good as spray but it is a lot of work.

breghall

Hi Fergal,

Rubbing compound doesn't do a good enough job I think the gel coat is just too old and faded so I rather re do it or paint it. Hard work not a issue.

is the 2- pack primer and toplac paint suitable for under the water line ??? Would you recommend the use of an orbital sander or just plain old elbow grease??

fergal.b

If the rubbing compound won't work and you are going to paint it anyway just try giving the spot a rub with 600 - 800 and 1500 paper just to see if you can get to a white finish and if that fails paint away
My boat spends most of it's life on the trailer and at most a week in the water at a time with no problem the toplac has a good strong finish but if you are going to leave your boat on a mooring or in the water for a long time you will have to paint below the waterline with antifouling.
The orbital sanders are great, just hold it against the boat when you start it up so it cant get up to full revs as it can burn the gelcoat or paint if it is spinning to fast. I still like to do the finishing sanding by hand :eek:

breghall

It got a going over of 1200 wet and dry but it wasn't too great that's why i thought i'd redo. It is trailered and will never be left in the water for more than a night at best. I'll try toplac in a small area and see how it turns out . thanks .