My boat does not have any significant gell coat loss but has fine cracks in many places. I have seen several post about re gell coating a boat. Would this work in my case? If so where could I find more information about the process?
Keith, one can't re-gel coat a fiberglass boat completely. If it has hairline cracks I would hope they are at stress points. Locations where the body takes a different route or dimension like the point of the cabin top or edge of the cockpit. There is a crack sealer made and West marine has it, that seeps into these cracks to seal them. If your Gel-coat is oxidized there are several options to improve the look. 1. There are acrylic coatings that can be applied like Poly Coat, very good stuff and must be re done every year but only one coat. 2. You can use a product like 3m's gel coat cleaner and wax. It is a mild rubbing compound with carnauba wax. Lots of work. 3. You could make the most permanent repair by washing the wax off, lightly sanding and repairing any holes or cracks. Then paint the boat with a Awlgrip or simialr two part paint. The paint will last the longest and survive the sun the best of anything you can do at this point. Good luck, there are lots of articles and good reading on this subject. Suggest you surf the net for them. Steve Paul
All of the cracks are stress type cracks. I plan to paint the boat starting with the decks, but am intimidated by the epoxy paints, so was looking for simplier solutions. I see you are from Nashville. Do you sail on Monroe? Do you know of any other good sailing areas in Indiana? When we were in North Carolina there is a website devoted to sailing in Eastern Carolina (ncsail.org), do you know of anything like that in Indiana?
Nothing I ever read about Awlgrip and its ilk ever documents how long to expect it to last. I know there are lots of variables - climate, preparation, etc., etc, but what the concensus on number of years, min, max and average for good boat paints like Awlgrip? Thx.
I painted a fiberglass boat of mine years ago with a two part Interlux white paint. It was slick as glass and after 10 years was stil nice. Had few knicks but these are not due to paint problems. Two part paints are easier to touch up by the way. Application was a snap. Steve
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
