Does anyone know of a commercially available stain for gelcoat? If I use paint to change the color of gelcoat ,then maintenance becomes an issue
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No..
No.. If you use a proper two-part LPU (linear polyurethane) paint like Awlgrip, Awlcraft 2000, Alexseal, Imron or any of the other top name paints maintenance is considerabaly less than gelcoat for about ten years. It will need to eventually be re-painted but then again gelcoat does not last for ever either. With anything paint related it's 60% prep and 40% application of the final coats..
No.. If you use a proper two-part LPU (linear polyurethane) paint like Awlgrip, Awlcraft 2000, Alexseal, Imron or any of the other top name paints maintenance is considerabaly less than gelcoat for about ten years. It will need to eventually be re-painted but then again gelcoat does not last for ever either. With anything paint related it's 60% prep and 40% application of the final coats..
over the long term
gelcoat will require less maintenance than the paints you listed. Coloring agents for gelcoat are widely available. In the short term, paint will require only periodic cleaning and waxing with the proper wax but, and it's a big "but", paint does not have the life of properly maintained gelcoat which can last decades. Our hull was Awlgripped about 7 years ago and still looks new, as does the gelcoat deck but eventually the Awlgripped topside will require repainting. Either is difficult to apply correctly and of the two, gelcoat is probably the more difficult which you may want to consider before deciding which to use. The decision should also be predicated upon how long you plan to keep the boat.
gelcoat will require less maintenance than the paints you listed. Coloring agents for gelcoat are widely available. In the short term, paint will require only periodic cleaning and waxing with the proper wax but, and it's a big "but", paint does not have the life of properly maintained gelcoat which can last decades. Our hull was Awlgripped about 7 years ago and still looks new, as does the gelcoat deck but eventually the Awlgripped topside will require repainting. Either is difficult to apply correctly and of the two, gelcoat is probably the more difficult which you may want to consider before deciding which to use. The decision should also be predicated upon how long you plan to keep the boat.
I'm with Maine Sail
The poster clearly stated that he wanted little or no maintenance. In this case, the paint would be a better option. Most gelcoats fail because owners do not maintain them properly. And ones that are darker colors will degrade much faster. Especially red. The 2 part LPUs will last much longer than gelcoat with the lack of proper care. Tim R.
The poster clearly stated that he wanted little or no maintenance. In this case, the paint would be a better option. Most gelcoats fail because owners do not maintain them properly. And ones that are darker colors will degrade much faster. Especially red. The 2 part LPUs will last much longer than gelcoat with the lack of proper care. Tim R.
Don..
He asked if there was a stain for gelcoat. The answer is no there is no viable way of staining your gelcaot if you use the basic definition of a stain. Applying a new colored gelcoat to the topsides is more money & more yearly maintenance than applying an LPU. White gelcoat can last 35 years plus if properly cared for, as its far thicker than an LPU, yet I'd guess 98% of boaters DON'T care for it properly and it becomes porous and eventually when the pores get to big and deep, to wet sand out, you need to chose an option. Dark colored gelcoats don't last very long when compared to white and will usually not even out live a well done Awlgrip job even with yearly care. Tim R.'s boat pictured here: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/image/77949668 was painted in 1989 with Imron. When we buffed the top sides last spring I was amazed at the durability of this Acrylic LPU after 19 years! That photo was taken before we even applied a wax! The OP asked about staining his current gelcoat and there is no viable way of doing that. The least expensive and lowest maintenance for at least ten years in an LPU.. My personal preference is gelcoat, even though I have an LPU painted boat currently, but then again I don't mind the yearly maintenance required of gelcoat. My advice to the OP would be to stay with the gelcoat, if it's white, and in good enough condition to restore and take the money you'd spend to do a repaint on paying someone to do the yearly gelcoat maintenance.. If the OP wants a color change an LPU is the best option..
He asked if there was a stain for gelcoat. The answer is no there is no viable way of staining your gelcaot if you use the basic definition of a stain. Applying a new colored gelcoat to the topsides is more money & more yearly maintenance than applying an LPU. White gelcoat can last 35 years plus if properly cared for, as its far thicker than an LPU, yet I'd guess 98% of boaters DON'T care for it properly and it becomes porous and eventually when the pores get to big and deep, to wet sand out, you need to chose an option. Dark colored gelcoats don't last very long when compared to white and will usually not even out live a well done Awlgrip job even with yearly care. Tim R.'s boat pictured here: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/image/77949668 was painted in 1989 with Imron. When we buffed the top sides last spring I was amazed at the durability of this Acrylic LPU after 19 years! That photo was taken before we even applied a wax! The OP asked about staining his current gelcoat and there is no viable way of doing that. The least expensive and lowest maintenance for at least ten years in an LPU.. My personal preference is gelcoat, even though I have an LPU painted boat currently, but then again I don't mind the yearly maintenance required of gelcoat. My advice to the OP would be to stay with the gelcoat, if it's white, and in good enough condition to restore and take the money you'd spend to do a repaint on paying someone to do the yearly gelcoat maintenance.. If the OP wants a color change an LPU is the best option..
I just painted my topsides
I originally wanted to gelcoat, but after talking w/ several people more knowledgable than me, I decided to paint. I actually used a 2 part commercial automotive paint mixed to match the gelcoat perfectly. My brother has owned a bodyshop for 25 years, and paints ALOT of boats here in Florida. Todays paints are so far ahead of what was used even 10 years ago (remember when cars had clearcoats peeling? that just doesn't happen anymore). The only caveat for paint is traction. Even on the textured surfaces, the paint is slippery for anything other than topsiders (boat shoes hold like velcro!). Not an issue for me, but when guests come aboard, they have to be careful. These new paints are rockhard and very durable. And easy to apply. I really like how it turned out. For what it's worth...
I originally wanted to gelcoat, but after talking w/ several people more knowledgable than me, I decided to paint. I actually used a 2 part commercial automotive paint mixed to match the gelcoat perfectly. My brother has owned a bodyshop for 25 years, and paints ALOT of boats here in Florida. Todays paints are so far ahead of what was used even 10 years ago (remember when cars had clearcoats peeling? that just doesn't happen anymore). The only caveat for paint is traction. Even on the textured surfaces, the paint is slippery for anything other than topsiders (boat shoes hold like velcro!). Not an issue for me, but when guests come aboard, they have to be careful. These new paints are rockhard and very durable. And easy to apply. I really like how it turned out. For what it's worth...
Some paint basics
Don't know why one would want to "stain" gelcoat. Maybe a wrong term. Stains are something you want to remove, right? Anyway, if the gelcoat has degraded too much, then patching it is difficult especially if it is a color other than white (and there are more than one white color out there). After one year in the sun, a new boat's white gelcoat can change color and even gelcoat provided from the manufacturer might not match properly. So, colorants, as mentioned before, can be added and with a lot of patience and trial and error you can come up with a match for most any color. But that is easier said than done in many cases especially if it is a very old boat. If the value of the boat justifies painting it professionally, then the linear polyurethane paints like Awlgrip are a good choice (rather than re-gelcoating the whole boat). These LPU paints have a better color rentention, gloss retention and abrasion resistance than gelcoat. They hold up to sunlight well, but, the sun will win in the end and so the boat must be cared for. Also, repairing the LPU painted hull can be a pain if, say, you scratch it on a nail or something sharp at a dock. The original Awlgrip product is a very hard finish which offers the pluses that I mentioned above. But, it is hard to repair after it has cured for about 3 days. If you have a run or sag within so many hours, it is easy to wet sand out and buff out, but after that period, it becomes too hard to effectively repair it even for a professional. Awlgrip hence came out with a second product called Awlcare which is a good LPU paint, but with a softer finish that is more repairable down the road after some years even. Other LPU paints have different degrees of softness as well - you have to check on each paint's properties. The softer the paint - the more repairable. The harder the paint - the tougher the finish, etc. The newer formulations are usually more VOC compliant too. The other thing to remember is that LPU paints are not guaranteed under the waterline. If they are exposed to submersion 24/7 they will blister - guaranteed. So, if your Painted waterline sits in the water, it will blister. So, keep the waterline stripe above the waterline and your antifouling in the water. Epoxy paints will not blister, but they don't hold up to sunlight and will oxidize quickly. So for topsides or decks, LPU's are fine. I don't think automotive LPU's are recommended for the marine environment. They are not as noble and I have seen some bad results. My best suggestion is to stick with paints designed for the marine industry. In regards to decks, it was mentioned before that the LPU paints are slippery underfoot - especially when wet. Very true. That is why you add a flattening agent to the paint applied on the non skid areas of the deck. The smooth parts can be painted shiny, but careully mask off the non skid areas and apply the LPU with a flattening agent. There are a number of ways that you can apply a nonskid and I won't go into that now, but the easiest is to just roll it on. Another thing to consider is that these paints are very harmful to use. You must protect yourself inside and out. They are nasty products and many professionals use air supplied masks to spray this stuff. For sure you should use gloves, suits and a very good paint mask designed with filters for use with LPU paints. Dust masks are no good. There are some do it yourself LPU paints such as what Interlux offers that can be sprayed, but are formulated to be rolled and tipped. The colors are limited, but they are great paints. The Interthane Plus paints are easy to work with and the results are nice, but, also as mentioned earlier, preparation is real important, but that is another thread all together. And, priming is also important. Using the proper primer covers up the old perosity of the old gelcoat, provides better adhesion for the topcoat paint and also will put a barrier between another paint application that might not be as noble as the LPU. LPU's are very agressive and will lift inferior paint applications. Hope this helps shed some light on these paints. Read the labels and the accomanying products that you must use to create a successful paint job. Different temperatures require different reducing solvents for spraying so the evaporation rate is proper. Also it differs between spraying and rolling or brushing and also the conducter or 2nd hardener that you mix with your color will be different in property or ratio between spraying and rolling. And, lastly, it is better to put on several thin coats rather than one thick coat and you must leave proper time between coats to flash it off to reduce sags and runs, yet stay within the window alotted so you need not sand between coats and use grey primers for darker colors like red,blue or black and white primers for whites or lighter colors. I will quit babbling.
Don't know why one would want to "stain" gelcoat. Maybe a wrong term. Stains are something you want to remove, right? Anyway, if the gelcoat has degraded too much, then patching it is difficult especially if it is a color other than white (and there are more than one white color out there). After one year in the sun, a new boat's white gelcoat can change color and even gelcoat provided from the manufacturer might not match properly. So, colorants, as mentioned before, can be added and with a lot of patience and trial and error you can come up with a match for most any color. But that is easier said than done in many cases especially if it is a very old boat. If the value of the boat justifies painting it professionally, then the linear polyurethane paints like Awlgrip are a good choice (rather than re-gelcoating the whole boat). These LPU paints have a better color rentention, gloss retention and abrasion resistance than gelcoat. They hold up to sunlight well, but, the sun will win in the end and so the boat must be cared for. Also, repairing the LPU painted hull can be a pain if, say, you scratch it on a nail or something sharp at a dock. The original Awlgrip product is a very hard finish which offers the pluses that I mentioned above. But, it is hard to repair after it has cured for about 3 days. If you have a run or sag within so many hours, it is easy to wet sand out and buff out, but after that period, it becomes too hard to effectively repair it even for a professional. Awlgrip hence came out with a second product called Awlcare which is a good LPU paint, but with a softer finish that is more repairable down the road after some years even. Other LPU paints have different degrees of softness as well - you have to check on each paint's properties. The softer the paint - the more repairable. The harder the paint - the tougher the finish, etc. The newer formulations are usually more VOC compliant too. The other thing to remember is that LPU paints are not guaranteed under the waterline. If they are exposed to submersion 24/7 they will blister - guaranteed. So, if your Painted waterline sits in the water, it will blister. So, keep the waterline stripe above the waterline and your antifouling in the water. Epoxy paints will not blister, but they don't hold up to sunlight and will oxidize quickly. So for topsides or decks, LPU's are fine. I don't think automotive LPU's are recommended for the marine environment. They are not as noble and I have seen some bad results. My best suggestion is to stick with paints designed for the marine industry. In regards to decks, it was mentioned before that the LPU paints are slippery underfoot - especially when wet. Very true. That is why you add a flattening agent to the paint applied on the non skid areas of the deck. The smooth parts can be painted shiny, but careully mask off the non skid areas and apply the LPU with a flattening agent. There are a number of ways that you can apply a nonskid and I won't go into that now, but the easiest is to just roll it on. Another thing to consider is that these paints are very harmful to use. You must protect yourself inside and out. They are nasty products and many professionals use air supplied masks to spray this stuff. For sure you should use gloves, suits and a very good paint mask designed with filters for use with LPU paints. Dust masks are no good. There are some do it yourself LPU paints such as what Interlux offers that can be sprayed, but are formulated to be rolled and tipped. The colors are limited, but they are great paints. The Interthane Plus paints are easy to work with and the results are nice, but, also as mentioned earlier, preparation is real important, but that is another thread all together. And, priming is also important. Using the proper primer covers up the old perosity of the old gelcoat, provides better adhesion for the topcoat paint and also will put a barrier between another paint application that might not be as noble as the LPU. LPU's are very agressive and will lift inferior paint applications. Hope this helps shed some light on these paints. Read the labels and the accomanying products that you must use to create a successful paint job. Different temperatures require different reducing solvents for spraying so the evaporation rate is proper. Also it differs between spraying and rolling or brushing and also the conducter or 2nd hardener that you mix with your color will be different in property or ratio between spraying and rolling. And, lastly, it is better to put on several thin coats rather than one thick coat and you must leave proper time between coats to flash it off to reduce sags and runs, yet stay within the window alotted so you need not sand between coats and use grey primers for darker colors like red,blue or black and white primers for whites or lighter colors. I will quit babbling.
Barnacle Bill
Excellent write-up. With the exception of a very minor name exchange -I think you mean't Awlcraft rather than "Awlgrip hence came out with a second product called --Awlcare--- which is a good LPU paint, but with a softer finish..." I believe Awlcare is the acrylic polish. I am assuming the original question didn't intend to imply actually trying the stain the gelcoat but rather to change the color and I would agree paint is the easiest and new gelcoat the most difficult but longest lasting.
Excellent write-up. With the exception of a very minor name exchange -I think you mean't Awlcraft rather than "Awlgrip hence came out with a second product called --Awlcare--- which is a good LPU paint, but with a softer finish..." I believe Awlcare is the acrylic polish. I am assuming the original question didn't intend to imply actually trying the stain the gelcoat but rather to change the color and I would agree paint is the easiest and new gelcoat the most difficult but longest lasting.
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