Anyone redone an entire deck in gelcoat? Woul an orbital sander take existing coat down to the mat (the mess would amuse..) prior to redoing? I've done largish sections with a melamine mold, but that was 15deg off vertical and not a great success...
Would be interested in how to do..it flows like icing and is waxed; how do you get even coating and even colour tint? What about polishing and finish? What would it cost to have it done professionally on a thunderthingy?
Gelcoat
Re: Gelcoat
Nick,
I'll take you through the process later, I'm just off to work now.
I'll take you through the process later, I'm just off to work now.
Re: Gelcoat
It is not really pratical to strip and re gel a moulding, for a start you will lose all the fine detail and contour when you strip to old gelcoat, it is however possible to spray gelcoat, I do it quite often, but only on late/expensive craft that need"invisable mending" and pefect colour match, it is not the same gelcoat that is used for chip repairs.
Why do you ask ? if you have a deck that has "star" cracks, then you should gind out each single crack. leaving as much gelcoat between each crack as possible so you still have the contour to follow, use west system to fill and fair , then , spray with paint or gelcoat , we only use gelcoat if the owner or insurance company require it , and the boat is no older than 3 years or so, and we can get the original colour from the boat builder.
To spray gelcoat is very expensive , and it will never shine like a gelcoat finish that has come from a mould, all to do with air coming into contact with the curing gelcoat, and there is no technical advantage.
If you have damage as above then I would fill and fair with west system, if the boat has been painted, remove all paint, then spray with Awl-Craft 2000, its the best paint available for top quality finnish, its more durible than sprayed gelcoat, easier to apply, and can be " blown in" if the boat gets marked, again it is expensive, but it is a top quality product.
But for the type of use our boats get, car acrylic 2 pack is more than good enough, not to expensive, easy to spray, and an almost endless colour selection.
Why do you ask ? if you have a deck that has "star" cracks, then you should gind out each single crack. leaving as much gelcoat between each crack as possible so you still have the contour to follow, use west system to fill and fair , then , spray with paint or gelcoat , we only use gelcoat if the owner or insurance company require it , and the boat is no older than 3 years or so, and we can get the original colour from the boat builder.
To spray gelcoat is very expensive , and it will never shine like a gelcoat finish that has come from a mould, all to do with air coming into contact with the curing gelcoat, and there is no technical advantage.
If you have damage as above then I would fill and fair with west system, if the boat has been painted, remove all paint, then spray with Awl-Craft 2000, its the best paint available for top quality finnish, its more durible than sprayed gelcoat, easier to apply, and can be " blown in" if the boat gets marked, again it is expensive, but it is a top quality product.
But for the type of use our boats get, car acrylic 2 pack is more than good enough, not to expensive, easy to spray, and an almost endless colour selection.
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Rapier
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Re: Gelcoat
Thanks! I bought a 60's boat last week and then left it behind as the tyres were very perished, the bearings shot and suspension largely gone too. The cost and time of doing 150 miles again and fixing it was uneconomical. I'd taken hubs and bearings, a jack, 2 tons of tools and 8 straps.. but not wheels (mini and odd size, so 45 quid each.and mini bearings...). Of course none of this had been mentioned, hence my contingency and more fool me for assuming that at least the tyres would be ok.
It had a totally unmarked hull, no chips, no scratches, no dings, no star crazing and the transom was intact and undrilled for the 33hp on the back which was the same age as the boat. It looked like it'd had an easy life, as even the upholstery in the buckets was original and untorn, but the gelcoat had had it over most of the boat; again not crazed from damage, even if there were fine cracks from drying out, but having had a cover sit on it and as such was a mass of open and closed blisters. I've dremelled out voids and cracks / crazing on other boats, before filling and painting, but this was over such a large % of the deck that one wonders whether the time taken to do it properly would have offset the expense of 'new' gelcoat. Hence my question. So, pity really.... it would have run very well in the rough stuff and with the l/shaft Merc 500 I have from the Green Goddess, would have been in the acceptable 30-35mph mark.
It had a totally unmarked hull, no chips, no scratches, no dings, no star crazing and the transom was intact and undrilled for the 33hp on the back which was the same age as the boat. It looked like it'd had an easy life, as even the upholstery in the buckets was original and untorn, but the gelcoat had had it over most of the boat; again not crazed from damage, even if there were fine cracks from drying out, but having had a cover sit on it and as such was a mass of open and closed blisters. I've dremelled out voids and cracks / crazing on other boats, before filling and painting, but this was over such a large % of the deck that one wonders whether the time taken to do it properly would have offset the expense of 'new' gelcoat. Hence my question. So, pity really.... it would have run very well in the rough stuff and with the l/shaft Merc 500 I have from the Green Goddess, would have been in the acceptable 30-35mph mark.
Fasten bra straps and remove dentures...