Coppercoat over Gelshield

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anpgr

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Hi all.

For those of you who are not tired of reading coppercoat threads:

I am considering a coppercoat job (DIY or Pro -waiting for quote). I've been sanding off leftover antifoul and reached a green layer on top of gelcoat. Local GRP shop advised that green is probably Gelshield although not sure. It is certainly harder to sand than other coats on top of it. However it is a relativley thin layer so most likely one or two coats rather than 4-5.

In any case, Pro advises stripping off Gelshield and going back to gelcoat before applying Coppercoat. They were not as happy with Coppercoat over Gelshield.

Stripping Gelshield will be expensive if I go the Pro route and I'm not even considering doing this myself. So I'm inclined to leave it on and perhaps put a fresh coat of Gelshield (or another epoxy coat) on top, before the coppercoat.

If anyone has experience with this situation I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, because I'm very bad with the orbital sander I've left some relatively deep gouges on hull that seem to go through to GRP. Should I fill these with gelcoat or would an epoxy filler work better?

Many Thanks
Andreas
 
Suggest that you ask the Coppercoat people. I found them very helpfull in 2009 and again in 2019 when needing some for touch up. They supplied high build epoxy to apply under the Coppercoat at a reasonable price that was less than Gelshield.

I painted my boat (35ft full keel) single handed in Plymouth, but a second person working would have been greatly appreciated.

I used epoxy filler for gouges and spot filling in the epoxy undercoat when touching up.
 
srm said:
Suggest that you ask the Coppercoat people. I found them very helpfull in 2009 and again in 2019 when needing some for touch up. They supplied high build epoxy to apply under the Coppercoat at a reasonable price that was less than Gelshield
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A big plus for contacting Coppercoat. They are extremely helpful.

Had my boat lifted yesterday for the first time in 24 months, the guy doing the jet wash said it was the quickest wash he had done. Just a film of slime. Even the through hull job that was the real reason for the lift was easier than I thought it was going to be.
 
When I had my boat Coppercoated, the yard insisted on removing the existing Gelshield and re-applying it. Seemed reasonable as they are guaranteeing the work
 
anpgr said:
Hi all.

For those of you who are not tired of reading coppercoat threads:

I am considering a coppercoat job (DIY or Pro -waiting for quote). I've been sanding off leftover antifoul and reached a green layer on top of gelcoat. Local GRP shop advised that green is probably Gelshield although not sure. It is certainly harder to sand than other coats on top of it. However it is a relativley thin layer so most likely one or two coats rather than 4-5.

In any case, Pro advises stripping off Gelshield and going back to gelcoat before applying Coppercoat. They were not as happy with Coppercoat over Gelshield.

Stripping Gelshield will be expensive if I go the Pro route and I'm not even considering doing this myself. So I'm inclined to leave it on and perhaps put a fresh coat of Gelshield (or another epoxy coat) on top, before the coppercoat.

If anyone has experience with this situation I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also, because I'm very bad with the orbital sander I've left some relatively deep gouges on hull that seem to go through to GRP. Should I fill these with gelcoat or would an epoxy filler work better?

Many Thanks
Andreas
Click to expand...

I would suggest contacting Elessar, he is a Coppercoat specialist, although he sold his business some years ago.
 
longjohnsilver said:
I would suggest contacting Elessar, he is a Coppercoat specialist, although he sold his business some years ago.
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Hi. It’s 100% fine over gelshield. Just abrade with 80 - 120 grit. Only issue is if you apply new gelshield you must leave it at least a week for all the solvent to come out. Obviously not an issue here.
Removing sound gelshield is a very bad idea as it is harder than the gel coat. You will do damage. Very poor advice IMO.
 
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