Gel coat down to flake

[Rico370v]

My old Ranger is a hell of a fishing boat and reliably still gets me to my favorite spots at almost 70mph. Everything on it works...but it's ugly!

Everything on it work. I'm pretty much out of things to repair/fix so I guess I have time to maybe making it shine a bit. As you can see from the photos the gel coat is still in decent shape in some spots, but is down to the flake in others. What would be the best way to acheive some sort of fix to this without going the professional route of completely removing every component? Can I brush on some gel coat where the flake is exposed and try and blend it into the areas that just need to be sanded and buffed? I also notice the flake that's exposed is silver while the good parts are still brown. Is the color actually in the gelcoat itself?

Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome. I'm pretty good with DIY as a mechanic and fixing physical things. Making them pretty? Not so much!

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[rgsauger]

Looks like somebody sprayed it with clear coat at some time. My Shadow was like that. I scraped all the clear off with razor blade. Pita! Then did some 400, 600, 1200, , 2000 wet sand. Then buffed and use pro tech restore. It honestly loOKs almost new.

Take a 1 to 2 foot area and just experiment. Green scotch Brite pads are about 600 grit. Then 1200. Then buff. You might be surprised. It's a lot of work but mine was worth it. Good luck

[Rico370v]

Thanks for the feedback! All lakes in California are currently closed so I have a lot of time on my hands. Couple questions.

1. For the area that is peeling or might have clear coat on gel coat I'm assuming to sand so there's no more peeling, and then buff/polish/wax as normal, correct?

2. For the spots where there's nothing left and it's down to the flake do I just start paint brushing on new clear coat? Do I have to prep the flake somehow? I'm scared of taking sandpaper to flake...

[crank68]

If you brush the gel directly to the flake it prolly won’t stick and you’ll have a mess. Correct way it to grind the flake away and respray everything.

[rgsauger]

I'll try to post some pics of mine. Mine felt like it was down to the flake in some spots but was actually just oxidized on it. Get a small bucket of water with some Dawn in it. You want it decently soapy. Then take some 600, or I prefer the green scotchbrite pads, and just start working an area. Keep it wet, squirt bottle helps tons. You are trying to get it smooth, not shiny. If 600 doesn't work, try 400. The goal is smooth because smooth can be buffed to a shine.

[rgsauger]

Don't worry about the clear yet. Gotta get clean and smooth first

[rgsauger]

I just looked at your pics on my big monitor - same chit as mine. So you gotta get that clear mess off. I did most of mine with a razor blade - used super glue and glued a few of them to wooden paint stir sticks to give me a handle and be able to hold the angel shallow. Scuffed up the blade with a file, super glue, clamped to stick for 15 minutes. Not a one came loose. So 400 grit and soapy water will be your friend.
Then 600, 1200, 2000. I REALLY liked the green scotchbrite pads (600 grit). Worked great. Even though you can feel your glitter, there's probably more there than you think.

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After wet sanding but before buffing
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After buffing. Had not buffed all wax off but close
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[Scott S.]

lenty of scammers out there slapping on cheap auto clear to make a boat shine, then the junk comes off. Clear gel coat is best and thinned with styrene. Styrene is not good for the lungs, and gel/resin have it, where a good mask when spraying.

[crank68]

rgsauger...what are you showing in the next to the last pic?

[rgsauger]

Trying to show that she cleaned up and shined up real nice after wet sanding, even though started rough

[crank68]

10-4..thanks. Where you able to get the sand scratches out that are in that pic?

[rgsauger]

That's a bit of an optical illusion. I had wiped it down with Pro Tech restorer which leaves a petroleum based film on the surface until you buff it/wash it off. I have a few scratches here and there but in that pic, it's from wiping and leaving behind the "smeared" film.

[Rico370v]

rgsauger, wow, yeah, your's does look like mine and came out real nice! If I can get this boat to look half as good as yours I'll be more than happy!

Rain today in California and still need to attach my fixed boards to my trailer. After that I'll get some wet sand paper, music, a couple beers and have at it under the sun the rest of the week. I have some blade holders that should get me to the right angle to strip this horrible clear coat off (can't imagine anyone could be so stupid!) If not, I got plenty of spare wood plastic and you name it to make something, but thanks for the tip!

[rgsauger]

The key is to lay the blade down pretty flat and it will kinda tell you what it wants. I probably stripped about 3/8 to 1/2 " strips for the most part. Never could seem to get it to come up in big strips. The long wooden paint stirs "felt" the best to me. On the sides, where it's radiused (silver), I went UP or DOWN with the razor blade, NOT sideways! Otherwise it gouges it. Not going to admit how I learned that detail... Just take a 1-2' area and play a little and see what she does. 400 and then 600. You should feel it totally smooth out for you. Keep it wet and soapy. If it starts coming around, then you'll get motivation for the whole thing. Keep us posted!!!!!!!

[crank68]

Be very careful with the 400....

[rgsauger]

Be very careful with the 400....

I was reluctant to reach for the 400 but the 600 wasnt touching it. The green scotchbrite pads were great because they wouldn't fill up after using the 400. I only used 400 on the metal flake part because that's what had the most deterioration in my case

[Rico370v]

Welp, there is A LOT of clear coat that needs to be scraped off. As you can see from the pictures removing the clear coat definitely takes away some of the shine where it was still sticking well, but the gel coast has oxidized just as it would have without it underneath it in most places. Just finished razoring off about a one foot section that was decently bad, in my opinion. The top has lost most of its brown, but there is still some above the rub rail. I'm off to the store now to get more sand paper and start smoothing it out. What do you recommend as far as products go to buff/shine/polish/wax that I can get at my local O'Rielly? Again, I'm a pretty good mechanic, but paint/gel coat stuff is all new to me. I make it work; usually let others make it pretty, haha. I'll need to buy a few buffing pads and stuff later for my angle grinder.

Figured I'd try going this route first. I'm hoping it will work for some of the spots where the oxidation under the clear isn't so bad and it's still got some color, but I'm slowly resigning myself to having to learn how to spray flake and gel coat during this quarantine time. Good thing I already have a good respirator.

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[Rico370v]

Sorry the pictures are sideways...

[rgsauger]

Same chit as mine! So scrape off a foot or two, get a little area to work. Soapy water, 400, 600, 1200, 1500? Take your time but you will feel it start to go smooth on you. I used Maguiars clear coat safe rubbing compound - white squirt stuff. Keep it wet, too. A spray bottle of water is your friend. Then any ol' wax will work.

I also used Protech restore/nu paint. The glitter loves this stuff. Soaks it up in a good way. Check your boat shop or online. Oreilleys won't have it.

Keep the pics coming! The fun has only just begun! lol

[Rico370v]

Well, I finished my test section and am very amazed at what results I was able to accomplish in just one hour!

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The sun was setting behind a tree off the starboard bow (which is the area I'm testing) so the lighting was a little weird -- great for the side, but not the top, so I used a sun visor reflector to try and illuminate.

If you look carefully on the top section you can still see traces of "spots" that wee more visible in the before pictures on my previous post.
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Since this was just a test I did a really fast, lazy job. Maybe 10 minutes total sanding 600 grit, then 1000 then 2000. Just a few minutes rubbing compound, few minutes polishing, then waxing. How can I make this look even better?? Sand more? Coarser grit? How do I know I've sanded enough? Am I spending enough time with the buffing compound?

Here are the products I used as the selection was very thin at O'Rielly, but I'm already pretty pleased with the results considering this was no new spraying of flake or gelcoat.
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This starboard stern area will be the next test section to see how it does where it feels very rough and the flake has lost its color:
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Why the measuring tape, you ask? Cuz some idiot applied the decals ON TOP of the clear coat! They're coming off as I scrape the clear coat off. I'll give ranger a buzz later and see if I can get some more from them later. Photographing now so I know how to replace them later.

Lastly, I got gouges:

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Some are bigger, some are smaller. I know the right way would be to sand a wide area down, base clear coat spray, then spray flake, then spray finishing clear coat, but when I come to the point in time that I want to do all of that I'll invest in a good sprayer and do it all myself, including building some sort of tent or shake in which to spray.

Can I just rough it up a bit, fill with some fiberglass resin (without the fiberglass mat) and then continue like before? I'm not really worried about color, just protection. Is there a resin I can add color to try and match? Will the resin get super cloudy when I sand down the rest of the gelcoat and just look awful? Suggestions welcome!