applying gelcoat

[proshine43]

Hello again. I bought this boat going on 3 weeks now. The bottom (keel) of this open bow ski boat looks like they wore out the gel coat from bow to stern. You can almost see fiberglass.after sanding with appropriate sand paper, can I Paint gelcoat on with a roller and sand smooth? Its a '90 19' galaxie v hull open bow still on trailer. Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: applying gelcoat

Hello Proshine..

Yes you can apply Gel if proper prep is done.. Though I dont recommend a "roller".

Brush it if you cant spray it..

Can we get some pics please

YD.

 

[proshine43]

Re: applying gelcoat

Thanks for your reply, I plan on sanding down the hull/keel of the boat with various grains up to 220, instead of doing it in patches I was going to tape off the whole section of it and regelcoat about 5" from bottom. Unfortunatly I can't get it off trailer so I can't get under it to spray it. Thoughts?

 

[oops!]

Re: applying gelcoat

the roller will give very huge orange peel.

that is alot of sanding.....you might try roll and tip....but you will have to work mighty fast unless you do it in small sections.

 

[sasto]

Re: applying gelcoat

What about a filler for the gelcoat and using a plastic spreader to get the thickness he needs?........or is this old school?

 

[oops!]

Re: applying gelcoat

it would be very difficult to get even thickness with a spreader....remember...gellcoat must be applyed at approx 35 thou....to thick or too thin and it will crack

 

[proshine43]

Re: applying gelcoat

Hey oops, how could i tell if its to thin or to thick. Im glad you said this cause i was planning on thick. Thanks again for all your knowledge and expertise. Without i'd be lost

 

[Stephen Haley]

Re: applying gelcoat

the roller will give very huge orange peel.

that is alot of sanding.....you might try roll and tip....but you will have to work mighty fast unless you do it in small sections.

Well I have applied gelcoat on my RV's and boats with a roller and came back with a others (2 people) and brush stroke out the gelcoat.

Did a 26 footer (boat) with 3 coats from the water line up in 5 hours including drinking beer and BBQ-ing some brawts and drying time. 45 minutes and one coat was on.

Looks like it was sprayed on.

Stephen

 

[proshine43]

Re: applying gelcoat

How much of the old gelcoat do i sand off? Thanks

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: applying gel coat

Re: applying gel coat

The best way to determine you gel coat thickness is with a gage such as the one below.

Bob

 

[proshine43]

Re: applying gelcoat

Would I be better off if I sanded the hull down and use a bottom paint on it and repain the entire hull. I don't think I will be able to match the gelcoat that's on there.

Thanks

 

[oops!]

Re: applying gelcoat

How much of the old gelcoat do i sand off? Thanks

you will need to remove the gellcoat to get at the fiberglass that i imagine is damaged.....so....out from the repair area.....just feather the gellcoat back to give you a soft edge....you can do this with sandpaper

The best way to determine you gel coat thickness is with a gage .

thanks bob

Would I be better off if I sanded the hull down and use a bottom paint on it and repain the entire hull. I don't think I will be able to match the gelcoat that's on there.

Thanks

in my opinion....no.

one more beaching.....and your bottom paint is gone and you are back to raw glass.

i personally love gellcoat....the stuff is as tough as nails....shines like a mirror....and lasts for over 40 years....in my opinion.....what else could anyone want from a product?

one thing you can do that will save you time and effort,
do a fiberglass repair on the keel, slap some gellcoat over that.........and add a keel guard over the area. (depending on how far the beaching damage goes down the hull)

another product is called marinetex.....it is an epoxy based putty......but it depends on the size of the damaged area.

to do the repair properly.....it really isnt that hard or time consuming, its just laying on your back sanding over head that will be a pain.

you can use a prevale sprayer to do that job. i have used them before on keels....even did my bayliner with one (three actually) it came out great.

dont worry about a perfect color match.....its on the keel....and its your boat.....a hair lighter or darker and no one will know.
chances are your keel is white......even tho there are a gazillion shades of white.....a hair off and you cant tell.