So when I first got the boat I knew it was only a matter of time before my OCD kicked in and the dull oxidized gel coat had to be addressed. I've made awesome progress but over got some questions on fixing some cracks in the gel coat.
Then I came across these and need yalls advice on the best way to repair them. And any ideas on how they came to be there. They are both on the same side and the other side of the boat has none.
On the blue you may need to do a little sanding, but it may not get better, it's sort of a gamble on how much gel coat you can remove to get rid the faded spots.
The white will require a much more involved repair, sanding, glassing, spraying gel coat, then sand and buffing. After that hoping it matches the old gel coat and doesn't just make the repaired spot more obvious.
Custom vinyl stickers or wraps can cover all the uglie's with very little effort.
I'm content with the blue, I don't think 23 year old gel coat is gonna get much better. It's the cracks in the white that bother me. Am I going to have to completely grind those areas out?
Yes, and if it continues into the laminate you need to remove that too, then re-glass it. Normally there's a reason it flexed and cracked, so you need to look into why it cracked in the first place.
I was thinking about the flexing but it's odd that it's just on the 1 side. I'd think if it flexed it would be both sides. Or is that necessarily the case?
I know the rub rail is beat up in a couple spots so who knows lol. Any underlying problems will be found and addressed this winter. As crazy as it sounds I've read so many threads here about restos and seen how nice they come out and I'm itching to do mine. I love projects, especially ones I've never done before. I've built just about everything that interests me, never done anything like this.
Boat restoration is about the only thing I can think of that requires the use of so many skills. Fiberglass, wood working, mechanical, electrical, metal working, carpet/ vinyl/ interiors, finishing, paint, etc. Very satisfying when it all comes together in my opinion.
Exactly, that's why I'm so ready to do it. I've done it all except the vinyl and fiberglass to this extent. I'm ready to find out what all the skills I've learned create when they're all put together. Plus I'm ready to learn some new ones.