Gel coat is shot/ gone, in the places where there is still some gel, it's peeling. It has sat outside, uncovered, the past 15 + years.
What are the options?
Sand off remaining gel, then what?
Is it possible to paint over the metal flake?
Does the flake need sanded off before painting?
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I'm a virgin with this, be gentle. Gonna redo the boat, it'll be my first glass boat redo.
If its peeling you'll want to sand it off before you do anything.
Sand it off and gel it. Gel is easier to shoot IMO. Solid color is really easy.
With paint you have to prime then finish with 600 before you seal it then paint it.
With gel you can get away with 180 grit and pound on the gel. You can take your time until you cap it with PVA.
Automotive you have a small window. You have to keep on going until it's done. You wont even get a break. By the time you get done with the first coat you'll need to start the second coat. The last boat I painted was some work!
Thank you! Will the gel bring the sparkle of the flake back?
I agree with above......Yes it will shine as long as when you sand you don’t hit the flake and change the color. It’ll still shine though. If the gel has deteriorated to the point the flake has changed color, that will be the finial color of your flake unless you spray the flake too.
BULLET 20 XRD/250 Merc Sport XS
www.ncboatguy.com
What do you mean by "spray the flake too" ?
Spray new flake?
I believe the color of the flake has changed, it's deteriorated that much.
I'm now considering a different color. How you would you proceed ?
Before going through all your hard work and efforts, I would sample a 2x2 section with wet sanding and using the protec products to restore. Its gonna require lots of time and effort based on the pics, but it's a labor of love!
1997 Charger 186 TF
1997 Yamaha ProV 175
Originally Posted by OkieLure
Before going through all your hard work and efforts, I would sample a 2x2 section with wet sanding and using the protec products to restore. Its gonna require lots of time and effort based on the pics, but it's a labor of love!
If the gel is peeling like he said there's no bringing it back.
Sounds like he is beyond Protech help, peeling may be a badly applied clear done in the past. Flake has color on one side , so if you sand to deep you knock the color off. Sand it dry with 320 clean , tape , then spray a solid gel color on it. Polish and go fishing.
Thank you too all.
I shoot Duratec VE Primer thinned with Duratec reducer over bad flake after sanding before re-gelcoating. The primer will make sure your gelcoat job is on a very solid foundation. It's tenacity to adhesion is better than any other product I have tried while doing gelcoat repairs. It fills like a dream. Easy to sand too. A bit pricey, but worth every penny to guarantee a good substrate to gelcoat over.
Sand the remaining gel off (sand smooth over the exposed flake), primer, paint and gel?
Is that correct?
I only sand and lifting gelcoat off to a feather edge. If it won't feather edge you have not sanded back to a good stopping point. The VE Primer will bury the old stuff providing a new substrate to gelcoat over. Download the tech bulletin from Duratec's website on how to use the primer.
Thank you.
You might want to just clean what you have there and take it fishing for a bit before committing to a whole lot of work. Make sure the motor runs good, the transom and floor are solid, and the boat fishes the way you like. Once you know it's a solid platform with no rotten wood in it you can feel better about committing the time and effort to make it look nicer.
1994 Stratos 201 Pro XL 2004 Mercury 200 EFI
Bassnailer - taking it fishing first is out. Transom and stringers are shot.
I have removed the top cap. Working on removing the waterlogged foam. Have fiberglass materials en-route. Will be getting some marine grade plywood soon.
I'm also wanting to add onto the front deck, and add storage up front.
Butt first, I recently noticed our riding mower leaking fluid from one side of the axle. Have to fix that first. Luckily there are two small engine shops in town. Heading there in the morning to get parts. It's always something!!
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