Painted gelcoat - stripping back to gelcoat ??

[seaboy]

A friend of mine who recently brought a fiberglass boat that has been painted over its gel coat.

Its painted finish is poor and needs to be redone.

Could he remove the paint back to the original gel coat and if it is in good condition, buff and re-polish.

Can it be done.

thanks

 

[pvb]

He could try, but if it's been painted it's likely the original gelcoat was in poor condition, and in any case it will probably have been sanded prior to painting.

 

[Tranona]

Unlikely to be able to get a good finish, and depending on the paint maybe won't be able to get it back at all. Not difficult to get a good finish with paint and will be far better than a poor gel coat. prepare the surface thoroughly and refinish with a single pot paint such as International Toplac. Follow the instructions, particularly using PreKote as an undercoat and you will be surprised at how good it will look - and last a good few years before another coat needed.

 

[Marine Reflections]

A friend of mine who recently brought a fiberglass boat that has been painted over its gel coat.

Its painted finish is poor and needs to be redone.

Could he remove the paint back to the original gel coat and if it is in good condition, buff and re-polish.

Can it be done.

thanks

Yes, it can be done.

Unless it is going to be loved and whispered to, I would go down the sand and decent re-paint route.

 

[Nicholas123]

A friend of mine who recently brought a fiberglass boat that has been painted over its gel coat.

Its painted finish is poor and needs to be redone.

Could he remove the paint back to the original gel coat and if it is in good condition, buff and re-polish.

Can it be done.

thanks

I am doing precisely this job at the moment & find removing the old paint with sharpened but not chisel like bits of old hacksaw blade remove the paint + undercoat pretty well.That plus ordinary chisels sharpened so that they are 'flat.'
I have tried wet & drying a bit that I have done already & it seems to come up pretty well.There is satisfaction knowing what is under the paint + carrying out any repairs necessary.My boat is a functional object not an oil painting or something to be kept in a display cabinet.:encouragement:

 

[Nicholas123]

Yes, it can be done.

Unless it is going to be loved and whispered to, I would go down the sand and decent re-paint route.

How did you know?

 

[Marine Reflections]

How did you know?

Because you're defending your position. "My boat is a functional object not an oil painting or something to be kept in a display cabinet".

Classic traits of a closet boat whisperer

 

[langstonelayabout]

I'm sure someone has previously mentioned that he removed rough & nasty paint from his gelcoat top sides by using a wallpaper steamer. There's a thread on this subject in the last 6 months or so...