How hard is it to Re-Gelcoat

[Fishnut]

Boss ha a Whaler he plans to make a project out of. Anyone have experience with gel-coating a boat, it's been sitting for awhile and the hull is pretty ugly right now. So he's thinking of redoing it and trying to decide to do it himself or higher it out.

First off we need to see if the Transom is good though.

FN

[capt4fish]

Before you reshoot the gelcoat, wet sand it with 600 grit wet/dry and buff with a medium compound. Unless the original gelcoat is gouged, severly damaged, ect. this will probably take care of the chalky, faded look. If the boat is beyond this remedy, I would hire it out unless you have a lot of experience with repairing gelcoat.

[Argo]

If it is truely messed up like mine is, I would just sand it down, repair any dings and awlgrip it. From what I have read and seen on many sights and boats doing my research I have found that awlgrip has a much prettier finish than gelcoat or gelkote. There are many that do the roll technique and have a better finish than a showroom boat. JM2C

[Capt Kat]

I have a old Whaler that I was thinking about doing the same thing. Have any idea of costs??? Is there anyone in N. Houston/Conroe that does this kind of work??

[Argo]

I am doing my own paint job with awlgrip. The supplies including primer will cost in the $700 range and the labor of sanding is the key in it all. I am sure it would be in the 3-4k range to get the work done by a semi professional.

[SteveB]

A couple of years ago, my Mako's gel coat look terrible. I sanded the entire hull with 400 grit sandpaper, fixed all of the dings in the hull and roll on two coats of polyurethane marine paint. Use a fine nap roller and it will look good as new. Whenever I get a scratch or chip, it is easy to touch up. You can get everything you need for the project from West Marine.

I would stay away from reapplying gel coat since it has to be professionally done and can be very expensive.

Steve

[expressfish]

Wet Sand Hull W/ 1000-1500 Grit , Polish W/ Compond And Wax. The Sanding Will Take Of He Oxidation And Should Bring It Back To Life. We Have Done Many Resorations Here At Our Dealership And It Always Does The Trick. As Far As Re-gelcoating Goes....thats Alot Of Labor, Gelcoat When Sprayed Doesnt Come Out Of The Gun "smooth" Like Paint, So There Are Many Levels Of Sanding Before It Can Finally Be Finished Out. Awgrip Is Nice But Scratches Are Very Noticable When Colors Are Used And It Looks Like Bottom Paint W/ A Shine....depends On Whqt Kind Of Finish Your Looking For......

[Argo]

Expressfish, what shop do you work at in SA?

[expressfish]

Sail And Ski Center, We Sell Whaler. Action Craft, Sea Ray , Nautique And Crest Pontoon Boats.......

[Argo]

What do you do at sail & Ski. I have looked at the whalers over there and love those boats. Very pricey though. A little out of my budget.

[Redfish Rick]

I just finished up the gelcoat on my mako 20' that I have been building from scratch over the past 6 months.

Gel coat will last longer and perform better, if the boat is trailered, than ANY paint.

Gel coat is relatively cheap ($30 a gallon) and requires less prep because you only have to sand the base to 60 grit (gelcoat is applied thicker, 20-25mil., so minor sanding marks will not show through like paint)

Gel coat will set-up in a few hours and be ready to go in the water in 24 hours.

I used a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) Turbine spray gun (you can rent one for cheap) with a 1 quart capacity to shoot my entire boat inside and outside. With the proper MEKP mix you get about 20 minutes of working time per quart batch. For all the areas except the non skid deck, I mixed 30% duratec high gloss gelcoat additive ($70 a gallon) to reduce orange peel and eliminate any wetsanding afterwards. The duratec worked so well, most areas look like a brand new boat pulled out of the mold. It took a total of 4 gallons of gelcaot to cover the entire surface of the boat (including bilge, console, and storage areas).

Gelcoat is extremely UV resistant, and has better abrasion resistance than any paint out there. I used Intergrip coarse compound sprinkled between coats to create a non-skid deck in certain areas.

The whole reason I went with gelcoat was that I didnt want to have to repaint the boat for at least 10 years. Also I liked the fact that I could pigment the gelcoat to any color I desired.

Almost all production bay boats are gelcoated (while in the mold), so why not do the job right and go back with what was originally on the boat.

I have attached a few pictures of the end result.

PM me if you need any advice on gelcoat.

[Redfish Rick]

Fishnut, you might want to have a look at the work I have done on my mako project. I basically built the boat from just an old mako shell McBride sold me.

I have a picture gallery at http://www.nightstalkerguideservice.com/mako/

Most of the recent pictures are not in the gallery, but it will give you a good idea of what is involved.

The boat is scheduled for its maiden voyage on Friday January 28th.
It is currently at Portland Marine getting rigged out with a 2005 Evinrude 135 direct injection outboard (with a 7 year warranty :D).

PM me if you have any questions or want to call me on the phone.

[WHITE CAP]

Great Job RR, your dedication and persistence will reward you for many years!

Good Luck and can't wait to go "stickin" with Red this year....WC

[expressfish]

I work for the parts dept now but was the service advisor here for three years until l I got fet up w/ the service mangers attitude. Your right, the whalers are high dollar..but retain their re-sell value very well. I must admit that they are very dry boats. We have a 24 outrage demo w/ a 250 verado that we are able to run or take fishing pretty much when we like, I have tried to purposely to get wet in that boat w/ only a spinkle or mist here and there...much drier that my aquasport, although I dont complain. Dont you own an aquasport also ?? If I remember you had a yamaha on it right ?? I am considering an 1997 250 ox66, any thoughts on this beast ???

[Argo]

I had a 97 ox66 and it was a beast on the gas. got like .7mpg or something sick like that. 120 gallon tank with a 50 mile range kinda stunk. I am going to four strokes eventually. Yeah it is an aquasport too and it is pretty wet on a choppy cross winded day but its all mine. I actually like getting some spray on hot days.

[expressfish]

OH BOY, that bad on gas huh...was yours a 250 also ??? I kinda thought w/ that kind of power at 1/2 throttle it would be alright being that a normal day running offshore rarely sees 3500 rpms. I am also looking at a 1997 225 ocean runner but that engine would be coming from florida, kinda scarey making a purchase on pics and telephone calls. Was your yami overall a good motor besides fuel issues??

[Argo]

Yeah it was a good motor and a 250 until the oil pump went out and blew the motor. I will never have a 2 stroke again after that. Fortunately it happened at the end of an offshore day while pulling back into the marina at port A. I liked while it ran, it had great power and pushed the boat to plan almost instantly. I ran about 3/4 throttle when cruising. Probably in the 45-4700rpm range. optimal rpm range is 5-5500 according to yamaha.