How do I gel coat my hull?

Snouch

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Apr 12, 2013
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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

So i sanded down the hull. and after looking at it, its not as bad as i thought, i applied gel coat with roller and brush only on bad scratched and cracked areas. So now i will wait till tomorrow and sand it down again, and apply gel coat to the whole hull using a roller, its not that bad using a roller, gel coat goes on nicely, but i agree on its not like paint. then sand it down a little again, And i decided to use bottom side Anti-fouling marine paint, i will post more pics soon. and let you know how it comes out, :joyous:
 

Woodonglass

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Dec 29, 2009
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25,924
Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Huh??? R U Gelcoating or Painting?? What kind of Gelcoat are you rolling on? What Grade of sandpaper are you sanding with? R U getting a lot of Orange Peel? Did you Wipe down with Acetone prior to the first coat of Gelcoat? How long did you wait until applying the 2nd coat of Gelcoat? What did you do after you sanded the first coat?
 

zool

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Aug 19, 2012
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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

It looks like you're gonna lose that boot stripe with the antifoul, or at least go over it on the rear portion, which looks even worse...you only need antifoul if you leave in salt for prolonged periods of time. You may try floating it 1st and marking the water line to get a cut edge as close to the water line as possible. Post some pics when its done..Good Luck.
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

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Hi
here are some pics, sorry again with my cell phone, the gel coat that i rolled on with a foam roller, did a not bad job, i filled in all the deep scratch and cracks using a brush, i opened up the crack a little using a pointy can open then sanded again, then i wiped down the whole hull with acetone then hot water and let it dry completely, then i applied gel coat to scratches and cracks, i will let it dry until tomorrow, then again re sand the hull until all scratches and cracks are even with hull body, then wipe down with acetone and fully roll gel coat over hull, after that i will sand hull again with 200 grit paper and paint hull with bottom side antifoul paint, i was told to get the antifoul paint from the marina its the same price $40 bucks a quart, which is all i need. You can see in the pics where i applied gel coat (it looks wet), it does have a little orange peel look but not really bad, i think after i apply gel coat to whole hull and sand it down again so paint can stick to it, it will look better. i will add more pics after i gel coat hull. Also :happy: Zool i have measured from top rails where water line is, and mark it down, Thanks.... Can i paint the whole hull with bottom paint? If theres any other info you can add please do, or if i'm doing something wrong,
 

zool

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

"Can i paint the whole hull with bottom paint? "

Umm..you CAN do anything you want with YOUR boat....that said, you will get zero benefit from using antifoul above the water line, and the appearance will suck....Understand there types of antifoul (bottom paint). Ablative and Non...One wears off on its own, the other not so much...most antifoul is also formulated to activate in water, so you should generally paint it just before launch. Pettit makes a white antifoul (Vivid ) that kinda shines and has a harder shell finish, as opposed to the chalky finish you will get. But dont put it on the rest of the boat....As far as your technic, Woodonglass, and some of the other guys above are the ones to ask...Im sure ill be asking them glassing questions, when i get there lol..

Looks ok from here so far tho....in the end, you're the only one that needs pleasing..
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Hi
If I apply the anti foul paint, and it doesn't have a shine can I apply something to give it a shine like a clear coat. ??
 

zool

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Hi
If I apply the anti foul paint, and it doesn't have a shine can I apply something to give it a shine like a clear coat. ??

Then it wouldnt be antifouling paint anymore....

Do you plan on leaving your boat docked in a sllip in salt water?..or is it a trailer boat?
 

Woodonglass

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Does that Gelcoat have a wax additive in it? Gelcoat will not cure properly without either a surfacing wax or PVA. If you can sand it with out really bad clogging of the paper I suspect that it has wax. If it does then you must sand and wipe down with acetone in between coats in order for the successive coats to adhere properly. Is this boat going to be left in the water all season?
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Hi
I do a lot a fishing but not salt water. I went to the marina and asked a question like this, I want to paint my boat on the bottom, I do a lot of fishing at different lakes ( no saltwater) and I also trailer my boat. What paints do you reccomend. He told me he would reccomend an anti foul paint, so because I don't know if it's what I need, I bought a quart. He told me that this paint wears off on its own over time. So I painted it on. And notice it doesn't have a shine but I'm happy over all. I have a quart of top side paint ( petit easy epoxy ) I will paint the part above the water line area. But reading in other post i read a lot of post with people choosing to paint anti foul and not choosing anti foul paint. ( I think I didn't need antifoul paint).but what's done is done. Boat still looks good to me. Lol ...
(Woodonglass) I don't know if gelcoat had wax but it cured very hard and sanding was not clogging paper at all. Maybe it had wax added to it.?
 

zool

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

No, you didnt need antifoulant paint....but its temporary..so no harm, no foul.

EZ poxy will work fine above and below water line, so you can repaint the bottom when it wears off.

So in the end, all you did was repair the stress cracks with gel instead of a fairing compound. Sounds ok.



But now you owe us pics...
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

I got another question. I painted anti foul paint about 4 inches higher then the waterline, can I paint on top of the anti foul paint if I wet sand it, then apply petit easy epoxy top side paint. Or will it peel off or not stick due to anti foul paint. ..???
 

Yacht Dr.

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

It will fail .. sorry .. You dont paint over AF paint.

YD.
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Ok thanks for the info. I will tape around the area of anti foul paint that I want to remove and try to strip it off with smart strip? Then wipe down and sand area again and apply the top side paint. I will post some pics up when I strip off the anti foul paint.
 

zool

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

Keep in mind, when you add the motor/gas and gear you leave on the boat, it will sit lower in the water....
 

Woodonglass

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

If you did not sand between the coats of gelcoat and wash down with acetone the gelcoat will not adhere properly. YD is correct you do NOT paint over AF paint except with More AF paint.
 

Snouch

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Re: How do I gel coat my hull?

I did sand between coats. I stripped off 4 inches of AF paint. And clean surface area with acetone. Now I will sand area again and wipe down. Wipe acetone plus use the garden hose to rinse off area clean. Then I will apply the easy epoxy top side paint. I will put a couple of coats.. then hopefully I'm done with the outside hull. And then maybe paint the inside floor. Well see. I will post some pics when the side is done.
 
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