Tired blue GRP hull

[max]

The blue GRP on my 1975 Westerly is now in a truly dreadful state - faded, chalked (but patchily) etc.

Does anyone have any 'magic' solutions at least to achieve an evenly faded appearance and postpone a paint job.

If not the next question is whether a reasonable paint finish can be achieved by an amateur using either Toplac or a two part epoxy?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[dickh]

I used Toplac on a Vivacity 20 a few years ago and was very pleased with the results. But it was a lot of hard work and as it was originally blue, I still used a blue Toplac. Easy to apply - I chose a windless day in early summer outside and completed the final coat in a few hours.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[Johnjo]

Do not know ant magic formula's Painted a Colvic-Watson a few years back with Toplac blue ,Was originally green came out with a very good finish,High gloss.
Not so hard wearing as a two-pack, Secret of a good finish is preperation , 90%
prep 10% painting, You only get out what you put in .International and Blakes etc all do information booklets free fram Chandlers suggest this as first step.Good luck with it,

mike

 

[Johnjo]

Do not know ant magic formula's Painted a Colvic-Watson a few years back with Toplac blue ,Was originally green came out with a very good finish,High gloss.
Not so hard wearing as a two-pack, Secret of a good finish is preperation , 90%
prep 10% painting, You only get out what you put in .International and Blakes etc all do information booklets free fram Chandlers suggest this as first step.Good luck with it,

mike

 

[Jake]

Hi Max - paint as a last resort. Your tired blue hull will look like new by using a cutting compound and a buffing machine - or even by hand if you have the patience. A 1200-14000 wet-and-dry gentle rub will take off the surface chalking and oxidisation. Then apply either 'Super Duty' Rubbing Compound from 3M, or the milder versions if it's not too bad, followed by a finishing material, and then a coat of protective wax. The whole process is described in the August 2002 edition of Motorboats Monthly, where my elderly Freeman 26 was made to look like new (in patches - they didn't do the whole boat). It takes between one or two days, but the effects are startling. Your GRP will look like blue glass afterwards!
3M products should be available at most chandlers, and whilst not cheap, they work!

Jake Kavanagh
MBM

 

[Johnjo]

Apologies for repeating myself,must be going senile with age.

 

[tcm]

we all thought you'd painted two coats....

 

[Bejasus]

Do you have an e-mail address and I will send you some pics of what can be done as a beginner.



"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul."..........I think????

 

[Johnjo]

Welllll thinking about it, I thought it had a good depth to it, But as I can't
remember what I did yesterday ,Ican't really be sure.
Mike

 

[AvanLoon]

Hi Max, I do agree with Jake. First try a polish job; you can still paint the hull if the result isn't satisfying. I had the same 'problem' on my Spirit 28. The hull looked dull, and the chalk stains around the bow made it more worse. A almost yellow hull was the result. First I washed the hull with oxalic acid (a powder, dissolved in handwarm water) which did disappear the stains. The hull was almost white, but lustreless. It looked as if a layer of white powder was sitting under the wax. I then rubbed it with a simple flat paint 'grinder', on which I attached a cloth with rubbing compound. Under the cloth was an emery paper to avoid shifting. It took me more than three full days for the hull, but with an impressive result. Falkor is shiny again as new (almost). I covered it with a silicon wax, the shine stays the whole season

 

[Guest]

My Hurley has the same problem - I got a reasonable result for this season by using one of those "colour magic" automotive polishes. It was vastly better than nothing, and seems to have survived the season quite well. one £8 pack did the whole hull 3 coats.

 

[halcyon]

Farecla G7, rubbing compound, apply with a smonge, polish of with a electric polisher, when you get back to blue, could take may applications/polishes, wax with your choice. Took us a week but we got a 22 year old Hurley 27 white hull to new, all staining gone.

Little story on blue hulls, the Hurley was bought new by the chap we bought it off. and he wanted a blue hull. When he went to the factory he asked George Hurley for a blue hull, but was told by George that he wanted a white hull, blue ones faded badly, but the chap insists on a blue hull anyway.
A couple of monthes later he visits the factory to watch the hull come out of the mould, and out come this white hull with a blue band just below water line. After buying the yacht I decide to remove the 20 years anti fouling, and start from freash, and there it was a blue band.

The Hurley was the last 27 built by Hurley before the Americans took over, it was called Monique, it was seen if the Falmouth river around Smugglers cottage this summer, be nice to find the current owner.

Brian

 

[max]

Thanks to all for the advice. Sounds like its worth having a go at renovation before conceding to a paint job. Here goes............