Gel Coat

[Samantha]

Hi, My little 17 foot fibre glass Microplus 502 motor cruiser born in 1985 - although is still in very good condition for her age is starting to develop crazing on the bow and also her colour is very dull due to wear and tear. I would like to try and obtain a quotation to get her restored to her former glory and not sure of any reputable repairers or restorers within the Nottinghamshire area. Does anybody happen to know of any and also a rough guide to how much approximately you think I may be looking at please. Thank you. Sam.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Hi, My little 17 foot fibre glass Microplus 502 motor cruiser born in 1985 - although is still in very good condition for her age is starting to develop crazing on the bow and also her colour is very dull due to wear and tear. I would like to try and obtain a quotation to get her restored to her former glory and not sure of any reputable repairers or restorers within the Nottinghamshire area. Does anybody happen to know of any and also a rough guide to how much approximately you think I may be looking at please. Thank you. Sam.

It will cost more than the boat's worth to have the crazing professionally repaired, but for restoring the shine you could get a bottle of Farecla rubbing compound & a variable speed electric polisher (Silverline do a good budget one) & buff it up yourself. It's dead easy, if arm achey, & at the end of the day it will be so shiny you'll be able to see your own fizzog in the reflection.

 

[sogood]

It will cost more than the boat's worth to have the crazing professionally repaired, but for restoring the shine you could get a bottle of Farecla rubbing compound & a variable speed electric polisher (Silverline do a good budget one) & buff it up yourself. It's dead easy, if arm achey, & at the end of the day it will be so shiny you'll be able to see your own fizzog in the reflection.

Hi Sam and welcome. I think I replied to some of your queries on a different forum. As stated, having a professional job done will cost possibly more than the boat is worth. There are DIY options, as in, opening up the crazing into "fillable" cracks, rubbing down and repainting, in your material of choice. Lots of YouTube videos on repairing gel coat/crazing etc.

 

[maby]

Hi Sam and welcome. I think I replied to some of your queries on a different forum. As stated, having a professional job done will cost possibly more than the boat is worth. There are DIY options, as in, opening up the crazing into "fillable" cracks, rubbing down and repainting, in your material of choice. Lots of YouTube videos on repairing gel coat/crazing etc.

I've done it - the results can be good, but it depends very much on the quantity and pattern of crazing - a small number of long cracks is quite easy, but a real crazing pattern is just too much work.

 

[vyv_cox]

I have seen a couple re-gelcoat a 38 ft boat. Old gelcoat removed with orbital sanders, new applied using rollers, finally flatted and polished. However, these were big flat panels, very different from those on a 17 ft boat. They found gelcoating the cockpit far more difficult and used two-pack PU paint instead.

 

[lw395]

I would try polishing it first.
Start with wet and dry paper 1200 grade perhaps even coarser. Finish with 2000 or even 4000, followed by a cutting polish such as Farecla or even T-Cut. Then plenty of wax.
Then get a cover to keep the worst of the sun off, if practical.

You can spend an unlimited amount of time making it perfect. I just aim for 'respectable'. Boats are to be used.

 

[greeny]

I would try polishing it first.
Start with wet and dry paper 1200 grade perhaps even coarser. Finish with 2000 or even 4000, followed by a cutting polish such as Farecla or even T-Cut. Then plenty of wax.
Then get a cover to keep the worst of the sun off, if practical.

You can spend an unlimited amount of time making it perfect. I just aim for 'respectable'. Boats are to be used.

+1
Start on a small panel or area. Complete the process and see the result. Then extrapolate the time and effort to get that result.
Then decide if you want to continue.

 

[Samantha]

It will cost more than the boat's worth to have the crazing professionally repaired, but for restoring the shine you could get a bottle of Farecla rubbing compound & a variable speed electric polisher (Silverline do a good budget one) & buff it up yourself. It's dead easy, if arm achey, & at the end of the day it will be so shiny you'll be able to see your own fizzog in the reflection.

Thank you very much for your good advice.

 

[pcatterall]

Your question suggests that you want someone else to do the work !? If that is the case then ( as stated) it will cost more than the boat is worth. If you are prepared to invest some elbow grease then that is a different matter.
Regarding the fading, just get some abrasive polish ( like T Cut from your car parts shop) and tackle a small ( 12") square, see if you can bring that square to the result you require ( it can be very satisfying!)
If it works then get an impecunious teenager and pay them pocket money to bring all the boat to that standard! Or roll your sleeves up! If the 12" square was really hard work and took several applications then you could try the solution using wet and dry or the electric polisher route.
Good luck..... before and after pictures will be great!!

 

[Samantha]

Hi Sam and welcome. I think I replied to some of your queries on a different forum. As stated, having a professional job done will cost possibly more than the boat is worth. There are DIY options, as in, opening up the crazing into "fillable" cracks, rubbing down and repainting, in your material of choice. Lots of YouTube videos on repairing gel coat/crazing etc.

Thank you for your advice. x

 

[Samantha]

Your question suggests that you want someone else to do the work !? If that is the case then ( as stated) it will cost more than the boat is worth. If you are prepared to invest some elbow grease then that is a different matter.
Regarding the fading, just get some abrasive polish ( like T Cut from your car parts shop) and tackle a small ( 12") square, see if you can bring that square to the result you require ( it can be very satisfying!)
If it works then get an impecunious teenager and pay them pocket money to bring all the boat to that standard! Or roll your sleeves up! If the 12" square was really hard work and took several applications then you could try the solution using wet and dry or the electric polisher route.
Good luck..... before and after pictures will be great!!

Thank you very much for your kind advice. I will have a go with the T Cut - I will roll my sleeves up again as I did when anti fouling before she went into the water. I will definitely take some before and after pictures too! Thank you once again.

 

[ghostlymoron]

T cutting and polishing is well within the scope of a Practical Boatowner. Refer to previous threads on products to use (there are many).
Repairing crazing is a skilled job, particularly matching the colour - there are many shades of white and, after 30 years of fading, it won't be the same 'white' that it was when new. I've never managed to do an invisible repair maybe I haven't got a very good eye for colour tints or perhaps I haven't tried hard enough!
There are often 'odd jobbers' who advertise at marinas and boat yards that will do polishing fairly reasonably - I presume there are some inland marinas in the Nottingham area, you could visit and enquire of the staff. The same for gelcoat repairers but, as has been said, it's likely to be uneconomic.
A 17 footer could easily be polished in a day, I did it once on my Leisure 17 but then decided that the time was better spent on sailing. Since then my boat polishing has been confined to the occasional application of Turtle Wax.

 

[Homer J]

I have just completed this task on a 17ft boat. I bought a polisher then used 3M products. I started with 3M heavy then 3m light and finally 3M wax. I don’t know if this is the best stuff but it worked for me. I got it much cheaper through a caravanning shop than through a chandlers but it is marine version.

its an open boat and I did hull and inside. Probably took 3 full days but it’s come up very shiny.

inside I also ground out and filled screw holes and chips and miraculously the filler polished up to the same colour as the internal moulding. For the hull I have bought some blue gel coat to cover scratches after matching the hull colour to a RAL code colour using a colour booklet - but I haven’t got round to that part yet.

 

[pcatterall]

I have just completed this task on a 17ft boat. I bought a polisher then used 3M products. I started with 3M heavy then 3m light and finally 3M wax. I don’t know if this is the best stuff but it worked for me. I got it much cheaper through a caravanning shop than through a chandlers but it is marine version.

its an open boat and I did hull and inside. Probably took 3 full days but it’s come up very shiny.

inside I also ground out and filled screw holes and chips and miraculously the filler polished up to the same colour as the internal moulding. For the hull I have bought some blue gel coat to cover scratches after matching the hull colour to a RAL code colour using a colour booklet - but I haven’t got round to that part yet.

We didn't mention to the OP that, after all the hard work with abrasive paper or paste, they need to preserve the wonderful transformation with a good wax polish! especially if it is a dark colour, red and blue being two of the worst! Waxing is less labour intensive and we try to use 3 coats ......easy wipe on and a light buff up for each coat.