Gelcoat worn through

[JackFrobisher]

I had a lot of time to spare over the weekend, during a long passage, and took a critical look at the gelcoat in my cockpit. It appears to be very worn, with grey showing through the white in places, mostly at corners and areas such as around winches. If the underlying material was white the scruffiness could be polished out but since it's grey I can't do that.

It there a way of addressing this wear? Painting? Replacing the gelcoat?

The boat is a 1989 Westerly Storm.

 

[rob2]

I'm sure it can be done. I've heard several people talking about re-gelcoating and I assume it is the same in principle as painting on a flow coat - a mix of gelcoat and wax in styrene to make it cure. The wax floats to the surface giving the anaerobic conditions required for the chemical cure, it can be washed off with acetone once cured.

Rob.

 

[lw395]

I have seen some excellent cockpit refurbs using 2-pack polyurethane paint.

 

[prv]

I'm sure it can be done. I've heard several people talking about re-gelcoating and I assume it is the same in principle as painting on a flow coat - a mix of gelcoat and wax in styrene to make it cure.

This is what I'd do.

The previous owner cut a six-inch-diameter hole in the side of the cockpit below the seat, for a rather eccentric locker arrangement. I filled it in with mat and resin and then applied new gelcoat as you describe. There is a slight colour mismatch as I used white instead of bothering to match the slightly yellowed faded appearance, but even so you wouldn't notice unless you were looking. Pigments are available specifically to match faded gelcoat, in which case the repair could be invisible with a bit of care.

Pete

 

[JackFrobisher]

Thanks.

Thanks to all. Two-pack sounds like the easiest option.

 

[ditchcrawler]

A friend of mine has a Storm of the same age with the same problem.He found out that this was due to a moulding problem(I have also seen this on a Konsort) and the gel is very thin in the cockpit.He painted his cockpit with 2 pack polyurethane in white and it looks excellent.

 

[bert49uk]

are you sure its thin ? on my Fulmar i thought the same, so with nothing to loose i set too with water and wet and dry, now all grey gone and cockpit looking like new, just try a small area and see

 

[JackFrobisher]

Thanks

I'll try the wet and dry first - definitely the easiest (and cheapest) option, then two-pack if that's not the answer. Thanks to all for your replies.

 

[Avocet]

Depending on where you're going to be doing this, it's worth bearing in mind that 2-pack is notoriously finnicky when it comes to application conditions. Too cold and it just won't go off. Too humid and you loose the gloss.

 

[JackFrobisher]

Depending on where you're going to be doing this, it's worth bearing in mind that 2-pack is notoriously finnicky when it comes to application conditions. Too cold and it just won't go off. Too humid and you loose the gloss.

Next year perhaps...