Author Topic: Gelcoat Finish  (Read 4046 times)

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Offline Shrom CVX-18

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Gelcoat Finish
« on: December 19, 2010, 11:20:27 AM »
OK guys I have a question for you all that are good with paint/gelcoat. My boat seems to have a top coat of clear over the Gelcoat. ( I think, I had someone tell me that a good gelcoat will never peal and mine is pealing.  :-/ ) So either somebody had at one time cleared it, or my gelcoat is pealing. Anyhow, I am looking to get opinions on how to deal with this. Should I wet sand it down and get the "Clear coat" off and then buff it? Or should I wet sand it and have it re-cleared? I have a friend that does paint work and I would have him do the work. but her is not too fermiliar with boats.
79 CVX-18 "Lowrider"

Offline Hotwired

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Re: Gelcoat Finish
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2010, 12:11:34 PM »
The school is split on this topic.  Myself and several others are on board with wet sanding and buffing.  With a good UV protectant wax the original gel coat will brighten up and stay bright though the summer but it will eventually oxidize again. Depending on the depth of the oxidation the color of the metal flake may have faded.  Re-gelling is great option but expensive.  Clearing has been done with a good result in a lot of cases too.  There are a lot of good products now that may perform better than those I have sanded off. Do NOT use a top coating like PolyGlow.  I tried and regret that move.  Maybe over solid color gel but on metal flake it bakes off worst than the clear coat! 

Test sand an area and see what you have to work with.  It is a long process by hand but will shine up real nice.
.. it is what it is ... and that is how it should be!
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Offline Shrom CVX-18

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Re: Gelcoat Finish
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2010, 12:38:42 PM »
 Wow that looks good! You did a nice job on your boat...You want to come and do mine? haha... :) 
Honestly the paint shines pretty well as is, but if you look at it close up there are a lot clear pealing and cracking  :-/ Right now I am looking to get ideas from others so that after I get my external exhaust done the winter I'll start on that. I am having my friend airbrush my name for my boat on engine cover and want to decide what I want to do so that I can have him start with the cover.
79 CVX-18 "Lowrider"

GT150 JEFF

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Re: Gelcoat Finish
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2010, 12:43:55 PM »
Hot wire is right on the split

If it has indeed been cleared I think the option i would choose is to sand and reclear the entire top of the boat.

I would not go below the rub rail if AT ALL .

Talked to express composites on this very subject. They said to do a automotive clear above the rubrail, because spraying of gel coat is very hard to do to get to lay flat, as a lot of sanding is involved followed by buffing and more sanding and buffing.

If you can get the clear off in all areas, maybe a wet sand and a good buffing would do the trick.

Offline wexrocks

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Re: Gelcoat Finish
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2010, 09:37:40 PM »
Tuff call, Shrom. I know, as when I had it, I wondered the same thing. you see where I recleared the spot on the transom where the original gel clear came off in a large area... I cleared it, wetsanded well around it and buffed it out. looks much better than before. the problem you have there (and many others I'm sure) is that the clear is cracking and peeling in different areas to different degrees. it's one of those things... how far do you go? if you lightly sand and reclear, the cracks and splits in the gel clear will resurface quickly. if you do an aggressive sand and clear to get thru the cracked clear, you will sand alot of the color off of the flake, and to different degrees in different areas, really affecting the overall color. you also have areas where the clear has lifted in bubbles and larger areas creating a haze under it which appears white. also some clear stress crack spider webbing.

I will share my thoughts from when I had it, while I was considering keeping it longterm... I pretty much decided to live with it for a while (like you said, it does shine up nicely since it was buffed, especially from a few feet back), and decided that when I was ready to really start bringing the boat back cosmetically, I would sand thru all the gel clear, eliminating the stress spider webs and all the lifting areas (eliminating future problems), re-flake it (not as hard as it sounds) and put a few coats of clear over that, so I could wetsand it down and buff it to a perfect finish. if you use the right products and some flex agent, along with good prep, it would be a beautiful finish that will last, and alot more time than expense.

I know you have a few other projects in mind with this one, and it is very presentable as-is. really a sharp boat. I would think about enjoying it another year or two, then going at the finish. I would be happy to help, and have access to spray booths to do it in. heck, I'll show you how to spray and let you do it yourself if you like! just something to think about.

is it summertime yet? man I miss the water...
'79 CVZ-19 "convertible" w/Evinrude 175
'81 Scimitar
'89 CSS-19

Offline Jerry

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Re: Gelcoat Finish
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2010, 10:30:31 PM »
is it summertime yet? man I miss the water...

No, but the days are getting longer!!!
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