With a predictable result. Everything was going great until I hit several patches of deteriorated gel coat. It came right off. Luckily, it's just a 30-year old 8-foot dinghy. However, here is my question: should I try to restore the gel coat (I lost about a 1/5th of coverage), or should I just sand it smooth and paint the bottom? I started the whole project because the dinghy is usually on land and gets used maybe 3-4 hours per week, so I don't need anti-fouling paint on it. However, I tried restoring a gel coat on a boat before and it wasn't pretty. On the other hand if I decide not to restore the gel coat, should I bother with barrier coat, or can I just use a primer and regular paint? Like I said, the boat is very old and beat up, so I don't want to spend money where I don't need to. On the other hand, is the fiberglass going to deteriorate without a gel coat if the boat is rarely in the water? I appreciate any suggestions
Tried to remove antifouling paint with a furniture stripper
- Thread starter Piotr
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Gee, thanks for telling me NOW...
. Already bought the smallest can of barrier epoxy available. Another question, - I do not have to paint over barier coat, do I?
Barrier coat is not anti fouling. It's to prevent (or slow down) water intrusion.Gee, thanks for telling me NOW...
If you need anti fouling, you still need to apply anti fouling paint.
Re: Tried to remove antifouling paint with a furniture strip
Your dinghy gets you out to your mooring and sits there while you go out sailing? Why bother with bottom paint? Assuming it spends most of its time on shore drying out, why bother doing anything. If you feel a need to do something, paint some West epoxy over the spot and forget about it.
Your dinghy gets you out to your mooring and sits there while you go out sailing? Why bother with bottom paint? Assuming it spends most of its time on shore drying out, why bother doing anything. If you feel a need to do something, paint some West epoxy over the spot and forget about it.
I do not need antifouling paint. That's how I started this project. The boat sits on a dinghy rack until my son's friend come over and take it out sailing.
Well, I don't want to keep a dinghy that looks like it came from a junkyard. It's old but in good shape (it's an Eli - I spoke with Eli himself, who told me all about it and how he manufactured them. If you call Eli Laminates in NY, he is likely to answer the phone.). It's also a combination of a tender, a row boat, and a sailboat, so it can be used for many purposes. Finally, it's the first boat my son bought with his own money - he is still very proud of it, so I want to make it look the best I can.
Re: Tried to remove antifouling paint with a furniture strip
I was at the yard last week, looking at a friend's boat that had been hauled. One of the items he was having done was to repair some dings. The yard worker had a small cup with an aerosol "gun" and a tube into the cup. I asked him what he was doing. "I'm applying gelcoat. It's better spraying it this way, because, instead of painting it on, I can spray on more layers and then sand it smooth."
Looked like a good idea to me. I asked the yard to deal with my boat dings while they were doing other things.
I plan to find out more about it when I'm down there next time.
I was at the yard last week, looking at a friend's boat that had been hauled. One of the items he was having done was to repair some dings. The yard worker had a small cup with an aerosol "gun" and a tube into the cup. I asked him what he was doing. "I'm applying gelcoat. It's better spraying it this way, because, instead of painting it on, I can spray on more layers and then sand it smooth."
Looked like a good idea to me. I asked the yard to deal with my boat dings while they were doing other things.
I plan to find out more about it when I'm down there next time.
Pre-val sprayer is what we used in the yard for gelcoat repairs... Found in local hardware stores - work great!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/21284518?...33582510&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=19880599990&veh=sem