How can I fix Grey stains/areas on white gelcoat on foredeck and hull of Princess V55

[yossy]

Dear knowledgable forum members. Can you help me?

I'm looking to buy this Princess v55 year 2000.
My main concern is the grey stains/areas on foredeck and some parts of the hull. Can it be fixed?? How?
see video

The seller says it is from chemicals in cleaning product. He says it can be poliched away on most areas of hull but difficult on foredeck which is not a glossy area rather it is coarse surface for good grip. And he says that that area needs to be repainted to get away with the grey? Painted with what?
How serious is this? Can it be fixed? Rest of boat looks like it can get into top condition with some fixing
Best
Kristofer

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Hi Kristofer

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately your youtube video is marked as Private so it can't be viewed. Can you change the settings so we can see the problem?

 

[yossy]

Jimmy thanks a lot for pointing it out. Now fixed!!
And thanks for the welcome. Have been reading the forum thoroughly for many years (including many good post from you) but haven't posed until now...
I have read your journey from sportscruiser to flybridge to sportscruiser, and as you see I'm of the same mind (at least right now )
My previous boat was a windy scirocco 32 and it is now sold and I'm now planning on moving up in size

Rgds
Krippe

 

[Portofino]

Welcome Krippe,
You might want to check the U tube " settings " again as when it ends ( the grey stains ) it allows access to what appears to be some private / personal videos ??

 

[yossy]

Thank you Portofino but as far as I can see it is only my previous boat and some other non private stuff.

Welcome Krippe,
You might want to check the U tube " settings " again as when it ends ( the grey stains ) it allows access to what appears to be some private / personal videos ??

 

[Nick_H]

Kristofer, I can't view the video at the moment, but the usual advice when the seller says it is easy to fix, is to get them to fix it!

Welcome to the forum anyway.

 

[rafiki_]

Kristofer, I can't view the video at the moment, but the usual advice when the seller says it is easy to fix, is to get them to fix it!

Welcome to the forum anyway.

+1

 

[yossy]

Thank you. However, I guess the seller / broker is not saying it is easy to fix :-/
He says the glossy parts are just polishing but the "grip" part on foredeck is more difficult and needs to be repainted? Whatever that means? In my experience when you need to repaint a part of something it usually does not look good. And in this case on a coarse surface how would it be done? Anyone with experience of this, suggestions? Rgds / Krippe

Kristofer, I can't view the video at the moment, but the usual advice when the seller says it is easy to fix, is to get them to fix it!

Welcome to the forum anyway.

 

[Divemaster1]

Thank you. However, I guess the seller / broker is not saying it is easy to fix :-/
He says the glossy parts are just polishing but the "grip" part on foredeck is more difficult and needs to be repainted? ..............

No it does not ... if it is the same stain as on hull, you will need some light and fluid cutting/cleaning compound poor it over the area and put some scrubbing into it with a nailbrush .... or if bigger, a proper scrubbing brush... This is probably gelcoat, so please do not paint over it until you have tried to clean it....

 

[yossy]

Alf could you see the youtube video? On another forum (swedish) they suggested that it looked like a bottle with strong chemicals/(cleaning type or something) maybe fell over and the liquid that came out formed the grey stains pattern, and maybe the liquid sat there for a while (and did damage) before anyone noticed and tried to clean it out, but to late, and therefore the discoloration?
Im pretty sure it is gelcoat. Is an absolute no-no to try to paint on Gelcoat?
/Krippe

No it does not ... if it is the same stain as on hull, you will need some light and fluid cutting/cleaning compound poor it over the area and put some scrubbing into it with a nailbrush .... or if bigger, a proper scrubbing brush... This is probably gelcoat, so please do not paint over it until you have tried to clean it....

 

[jfm]

Yossy, imho you must establish the depth of the grey.

On one of the smooth parts, try to polish it out with eg 3M cutting compound. If it comes off easily then it is only a few microns thick and everything is fine. Elbow grease will cure the problem on both the smooth and the non slip.

If it is much thicker, 500 microns, you have no hope on either the smooth or the non slip parts

If it is of medium thickness (100 microns approx?) you can polish it out of the smooth but not the non slip

You can paint GRP but it is bit of a last resort. You should use awlgrip or alexseal paints and will last perhaps 5 years. Expensive work and best done by specialists. Might be euros 5k just for a foredeck. you can also spray (then polish) new gelcoat onto the boat but of course the non slip will look a bit of a mess...

You could paint/polish the smooth then glue non stick rubber sheet onto the non slip but of course we are getting into proper bodge-up territory here and I'm not saying you should do this!

Good luck

 

[yossy]

jfm thanks for a very good answer!
Now I need to address this with the broker somehow. Next time I look at the boat should be for see trial with the surveyor and the MANdistributor who will check the engines. Of course I can make the check you are suggesting then jfm, but would be good to be able to have solved the grey stains before...

Yossy, imho you must establish the depth of the grey.

On one of the smooth parts, try to polish it out with eg 3M cutting compound. If it comes off easily then it is only a few microns thick and everything is fine. Elbow grease will cure the problem on both the smooth and the non slip.

If it is much thicker, 500 microns, you have no hope on either the smooth or the non slip parts

If it is of medium thickness (100 microns approx?) you can polish it out of the smooth but not the non slip

You can paint GRP but it is bit of a last resort. You should use awlgrip or alexseal paints and will last perhaps 5 years. Expensive work and best done by specialists. Might be euros 5k just for a foredeck. you can also spray (then polish) new gelcoat onto the boat but of course the non slip will look a bit of a mess...

You could paint/polish the smooth then glue non stick rubber sheet onto the non slip but of course we are getting into proper bodge-up territory here and I'm not saying you should do this!

Good luck

 

[jfm]

jfm thanks for a very good answer!
Now I need to address this with the broker somehow. Next time I look at the boat should be for see trial with the surveyor and the MANdistributor who will check the engines. Of course I can make the check you are suggesting then jfm, but would be good to be able to have solved the grey stains before...

you cannot answer the question "will the grey polish out?" until you know the depth of the grey. Perhaps when you visit for the survey take a sharp knife and scrape the gel coat in a small area. See how much you need to scrape until the grey disappears and you reach white. That will tell you the depth of the grey

Of course if the grey is a deal breaker you need to answer this question before spending €€€ on a survey...

 

[Divemaster1]

Alf could you see the youtube video? ....

Hei igjen Krippe,

Yes I did see the video, and I suspect the boat was close to some sort of industrial work at some stage when in storage, and that this is debris from that work which have been allowed to settle on the gelcoat in the closer areas where water would drain towards and increase concentration of the material.

I seem to remember that when you look at gelcoat under a microscope it consists of un-even elements ... need a picture .... here

On the non-slip area this problem will be magnified ..... Dirt and whatever this is will settle in the lower parts and not come out unless you use some abrasive, or cutting compound and something that will get down into the un-even elements of the gelcoat... So I'd still consider this as being recoverable, but will require hard work by someone ... and if not done by yourself, it will cost money to have done properly and professionally...

Gelcoat can be cut down quite a lot when compared with paint on a car, so I'd ask for a quote from a professional company who do gelcoat repairs (not the broker) and ensure that the quoted price (and then some) is knocked off the negotiated price for the boat. It the professional company say that it cannot be repaired, then you need to be prepared to;

a) walk away
b) live with the fact that this (and any repair) will affect the re-sale of the boat again...

Lykke til!

Mvh,

Alf

 

[Portofino]

I,am not convinced it can be polished out-ie it's deep ( what-ever microns ) .This is because a keen seller would have done it -well as best possible to remove any wiggle room in the €€€ price and not end up with a deal breaker .
Accept it as it is within a suitable €€€ .Boat price should reflect this
If it will not polish out -most likely
Before painting try various " bleach " chemicals to attempt to lighten up .Ask a GRP specialist or /and experiment yourself with various % oxalic acid , or household bleach ' .time Vs % dilution ?
Try a small area first .Them some gel coat renovator to re-plenish ,then some wax to protect .
It will take time, effort + a bit of luck .-

 

[KevB]

It may be worth trying some oxalic acid as mentioned above. I've tried it and it certainly gets rid of rust stains.

 

[yossy]

JFM, Alf, Portofino, KevB,

Appreciate your information and constructive suggestions!

/Krippe

 

[Firefly625]

I would try magic sponge first, brilliant on non slip grp

 

[RogerRat]

It may be worth trying some oxalic acid as mentioned above. I've tried it and it certainly gets rid of rust stains.

Hi Kristofer, and welcome.

+1 on KevB's post Stain remover has to be the first option.

Oxalic acid is only a stain lifter and will not take layers off the gel coat. If using Y10 jelly, you can leave it to soak for some time. Especially good on the non slip areas. The smooth areas could be cut but as JFM said, you need to know the depth or you could so major damage that will need specialist repair from a glass/gel expert... Expensive, most likely.

With a boat like a V55, it has to look right or you will own it forever or lose money for sure.

Please keep us informed as to developments.

Good luck, :encouragement:

RR

 

[yossy]

Thanks for input RogerRat and Firefly.

I asked the broker again "How difficult is it to fix the grey stains on foredeck and parts of the hull?" His answer "Total price for sanding and repainting 1500€".

I'm then thinking that this is a nobrainer 1500€, that is nothing, I'll fix it right after buying the boat, and there are other fixes that needs to be done like teak on platform, teak on passarelle, new upholstery on sun cushions, new upholstery on sofa in saloon, and a couple of other smaller fixes as well, however these other fixes don't have a risk element attached to them. These fixes is not a problem to me as I think the price on the boat is good. And my overall feeling is that it is a happy ship that is well taken care. No smells, no traces of moist etc. Of course verifying that the engines are in good shape is the most important check.

The broker is American Marine, distributor of Princess in Greece and I get the feeling that they/Nick the broker is a trustworthy professional man that knows what he is talking about. If he says it is 1500€ to fix it maybe I should just trust him, and let him fix it after I bought the boat? Or maybe trust him that it will be an excellent repair of the grey stains, but place a bid on the boat subject to having survey, sea trial, engine check and also stains fixed professionally. I put in downpayment, that I can get back, I pay the surveyor, MAN distributor doing the engine checks, etc.

If after that everything is OK, except that the stains where not fixed a 100% then I walk away or negotiate price further as Alf suggested. Given that this is no bull**** broker this could be a fair risk to take? Or what other alternatives do I have?

Rgds / Krippe