how can you tell if your gel coat is beyond sanding..and you just need to spray new gel...mine looks pretty thin
how can you tell if your gel coat is beyond sanding..and you just need to spray new gel...mine looks pretty thin
If you have a metalflake color and you can feel the flakes then it is too far gone for sanding.
The flakes will feel rough, like sandpapaer.
If it is a solid color with no flake, you can still do the wet sanding to try and bring it back.
Respray of gel/clearcoat can get expensive...done by a Professional shop on a 19 foot boat, you might be looking at up to $ 3000.00 for top notch work.
well it does feel kinda rough...but I didnt know if that was just from oxidation or what
You could try sanding a small are that is not so noticable and see how it turns out.
Oxidation generally won't feel rough like 100 grit sandpaper, mostly dull/cloudy looking .
But if the flakes are starting to show thru the gel there is not much you can do sanding/compounding wise.
kinda what I was afraid of...but there 's a good winter project
The gel coat on my '84 Skeeter is so bad that I can use a single edge razor blade and stip/chip it off in large pieces. It is a metal flake boat with three colors of metal flake. After I have removed the old gel coat, what is the best way to re-gel coat/clear coat it? Do I wet sand the metal flake? I do not want to have to re-metal flake the boat. What is the best clear coat product to use?
Speaking from VERY recent experience---Just because the surface "feels rough", doesn't mean its too far gone. My old '87 Starcraft felt really rough and I always assumed it was the actual flakes coming through. After reading all the posts about wet sanding on this site, I decided to give it a try. I'm not totally done yet, but the top cap is responding very well. NOT NEW, but far nicer that it was. Actually smooth and shiny. You can see your reflection!! It was just yellowish and rough. Now if I can just get the hull to shine up.
Give it a try and you might be pleasantly surprised!!
wipe with alcohol on a rag, before alcohol dries, surface should be clear looking until alcohol dries then haze will come back.if so polishing is all that is neccessary.no sanding.if surface is rough to the touch and snags the rag when wiping, you need to reclear the surface.i do paint repair on cars and boats, automotive clears do great on boats.- service one paint repair- jm35475@bellsouth.net-2053307836
Is there any good clear coats that you can apply yourself at a low price? Maybe something out of a spray can?
Trevor
There is really no cheap way to reclear coat a boat. There are no quick fixes when it comes to restoring gelcoat.
Sanding, rubbing compound, glazing, polishing is a lot of work to restore a boat with a bad finish. It does work, just a lot of work.
A Good Professional reclear with clear Gel, not automotive clearcoat , will run in the $ 2500.00 range. Trying to do it yourself ...unless you have the equipment to spray gel and a booth..not gonna work . any " clear " that you spray on from a can , etc. will not last.
Polishing works on gel that is not too far gone, but if the boat has set outside in the sun for years, then there is no ( quick cure ) polish that is going to fix it.
no, 2 part urethane clear is the only way to go.
Modified by jm35475 at 5:57 PM 6/7/2007
Only bad thing about automotive clear on a boat is that in 2-3 years it starts to flake and peel off, it will not bond with the gel-cote on bass boats. I have seen alot of boats recently that were sprayed with clear a few years ago, and now they are peeling really bad, my little brothers Legend is that way right now. He is in the process of stripping the clear off, and buffing out the original gel, and its looking really good!
sounds like they used cheap s#@* , hi quality clears like dupont and ppg dont flake off, they just wear thin over like 10 to 20 years depending on sun exposure and care.
i would not use any automotive clears on gelcoat you will be peeling it off later or someone else will be.....i have been doing this stuff 15 years and yet see a automotive clear stay bonded to gelcoat...when you aprsy gel on gel it actually makes a chemical bond and burns itself into the layers automotive although looks good for awhile will not do that.and will lift..
however if you want a quick and cheaper fix you could shoot automotive on it and it will last awhile,but is not a permanent fix
Sorry for the stupid questionbut...what is wet sanding??? My clear coat is cracking and peeling, but does still have a layer underneath that is good. I have tried buffing and polishing it and it looks better, but how can I get that first layer of cracking gel off? Thanks!
Rob
'88 Javelin 378
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see - Hebrews 11.1
Rob Ridge
2018 Nitro Z19 Pro, 200 Mercury Pro XS
Rob,
Wet sanding means using water with your sand paper. Go to an automotive paint store and buy a sanding block and some 1000, some 1500 and some 2000 grit sand paper. Have the salesman show you how to put the sand paper in the block. Get a bucket of water and a sponge. Start with the 1000 grit to see if it removes the oxidation. If it doesn't, then start with 800. Dip the sand paper and block in the bucket frequently. I use the sponge above the sanding area and frequently squeeze it to add water to the sanding area. Don't let the area get dry. The finer grits are just sanding out the scratches made by the courser grits. So progress from the 1000 grit to the 1500 grit and then to the 2000 grit. Some areas will have to be done by hand without the block.
Water keeps material from building up on your sand paper. The paper will last a long long time when keep sufficiently wet. Use no machines; hand wet sand only.
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see - Hebrews 11.1
Rob Ridge
2018 Nitro Z19 Pro, 200 Mercury Pro XS
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