Had the transsom repaired on my 1980 230V Ranger. My Repair guy did a great job on the repair . Buttttt,,,,,
Re-sprayed top of transom, splashwell and top of boat with red poly flake which I got from Ranger. Came out very rough and wavey. He followed the instructions Ranger sent with the poly flake and said it sprayed out in goobs and gobbs and drove him crazy.
What now????
ive asked that question myself, maco said to call my local marina and they wanted a arm and a leg and my first born , ive decided that if i cant find a freind of a freind and so on that i'll have to pay to play. Damn that sparkley shiney stuff is expensive aint it!!!!!!
The air pressure wasn't set right when he tried to srpay it. Usually on some mid-clears with the flakes mixed in, you HAVE to turn the pressure down to get it to lay down nice. If the pressure is up too high, some of the flakes will actually stand up on end (if you can think of the flakes as just being little thin flat disks). If that guy that fixed you transom, is the one that sprayed it, I'd take it back to him, and see if he'll re-spray it. The problem is now, the boat will have to be completely wet sanded down to get the smooth-as-a-baby's-butt finish, then re-spray the mid-clear with flakes, then several coats of top clear. You cannot wet sand any mid-clear with the flakes in it, it will take the color off the flakes and make them chrome or silver looking. Good luck!
[I]20XD Bullet-Mercury Promax[I]
I've been doing flake for years,blending spot repairs and multiple stripes being the most difficult,but can be done to meet most expectations.If it is decided that an overall refinish is necessary to meet your expectations that is alot of surface area to rework(topside aprox 40-50 hours labor+materials).Most shops will actually have more time into the job than that.Gelcoat does not spray or flow out like paint and adding flake increases the amount of texture.It requires several coats of clear over flake to be sanded down to final finish without sanding into new flake(silvering).You may be able to block sand (reclear if necessary) to salvage work already performed.If it is decided,to reflake and clear, I recomend stipping back to original surface.You dont want too much build-up.Flaked boats are already prone to cracking when flexed. Hope this helps!
The ever going issue of metal flake. AMS has it correct. Sometimes even the best glass man has issues with flake. Static Electricity, air pressure, humidity, thickness of the clear gelcote, are all issues when spraying flake. It is the most difficult of all types of repair, and very labor intensive.
If you have to respray, sand off the last application of it. Because if you don't, when you spray back over it, not only will it be too thick and prone to cracking, but it will have a 3D hologram effect. It will not look right at all.
If you can live with it, I've even seen guys just spray their splash wells with black gelcoat and finish it out that way. White works too if you have a lot of white in your boat.
if i was spraying the entire boat this is about the easiest gun you can buy you can mix your flake,catalyst and clear all together and hang it on it...they work really good...and are very user friendly.Flake sprays should be left to a pro...they are very tough to do correct..
http://www.shopmaninc.com/equipment.html
Thanks guys for your input. I think I'm going to leave well enough alone. Sounds like it would be easier to write a check for a new boat some day. OUCH $$$
The finish is a little ruff in spots, but better than it was for a 26 year old boat.
The bass will never know the difference. The old boat can still get me from point A to point B and keep my feet dry while fishing. Guess that's all that matters...
Happy Holidays!!
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