Re: boat finish
Gel coat is the most durable and long lasting route to go, but it all depends on how you use the boat. If it stays on the trailer, then a good paint meant for marine purposes can give years of excelent results. If the boat stays in the water, then you have to use different paint below the waterline than above, and in the end gelcoat is more ideal for that purpose. No matter what you do, the preperation is the key, and is similar whether you use gelcoat or paint. Gelcoat is not meant to be applied over other colors as a clear like automotive clearcoats. Gelcoat is tinted to the color you want and applied after the boat has been thoroughly sanded, primed, sanded, and sanded. It takes a lot of labor intensive work to get a good result but you end up with the most durable finish. The paints (and the gel-coat) can be sprayed, rolled, or brushed on, and the paint needs little if any work after aplied. Gecoat requires wetsanding to get a smooth shiny finish. It is not out of the realm of a do-it-yourselfer to refinish a boat, but it requires a lot of research and hard work, but it is much less expensive than taking it to a pro. Keltoncrew re-geled his small Boston Whaler with good results, he is the one to get the specifics on what he did, or do a search to find his project thread. BTW, how big is the boat in question?
<br /><br />c/6<br />Hooty