76 Sleekcraft gelcoat restoration

[jaybird82]

Hey folks,
I'm working on restoring my 1976 Sleekcraft speed boat. I'm having a hard time finding proper procedures and working methods to restore the blue metal flake on boats. From what I've seen peoples boats are in better shape than mine to begin with so may not apply to mine. As you can see in the photos, most of the clearcoat has fallen off or removed. It also looks as though someone sanded too much on one spot of the boat. Not sure though. Most of the blue looks good when wet. The white gelcoat is soft to the touch and might just need compounding. The flake is rough like sandpaper to the touch. My questions are
1. What to use to remove the rest of the clearcoat
2. Should I buff and sand the blue flake to maybe shine it up or smooth it? 2 a. What grits for this?
3. Should I just buy blue flake and clear gel coat and spray it on and polish? Never done this before.
4. What should I use for a clearcoat?

 

[sphelps]

Might try asking this over in the restoration section .. Maybe some of the gell coat guys @Scott Danforth can get you headed in the right direction .
I hope you get it figured out she deserves to be restored ! These old boats are so cool !!

 

[jaybird82]

Might try asking this over in the restoration section .. Maybe some of the gell coat guys @Scott Danforth can get you headed in the right direction .
I hope you get it figured out she deserves to be restored ! These old boats are so cool !!

Thanks for the tip! I'll post there.

 

[jaybird82]

Hey folks,
I'm working on restoring my 1976 Sleekcraft speed boat. I'm having a hard time finding proper procedures and working methods to restore the blue metal flake on boats. From what I've seen peoples boats are in better shape than mine to begin with so may not apply to mine. As you can see in the photos, most of the clearcoat has fallen off or removed. It also looks as though someone sanded too much on one spot of the boat. Not sure though. There looks to be some silvering also. Most of the blue looks good when wet. The white gelcoat is soft to the touch and might just need compounding. The flake is rough like sandpaper to the touch. My questions are
1. What to use to remove the rest of the clearcoat
2. Should I buff and sand the blue flake to maybe shine it up or smooth it?
2 a. What grits for this?
3. Should I just buy blue flake and clear gel coat and spray it on and polish? Never done this before.
4. What should I use for a clearcoat?
Any recommendations on brands you guys have worked with and liked would be helpful too.

 

[jbcurt00]

Dont start multiple topics about the same subject. Ask a Mod to move a topic if you think it would be better served in a different sub-forum.

 

[jaybird82]

Dont start multiple topics about the same subject. Ask a Mod to move a topic if you think it would be better served in a different sub-forum.

Sorry I didn't do that on purpose I thought I had created the new post under the restoration group.

 

[jbcurt00]

....I had created the new post under the restoration group.

You did, I should have said, even in different forums, doesn't matter, a dup is a duplicate, and to be avoided.