Hello fellow sailers. As I continue down the road of restoration on my 22' Macgregor I'm seeking some advice, first on the cause and then the cure for pitting in the gel coat finish on my boat. Most of the pock marks are on the deck surface which makes me suspect UV damage. There's also a little on the hull above and below the water line...perhaps bubbles in the mix at the time of initial application???? They're generally small, less than 1/8th inch, but they cover a considerable amount of surface area. My thought is to sand down to a smooth finish and then apply new gel coating. Am I on the right track?
Pock marks in my gel coat
- Thread starter Triple Point
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Can you post pictures? It will help allot.
If they are all over say a 1x1' area I would use a dremmel tool and make the holes a kind of V shape. Not so dramatic a V, but kind of feather them out in a V.
Depending on ware the repair is needed it may be advisable to work to physical corners of the deck. (Like from the edge here [..............] to here. Not [ ....... ... ......]
Understand? The idea is repair the whole repair surface in that "Part" of the deck.
All it is is preparation. The amount of gelcoat is not huge. It goes on thin.
After you properly prep the work area fill the spots and let them dry. Sand down the bumps even with the surface and coat the whole surface with gelcoat. (A small gravity feed paint sprayer with a # 1.8 or 2 tip will make the job look and feel professional.)
Check YouTube boatworksoday. He is great at showing how to do almost anything fiberglass.
Good luck. Don't for get to add wax to the gelcoat.
If they are all over say a 1x1' area I would use a dremmel tool and make the holes a kind of V shape. Not so dramatic a V, but kind of feather them out in a V.
Depending on ware the repair is needed it may be advisable to work to physical corners of the deck. (Like from the edge here [..............] to here. Not [ ....... ... ......]
Understand? The idea is repair the whole repair surface in that "Part" of the deck.
All it is is preparation. The amount of gelcoat is not huge. It goes on thin.
After you properly prep the work area fill the spots and let them dry. Sand down the bumps even with the surface and coat the whole surface with gelcoat. (A small gravity feed paint sprayer with a # 1.8 or 2 tip will make the job look and feel professional.)
Check YouTube boatworksoday. He is great at showing how to do almost anything fiberglass.
Good luck. Don't for get to add wax to the gelcoat.
you may want to over spray the pock mars with gelcote and a disposable sprayer. (thinned with mek)
I've use the preval brand spayers with good to fair results.
ex:
http://www.skygeek.com/preval-preva...aign=froogle&gclid=CJS978_A1bkCFUPl7AodWH0AuA
I've use the preval brand spayers with good to fair results.
ex:
http://www.skygeek.com/preval-preva...aign=froogle&gclid=CJS978_A1bkCFUPl7AodWH0AuA
I picked up this kit. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-HVLP-Gravi..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item2c72f9d857&vxp=mtr
It's cheap enough to throw one away if you don't get it clean properly. (Just have lots of acetone and cleaning supplies handy at all times and you shouldn't ever have a problem.)
Mine has 3 different tips that fit each gun.
Use a bigger tip (2- 2.3) to spray the gelcoat.
Practice one something first!!!!!
Practice on the same plane as what you want to spray. Ie: if the piece to be sprayed is standing up. Stand up your practice piece.
Have fun! Wear a mask.
Once you are done and others see what a nice job you did you will get requests... (Almost everyone thinks it's really hard to do....? It's not.)
It's cheap enough to throw one away if you don't get it clean properly. (Just have lots of acetone and cleaning supplies handy at all times and you shouldn't ever have a problem.)
Mine has 3 different tips that fit each gun.
Use a bigger tip (2- 2.3) to spray the gelcoat.
Practice one something first!!!!!
Practice on the same plane as what you want to spray. Ie: if the piece to be sprayed is standing up. Stand up your practice piece.
Have fun! Wear a mask.
Once you are done and others see what a nice job you did you will get requests... (Almost everyone thinks it's really hard to do....? It's not.)
When on doubt start with least evasive method, I just purchased a 1988 Mac 26d and it has a lot of oxidation and what looked like pick marks cause by salt water.
I talked it over with my wife, when we had a janitorial business we cleaned old fiberglass showers with soap and a stainless steel "chore girl scrubber, it not only brought back the shinney luster of the fiberglass it totally removed the pock marks I thought were caused by the combination of oxidation, UV, damage. It's worth a try before going through all the expense and effort you are talking about. Just might be les evasive as the hell coat isn't as thick as you think it might be and you really don't want to sand off the gel coat to the Fiberglas mat that it covers. I was reading an article in "Sailing" magazine. Talking about gel coat repairs on the east coast after hurricane Sandy and it was talking about making repaid to the gel coat. July 2013 issue, pg. 64 storm damage repairs by Don Casey, who written many articles about marine maintenance and repairs. I think he would be the go too person if I had questions. Just a suggestion. Happy Sailing, Medicbrent
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