Gel Coat vs. Awlgrip

[shaheen]

Help. I have been looking at a Contessa which was sprayed with Awlgrip in 1996. I have received conflicting advice. On the one hand I have been told that given the age of the boat you would expect it to have been painted and that awlgrip is a good choice. On the other hand I have been told to avoid it like the plague as once painted it will always need repainting and the original gel coat should last forever anyway without painting. Who is right?

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[longjohnsilver]

You could say they're both right, but after the re-spray I bet the boat looked a whole lot better than before. Also all gel coat will gradually deteriorate with exposure to uv rays, salt, scratches and scrapes etc so eventually painting will become necessary. At that time what better then awlgrip?

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[shaheen]

Thanks! Would repainting at 5 to 7 year intervals be about right with awlgrip?

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[david_bagshaw]

yes with a boat kept outside

we keep ours undercover and was last done all over in 1991, & still looks perfect


<hr width=100% size=1>David
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.euroboating.net>http://www.euroboating.net</A>

 

[BootleBumtrinket]

Also depends on colour

dark will need more frequent repaint than white

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[jonjo]

Re: depends on finish

I spent a year looking at 20+ year old grp yachts before buying. At this age the priority is attractive topsides whatever the finish.

There are many bad topside paint jobs around, in my view these are worse than a shabby original gel coat finish. Gel coat does wear out, I saw one 30 year hull where the underlying laminate pattern was showing up as colour variations in the thin gel coat.

Some claim that epoxy paints are tougher than gel coat but I think the key issue is the quality of the paint job. Try to view the hull in the hour before sunset on a sunny day, the light at this time of day picks out the 3D imperfections in a paint finish. You also need to inspect the hull in more normal lighting conditions for another perspective.

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