Painting Tired Gelcoat

[aquaholic]

I am getting to the stage in my project where I will have to start thinking about painting the cockpit, decks and coach roof.

The gelcoat has had its day and i have tried compounding etc but to no avail, I have read much about 2 pack paints and even considered flowcoating.

A showroom finish would be nice but more importantly I just don't want it to look naff.

Can anyone recommend a paint that they have used with good results?

 

[doug748]

This is my view. Depends on the boat.

If it is a 22ft long and you paid 500 quid for it and have put it together for very little, then hand painting is fine.

If it is a 37ft Swan and you have spent 20k on it, plus purchase price, then hand painting it can only detract from it's future value.

If your Swan has damage or very, very severe marking that you are 100% sure will not be removed; then Awlgrip spray (hulls) or quality re-gelcoating will not be totally looked down upon on the used market. I have seen some first rate gel work on topsides. You may be able to use Treadmaster or pretend teak in the worst areas?

Between the two examples you have to make a call. The best thing is the original finish which you only have once.

 

[salar]

Revitalising the gelcoat will be easier, look better and retain the value of the boat. You can get gelcoat back to showroom condition, I would suggest that if you haven't been able to that may be due to technique or materials used.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I would agree that a painted finish will devalue your boat and also will need re-doing every few years. Try re polishing first - that's what I'm going to do on my deck.

 

[niccapotamus]

+1 - try a three stage process. allow two days of hard work approx.
cutting compound
polishing
waxing

has renewed the topsides and cockpit on our 30 year old boat and we now positively gleam like a 5 year old Moody. It also means you can go shopping. probably cheaper than paint overall.

for the sake of ease and avoiding an interminably long thread

silverline polisher - from amazon £49 approx. variable speed and fab. a bit heavy but the lighter ones are more like £200.
get the 3M compounding and polishing bonnets - they do some that have a velcro hook that fits on their velcro backing pads. much better than the silverline ones. called hookit backing pad and hookit bonnets. get the metric one for the silverline polisher. we bought three bonnets - one for each stage of the process

products used - really happy with all three

compounding - 3M™ Perfect-It™ III Fast Cut Compound (09374)
polish - Boat Polish - 3M™ Finesse-it II™ Finishing Material (09048), 473 ml
wax - use liquid wax not the paste - on the recommendation of the boat maintenance guy in the yard we used Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax 473ml

we bought the 3m stuff direct from 3m via the web

If your gelcoat is just tired, grotty, but sound then this process will transform. it is hard work but fantastically rewarding. and you'll have the kit to polish and wax next year with no need for cutting I'll try to post a pic of our topsides now they have been done

paint is a PITA and if you do it by hand you'll have problems with runs (we always did) and something that isn't as hard wearing as gelcoat

 

[niccapotamus]

here are pics of our boat - build date was about 1982 IIRC. just looking at your blog - it seems to be going well. nice piece about headlining - i have ours to do in a couple of places so your tips will be a godsend.

your topsides don't look to bad to me in the photos. it's really easy to fill and repair chips so that the repairs are almost invisible so I think you might be fine polishing.

Don't forget to do a proper wash and de-grease before polishing (another product to buy) otherwise you'll just be grinding dirt into your gelcoat. Also don't try to do it when boat is wet as the surface hazes if it is damp.

finally, bring lots of money to fund cups of tea, chocolate and beer breaks to help the process

 

[Concerto]

+1 - try a three stage process. allow two days of hard work approx.
cutting compound
polishing
waxing

If in a very poor discoloured state then it would pay to wet sand the gel coat before these stages. Used 800 grade followed by 1200 grade, then compound onward.

The transom of my Westerly Fulmar was painted red and everyone said paint it white, but I dry sanded through 5 different colours of red, then wet sanded, followed by compounding and polishing. Everyone was amazed at the results of 5 days work. Check my profile for the link to my renovation photographs (start on last page) and see the massive difference. The topsides took 3 days. I used the Silverline polisher and a Fein multitool for intricate places.

The decks are just about to be repainted with non slip paint, the deck gel coat compounded and polished, and all the exterior varnish removed as teak does not need protection. Photos will follow in a few weeks time.

Do try and avoid painting any gel coat as it will never look as good.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Painting will reduce the value of almost ant boat. However, you can apply flow coat (Gelcoat with wax added) goes on like paint but lasts 300% longer.

Yes you do have apply several coats and then sand and polish any flat areas, but for deck that is 90% non slip pattern it is well worth doing.

So to save me a lot of typing have a look at lots of info on you tube.

Good luck and fair winds.

 

[Magaz97]

+1 - try a three stage process. allow two days of hard work approx.
cutting compound
polishing
waxing

has renewed the topsides and cockpit on our 30 year old boat and we now positively gleam like a 5 year old Moody. It also means you can go shopping. probably cheaper than paint overall.

for the sake of ease and avoiding an interminably long thread

silverline polisher - from amazon £49 approx. variable speed and fab. a bit heavy but the lighter ones are more like £200.
get the 3M compounding and polishing bonnets - they do some that have a velcro hook that fits on their velcro backing pads. much better than the silverline ones. called hookit backing pad and hookit bonnets. get the metric one for the silverline polisher. we bought three bonnets - one for each stage of the process

products used - really happy with all three

compounding - 3M™ Perfect-It™ III Fast Cut Compound (09374)
polish - Boat Polish - 3M™ Finesse-it II™ Finishing Material (09048), 473 ml
wax - use liquid wax not the paste - on the recommendation of the boat maintenance guy in the yard we used Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax 473ml

we bought the 3m stuff direct from 3m via the web

If your gelcoat is just tired, grotty, but sound then this process will transform. it is hard work but fantastically rewarding. and you'll have the kit to polish and wax next year with no need for cutting I'll try to post a pic of our topsides now they have been done

paint is a PITA and if you do it by hand you'll have problems with runs (we always did) and something that isn't as hard wearing as gelcoat

^^^ This works. It is what I used, great finish on a 1986 boat!

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Poliglow! It only lasts a season before you have to reapply, but its not a hard process and you get a cracking finish:

http://www.albinballad.co.uk/technology/poliglow/