Gelcoating gelcoat?

[drewpster]

I am going to be starting a runabout project this winter. I am blessed to have a good shop, and my fifteen foot tri-hull needs some refinishing. I was thinking of re-gelcoating the bottom and painting the topsides. I think painting the bottom and top would be easier but I am concerned about hurting the paint trailering the boat. I have done small gelcoat repairs. One involved patching beaching damage at the keel. The gelcoat never matched color so I was hoping to simply re-gelcoat the bottom half of the hull. Is it ok to simply recoat gelcoat? I have also been looking at some gelcoat sprayers which use catalyzed gelcoat in a throw away cup. Anybody used one on a larger job? I don't think the small preval sprayers are the way to go here. Any suggestions?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Gelcoating gelcoat?

prep, prep,prep and do a lot of reading.

 

[Boat Joe]

Re: Gelcoating gelcoat?

Paint the bottom. Re-gel coating the bottom would be a real chore and you are going to have a fun time wet sanding and buffing out that area. Plus the color of the paint and the color of the gel may match for the first year but after that they will fade at different rates messing up your blend on the hull side or leaveing a clear line where the gel meets the paint. If you use Imron you should be able to go back and touch up the paint if needed but you may be surprised at how well it holds up on the bottom. Carpet your bunks on the trailer and use non marking rollers, even add a keel guard to the bottom if your worried about scratching the paint when beaching. Enjoy the project. Will look forward to seeing the results.