Can a painted hull be buffed/polished the same as gelcoat hull

[[164147]]

The next time you see linseed-based paint on a boat hull be sure to let me kow

 

[Scotsailor]

I understand that Awlgrip can't be polished.

 

[PCUK]

The next time you see linseed-based paint on a boat hull be sure to let me kow

Now you're being picky You can't cut and polish Dulux either.

 

[doug748]

I understand that Awlgrip can't be polished.

Some say you can. This is the advice from Awlgrip:

http://www.awlgrip.com/support-and-advice/tips-for-maintaining-topcoats.aspx

So you can use Awlcare to polish by hand. I have never tried the stuff, probably costs an arm and leg. If you try it let us know how it goes.

 

[sailorman]

Some say you can. This is the advice from Awlgrip:

http://www.awlgrip.com/support-and-advice/tips-for-maintaining-topcoats.aspx

So you can use Awlcare to polish by hand. I have never tried the stuff, probably costs an arm and leg. If you try it let us know how it goes.

I use Maguires or 3M cleaner polish on my Awlgrip ( by hand ) & have done so for 17 yrs, i have also used a 3Ms restorer to rub out the odd ding. Brilliant stuff that Awlgrip :encouragement:

 

[Max Campbell]

Two-pack and two stage are different things. Two-pack (2k) requires a hardener to chemically harden the paint. Two stage means using a base coat and a clear coat - of which either can be water base, solvent base, single or 2k.

It doesn't matter if the paint or lacquer is acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, cellulose etc they can all be polished.

I had lengthy discussions with the Awlgrip rep when I was building my (plywood) boat, and considering going semi-pro boat building.

Their range included 2 pack and single pack polyurethanes, "lacquer" and Awlcraft (or similar name, which may have changed over time). Their recommendation was that only Awlcraft was suitable for polishing, in the sense of abrading and shining the top layer. All the other paints, I was told, form with a surface layer that is continuously and significantly different from the underlying paint.

I may have the wrong end of the stick. Do you have specialist knowledge of paints?

 

[ghostlymoron]

I'm told that you can polish cars which are generally painted with cellulose paint. I haven't tried it myself though as I understand that each time you polish, you remove some of the finish. I did polish my coach roof and deck on Cobblers last year with turtle wax and was roundly condemned on here.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I'm told that you can polish cars which are generally painted with cellulose paint. I haven't tried it myself though as I understand that each time you polish, you remove some of the finish. I did polish my coach roof and deck on Cobblers last year with turtle wax and was roundly condemned on here.

Cellulose needed periodic polishing as it went dull, T-Cut was generally used in those days. It's been a very long time since cars were painted with cellulose though.

Nothing wrong with using Turtle Wax on your shiny bits, not so good if you have you walk on them though.

 

[viago]

i successfully tcut and polished my hurley which had been spray painted professionally. it came up to near mirror finish. i polished with autoglym.

old gelcoat becomes porous and to get a good finish you need to fill the holes. there are products out there which will do that but they certainly aren't cheap so people tend not to bother.
instead the preferred option tends to be to use fastcut, a coarser version of tcut to cut down through the damaged gelcoat to good stuff. this can safely be done on boats built in the seventies as the lay up was thick but not on newer vessels.
i think a pretty good finish can be achieved on most vessels if you go about it in the right way.

even re gelling the hull isn't that difficult for a pro. i've seen it done a couple of times with top results.
i've also seen a fisherman recoat hull and top with a very average finish but he didn't care as it was for long lining rather than posing on the solent.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Some people claim old gelcoat goes porous.

Others have a different idea. That is, that gelcoat is porous to start with. When it's applied to the mold is has a high shine next to the mold, but deeper into the gel there can be minute bubbles. As the boat ages and the gel is progressively worn/polished away the porous gel is exposed.This is then impossible to buff back to the original level of shine. I'm inclined towards this personally.

 

[viago]

Some people claim old gelcoat goes porous.

Others have a different idea. That is, that gelcoat is porous to start with. When it's applied to the mold is has a high shine next to the mold, but deeper into the gel there can be minute bubbles. As the boat ages and the gel is progressively worn/polished away the porous gel is exposed.This is then impossible to buff back to the original level of shine. I'm inclined towards this personally.

both probably right.

the sun salt sea wind rain and grit all damage the surface. once that's cut there may well be some porosity from the lay up which is where the polishing compounds come in which actually contain fillers.
around these parts the final finish is often achieved using mould release wax. there seems to plenty around.

 

[[164147]]

T-Cut is a non-diminishing abrasive - there are much better cutting compounds for use on gelcoat or paint for that purpose.

All gelcoat is porous from day 1 which is why osmosis begins the moment a boat enters the water. I'd agree as gelcoat ages and is polished more the 'cosmetic' outer layer is removed and you can see the larger internal pores which appear as pin-pricks.

Formula paint their hulls with a modern two-stage base coat & lacquer to avoid a lot of this problem.

 

[pcatterall]

My 40 year old gel coat still responds well to T cut and waxing every year. No sign of any deterioration as the coating is removed.
Interested to hear of better products than t cut, any names please?

 

[PaulRainbow]

My 40 year old gel coat still responds well to T cut and waxing every year. No sign of any deterioration as the coating is removed.
Interested to hear of better products than t cut, any names please?

Farecla do a range of cutting compounds, as do 3M. If you want a real shine, 3M Finesse It is impressive, needs a fairly decent finish first though.

 

[Davegriff]

The first year we had our MAB, come end of season lift-out we spent hours cutting back the rather dull gelcoat using an ordinary houseold cream cleaner followed by waxing to retain the shine acheived. Much admired by many I have to say.

It was only at the second annual lift-out when we came to repair a few scratches gathered along the way that we realised that the hull was actually painted!