Is Gel coat necessary?

[cantaris]

I got to playing around with a few areas that are chipped/gouged through to the fiberglass. I was using a die grinder with 80-100 grit on it and it very quickly removed paint down to fg. So fast that I am thinking that that there is no color gelcoat. When I went down to the fg it seemed to be smooth below the paint. Would the manufacturer have not used gelcoat? This is a 1971 boat. So if I sand the entire boat and this thin layer of paint/gelcoat comes off, Will this present any problems when I go to prime and paint? Or am I going to have to regelcoat the boat? This will be a trailered boat. I am just curious about how thin the paint/gelcoat is.

 

[zarillus]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

I would do i search on painting in this forum and you will come up with all types of responses for and against gelcoat. I think boat manufactures have used gelcoat sense the early sixties on all fiberglass boats.Gelcoat is either an epoxy or unsaturated polyester resin.

Tashasdaddy had great results with regular rustoleum paint.He has several posts on this forum.

good luck

 

[Mark42]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

80 - 100 grit will sand the gel layer off many boats in seconds. Some boats gel is only a 1/64 to 1/16". Others are thicker, it all depends on the manufacturer.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

I had a 1996 Seadoo and my brother-in-law wrecked it. The body shop that repaired it did not have the capability to gel coat. He repaired the hull and just matched the color and painted it. Was it right? I don't know but it worked. It looked good for a few years and the motor went out. So I guess I am saying it can be done with reg. paint or gel coat. Hope that helps. Have a great one.

 

[danond]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

If you just have chips and gouges why not fix them? You can paint gel coat on with a brush and sand it smooth. Just buff the rest and give it a good wax and you're done.

80-100 on a die grinder is insane. That will tear through ANYTHING quickly, even metal. Using that on your hull will guarantee it looks like hell since there's no way you'll get it smooth or straight, and you risk grinding right through the glass, too. There's no guarantee the glass is the same thickness throughout.

If you want to fix the looks your hull, hand sand with 220, then wet sand with something higher (600), then wet sand with 1000, then buff with a compound, then wax. It'll look gorgeous.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

It does have gel coat on it and whatever you do don't sand it all off. It may have paint over the gel coat and you should be able to tell if does, as you sand off the top layer it should change color as you hit the gel coat.

Don't use a die grinder unless you're just doing very small spot repairs, it will leave a very uneven surface that will create problems later.

 

[cantaris]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

I was actually grinding some gouges out of the aluminum rubrail and saw some chipped areas in the hull and just hit them lightly to see. I did not penetrate the fiberglass. I am an Aircraft Mechanic and have done alot of fiberglass work just not gelcoat. I always thought gelcoat was pretty thick. This does not look to be much thicker than one or two coats of paint. I will be sanding the boat with my hand orbital sander with probably 220 grit then I am going to prime and paint the entire thing. But I have a lot of fill an fair to do first. Some of the previous repairslook like bpink bondo and just breath on it and it crumbles out. Actually came when I pressure washed the other day. just wanted to make sure that I can just prime and paint and call it good without re-gelcoating.

 

[txtimbre]

Re: Is Gel coat necessary?

I was wondering about the gel coat also, I'm preping the hull of a ski boat now to use Pettit Vivid Epoxy Primer White 4100/4101, and the instructions for bare fiberglass are to sand with 60 grit sandpaper. I'm taking everything off and starting out from the fiberglass. The instruction say nothing about gelcoat, just apply 3 coats of primer and two of paint.