Gel coat down to flake

[Rico370v]

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Just finished sanding, buffing and polishing probably the worst part on the boat. That color is gone! It'll still be worth it to continue and do the rest of the boat, but what are my options for restoring the color flake? Would I need to sand down everything again before spraying flake and clear? I'm thinking I'll get it nice and polished now, let it wear down a bit and spray it in the fall.

[rgsauger]

Looks a thousand times better than when you started! Bravo!

If the glitter feels rough to you, then experiment a little more with a course cut. I had to get to 400 on mine. You got nothing to lose. Try SOAPY 400 and see how it feels before and after..then 600...etc.

[Rico370v]

Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I'm going to strip clear coat, sand and buff for now. I'll save the gouge repair and spraying new flake for the fall/winter. Which brings me to the next questions: Does anyone know who can make the Ranger decals and match my flake???? I just called Ranger and they don't make the decals nor my flake anymore.

[McQuaig]

pm sent

[Rico370v]

pm replied!

[rgsauger]

Where da pics, man???

[Rico370v]

None yet lol. I'll take some tomorrow. It's been slow going. Got most of the clear off now -- the port side was really stuck on there! I'm going to work on sanding and polishing the gunnels first since I have some new LED lights to install then I'll get the rest of the top cap. There are still some places with gel like around the back blige vents on the back and in between floor and gunnels. I'm going to leave that for now. When I re-spray gel coat after this season I'll worry about sanding it away and properly removing items, like the trolling motor, rails, etc.

[Rico370v]

I made more progress removing clear coat and doing some sanding/buffing/polishing. In these two pictures you can really see the difference. Notice how dull the gelcoat is the before picture and in the after you can actually see the reflection of a tree!

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In this area all I did was hand wet sand with 600 grit then 1000. Went to buffing/polishing/wax after that to see the results. Tomorrow I'm going to continue, but I'll start with 1000 grit on my pneumatic sander. I tested it on an area tonight and it's faster and easier, but you do have to constantly feel to make sure you don't go too far. Also, since I will be respraying gelcoat within a year anyways I'm not too concerned. But that's a project for another thread...

Removing the clear coat has been a major PITA! My scraper blade did all it could to removing the large flat areas, but some of the tighter interior corners near the seat, and especially the splash well have proved tough. I may try sanding some of these areas out or try my pen Xacto knife. I tried to grabe the small areas flaked up with needle nose pliers and even tweezers to try and peel off, but it just snaps. I was able to remove the port and starboard handrails in order to sand/work that area easier, but the cowell vents on the stern, light sockets, fuel fillers etc. are too tough to easily remove right now. Either the 3M 5200 is too tough or the screws heads have been rounded out, etc...just not worth it right now. When I go to respray gel coat I will properly remove.

For the bow, however, I want to lay something non-skid. I almost fell just getting in and out of the boat after waxing my gunnels! I step on the bow from my truck all the time and can't be slipping. Any recommendations on what to cut and install there? Sea Deck? Carpet? Rhino liner?

[rgsauger]

Yayyyyy! Reflection! It's a slow pita but you're making huge progress. Keep up the Good work!

[sanannbassman]

I have the same hull. The friend i bought it from did the same thing. He had it clear coated. it was beautiful for many years but is starting to chip now. I am in the process of slowly picking off the clear coat so i can sand. It will be one heck of a job. but i love the boat. good luck and keep us posted.

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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[seance]

I'd read before that there is a product that will remove the auto clear coat and not harm the gelcoat. Sorry, I don't know the name of it. Check with some automotive paint stores.