Thin Gelcoat

[Manny]

I have a few spots on the boat that the gelcoat is thin enough to see a noticeable dark area underneath (the fiberglass). Some of it was caused by ignorance on my part but the majority of it was there when we bought the boat. My question is how to repair it. I want to tackle the repairs myself. I've looked at some of the gelcoat repair options and it seems like they need to be applied thickly, for instance on a deep gouge or scratch. I thought possibly using spray paint. I tested on a few small spots which looked fantastic at first but after a while yellowed and darkened.Any advice?Thanks in advance.

 

[Tim R.]

Why not paint

With a 2 part linear urethane. It is pricey done professionally but the boat will look new. Mine is Imron which can be buffed unlike Awgrip. With help from another forum member, my wife and I buffed our 20 yr old Imron and now it looks like new. I have also painted my own spars using Interlux's Perfection with great results applied using proper thinning and roll/tip application.There are places that can re-gelcoat your boat but I don't think this is a DIY project if you want great results.Tim R.

 

[Paul (Affinity C320)]

Spray Gel Coat

Gel coat can be sprayed like paint and you can put on several coats.Fair Winds.

 

[Brian M H23]

Agreed

You spray it on, and then you mist a mold release agent or something of the sort that will not dissolve the gel, however block the air out. Once you spray this stuff, DON'T TOUCH IT until it cures. Then you wash the mld release off, and you have shiny new gelcoat!

 

[Manny]

Spray Gelcoat?

For the spray gelcoat, is that something that a professional spray gun is needed, or will something like a pre-val sprayer handle it? I didn't know it could be done in coats, I thought gelcoat had to be applied fairly thick...I've definitely considered painting but there always seems to be nay-sayers that think it is a terrible idea (it detracts from the value, etc, etc). Considering I plan to keep the boat for at least 15 years it may be the best option...Thanks for the responses,Manny

 

[Clark]

rardi, I like the look of your hand rails.

I have considered using that type to replace the old sub-par teak ones on an old cal 25 I'm workiong on. What gave me pause was the original handrails used one hole thru the rail and cabin top. The type you used has two fairly closely placed holes for the posts.Could you provide a few tips re: what you did to address that (extra holes close together)? Thanks for your help.

 

[Paul (Affinity C320)]

Spray Gelcoat

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/search.do?freeText=gelcoat spray gun

 

[RichH]

Contract a 'gelcoat artist' to spray repair it.

The Northern Chesapeake (where you're moving your boat to) has many such 'artists' who can quickly and quite reasonably spray on new gel on small areas. Paint is option but can only be termed 'non-permananet' as it ALWAYS ultimately chips, lifts, degrades, fails in time etc. Plus, once you paint you can never ever shrink wrap the boat ... voids warantees, can 'lift the paint', etc. etc. etc. Painting is usually a desparate 'last resort' while a sprayed on gel repair will restore very close to what you have and wont reduce the value of the boat, especially if you plan to sell it later on. A good Gel 'artist' can usually make such repairs almost perfect in match to the surrounding gel.

 

[Taylor]

Preval sprayer

A Preval spray gun works fine for spraying gelcoat for small jobs. You need to use gelcoat with a wax mixed in. The wax floats to the top and blocks off the air and allows the gelcoat to cure hard. Also, in a Preval, you want to thin the mixture with with styrene or patch aid (I used acetone, but apparently that is no longer recommended). The resulting finish from the sprayer will be somewhat 'orange peel' and you will need need to wet sand with 600 and then 1200 and finally buff and polish and wax to get the finish you are looking for. Its fairly easy to buff overspray off of any unsanded old gelcoat. The real problem is going to be getting the color to match. Spectrum color offers a bunch of premix shades for production boats, and that matched my Whaler very well, as it had been stored covered and had not faded in the sun. Check about two thirds of the way down in http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/whalerRepair.html for a discussion of gelcoating by amateurs. Yup, that's my boat, now the Internet poster child for damaged Boston Whalers.

 

[Roger (Ninette Manitoba)]

if the spots are not large

if the spots are not large, you can apply the gelcoat with a foam brush then cover with plastic wrap. When cured,you sand with a finishing sander to match the surrounding area. Gelcoat wears thinly where lines run around the edge of a corner wearing the surface off and exposing the material beneath.

 

[Manny]

Thanks All

Ed - The lpu looks interesting, I googled it and it looks like good stuff. The boat looks awesome.Taylor - that link was very helpful, nicely done! I think I will try to spray gelcoat with a pre-val.Thanks everybody Manny

 

[Dick of Sylvan]

Roger, foam roller for gelcoat?

Roger: I wonder if on modest size area, a foam roller and brush tipping would work as it does with the 2 part polyurethane? And how do you apply the plastic wrap? Do you just place it over the new gelcoat then kind of weegie out the bubbles? Does the plastic wrap stick to the gelcoat after drying? RK

 

[Roger (Ninette Manitoba)]

plastic wrap

If the area is smaller than the width of duct tape, then make a 'bandaid' with the saran in the middle. If it is larger, then duct tape around the edges. The idea is to keep air out, not necessarily to smooth the surface, although if you can achieve that in this step, you are one step ahead. The saran sticks to the gelcoat until it cures then peels away quite easily. If you are working on a horizontal surface, you can simply add hot water to a zipper loc bag, and rest the bag on top of the gelcoat repair. The bad seals out air, the water makes for an even weighted flat surface beneath the plastic, and the plastic itself creates the release agent. If you added just the right amount of gelcoat to the scratch, it will be even with the surface and perfectly feathered, requiring little if any sanding to match the surrounding area. I haven't tried this on vertical surfaces yet, but the theory would be that the heat should kick the gelcoat in about 10 minutes so with some patience, or some cleverly applied braces this method could work on hull sides as well.I have tried the brush method of applying gelcoat, but not the roller.